What’s summer without a little Disney magic? On this day in 1963, audiences got some magic in the form of the film Summer Magic, complete with Disney’s teen heartthrob Hayley Mills and original songs by the Sherman Brothers. The great folksinger Burl Ives played Osh Popham and introduced the world to the creepy-crawly tune “The Ugly Bug Ball.” That and the other songs from the film were written by the great songwriting team of Richard M. and Robert B. “Bob” Sherman. Bob recently told us how the title song for the film almost had a completely different title. “Before there was a title for the film, we wrote a song for Summer Magic called ‘City People.’ Walt called me at home one night and asked if I agreed that the words ‘Summer Magic’ scanned the same as City People. I told him that it did. He replied, ‘Good, then that’s the name of my picture!’ We changed the title of the song as well as a few salient lyrics and that’s how it stayed.” With great stars, great music, and the personal touch of Walt Disney, it’s no wonder the film was, as another song in the film states, “The Pink of Perfection.”
