"Baroque Hoedown" is an early electronic/synthpop song by Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley, originally released on their 1967 album Kaleidoscopic Vibrations. Today, it is more widely known for its use as the main theme of Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade, as well as that parade's numerous variants and successors.
History
Disney first used "Baroque Hoedown" in 1971, as the soundtrack to the Electrical Water Pageant at Walt Disney World's Seven Seas Lagoon. The original composition by Perrey and Kingsley was only a few minutes long and was never intended to be used in a live show, so Disney hired electronic musician Paul Beaver to rearrange the song so that a portion of it looped continuously. Beaver's arrangement was used once again from 1972 to 1974 in Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade, but this time, it was synchronized with synthesized versions of classic Disney songs, each of which was programmed to play as its corresponding parade unit passed by.
In 1977, a new arrangement was created by Don Dorsey and implemented in an upgraded version of the Main Street Electrical Parade, which premiered that year at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. From then on, this arrangement went on to be used in every version of the Main Street Electrical Parade until 2001. From 1991 to 2004, it was also used in one segment of the Fantasy Waters show at the Disneyland Resort's Disneyland Hotel.
In 2001, "Baroque Hoedown" was rearranged once again, this time by Gregory Smith, for use in Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights, an updated version of the classic Electrical Parade. This arrangement differed from all previous versions in that it used a full orchestra and youth choir in addition to electronic synthesizers. In 2009, Disneyland's version of the parade (which at the time was running at Disney's California Adventure under the name "Disney's Electrical Parade") was upgraded with new lights and special effects, and for the first time since 1977, its soundtrack was updated as well. Don Dorsey's arrangement of "Baroque Hoedown" was replaced with a modified version of the DreamLights soundtrack, which was retained when the parade traveled to Walt Disney World, and subsequently, back to Disneyland.
Appearances
The famous tune's popularity has led to appearances in more than just the Main Street Electrical Parade. "Baroque Hoedown" could be heard in the following shows:
Theme parks
Disneyland
- Main Street Electrical Parade (1972–1996; 2017; 2019) - The song served as the parade's main theme and was used throughout the entire parade. From 1972 to 1974, the parade used the arrangement composed by Paul Beaver for the Electrical Water Pageant, with the addition of a synchronized music loop for each unique parade unit. The soundtrack was re-arranged and updated by Don Dorsey for the parade's return in 1977, and the parade continued to use this arrangement until it left Disneyland in 1996. When the parade returned in 2017, it used the arrangement that was created for Disney's Electrical Parade at Disney's California Adventure in 2009, but Jack Wagner's original vocoder announcements were pitch-corrected and integrated into the updated soundtrack. This version of the soundtrack was reused without any changes when the parade returned once again in 2019.
- Light Magic (1997) - A Celtic version of the song was used in the parade's finale, in homage to the Main Street Electrical Parade.
- Remember... Dreams Come True (2005–2009; 2010–2014; 2017–2019) - A shortened version of the Don Dorsey arrangement was used during the Main Street, U.S.A. segment of the fireworks show.
- Paint the Night (2015–2016) - An EDM version of the song at a faster tempo served as one of the two main themes of the parade, mixed with an adapted version of Owl City's "When Can I See You Again?" from Wreck-It Ralph.
Disney California Adventure
- Disney's Electrical Parade (2001–2010) - The 1977 Don Dorsey arrangement was used from 2001 until 2009, when it was replaced with a variation of the arrangement composed by Gregory Smith for use in Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights. For the 2009 version of the soundtrack, the main "Baroque Hoedown" theme and several of the music loops were taken from DreamLights, but any segments which contained orchestral arrangements were altered to use electronic synthesizers instead. Additionally, new music loops were composed for parade units that had no counterparts in DreamLights. This arrangement of the soundtrack was used for the remainder of the parade's run at Disney's California Adventure.
- Paint The Night (2018) - Disney California Adventure's version of Paint the Night used the same soundtrack as the version that ran at Disneyland from 2015 to 2016, featuring an EDM remix of "Baroque Hoedown" and a reworked version of "When Can I See You Again?".
Disneyland Hotel
- Fantasy Waters (1991–2004) - The Don Dorsey arrangement was used during the Main Street Electrical Parade segment of the water show.
Walt Disney World Resort
- Electrical Water Pageant (1971-1976) - The song served as the main theme of the show for its first five years. The original Perrey and Kingsley version of the song was re-arranged by electronic musician Paul Beaver for use in the show. In 1977, the Electrical Water Pageant's original soundtrack was changed to a series of synthesized arrangements from George Friedrich Handel's Water Music.
Magic Kingdom
- Main Street Electrical Parade (1977–1991; 1999–2001; 2010–2016) - The song served as the parade's main theme and was used throughout the entire parade. The parade used the 1977 Don Dorsey arrangement from 1977 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2001. From 2010 to 2016, the parade used the modified DreamLights arrangement that Disney's Electrical Parade had used from 2009 to 2010.
Tokyo Disneyland
- Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade (1985–1995) - The song served as the parade's main theme and was used throughout the entire parade. The parade used the 1977 Don Dorsey arrangement.
- Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights (2001–present) - The song serves as the parade's main theme and is used throughout the entire parade. An entirely new arrangement was recorded for this version of the parade, using newer synthesizer technology and a mostly orchestral soundtrack, all performed, arranged, and orchestrated by Gregory Smith. This arrangement served as the basis for the current soundtrack of the American version of the parade.
Disneyland Paris
- Main Street Electrical Parade (1992–2003) - The song served as the parade's main theme and was used throughout the entire parade. The parade used the 1977 Don Dorsey arrangement.
- Le Pays des Contes de Fées (1992–present) - The attraction's Return to Oz scene directly uses the "Return to Oz Rag"/"Baroque Hoedown" medley created for the Return to Oz segment of Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade in 1985. This specific music loop did not appear in the Paris version of the parade that premiered in 1992, as the parade unit it was created for was only a temporary addition to the California parade to promote the film's release.
Hong Kong Disneyland
- Paint the Night (2014–present) - The song serves as the parade's main theme and is used throughout the entire parade, mixed with the adapted version of "When Can I See You Again?".
Video games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken (1994)