George Edward Bruns was an American film score composer who composed the music for Disney feature films and several Disney Park attractions like the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction (he also wrote the song "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me!"), the Country Bear Jamboree attraction (he also wrote the song "Bear Band Serenade"),
Bruns was born on July 3, 1914 in Sandy, Oregon. Bruns expressed interest in music at an early age: He began playing piano at age six, and subsequently learned how to play the bass tuba. He eventually became proficient in 15 different instruments, and began performing with a high school band while still in elementary school. After graduating from Oregon State University, he worked as a musician with various groups. In 1946 he was appointed musical director at radio station KEX in Portland, and also was the bandleader for the Rose Bowl room of the Multnomah Hotel. From 1947 to 1949 he performed and recorded on trombone with Portland's Castle Jazz Band, led by banjoist Monte Ballou.
In the late 1940s, he moved to Los Angeles where, in 1953, he was hired by Walt Disney as an arranger, eventually becoming Disney's musical director, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. Despite his retirement, he continued to work on Disney projects. Many of his film contributions include the Davy Crockett series, Mickey Mouse Club, Sleeping Beauty, Goliath II, Babes in Toyland, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, The Sword in the Stone, The Ugly Dachshund, Follow Me, Boys!, The Fighting Prince of Donegal, The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, The Jungle Book, The Love Bug, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, Herbie Rides Again, Walt Disney's World of Color, and many cartoon shorts.
During his tenure with Disney Studios, Bruns continued to play dixieland jazz, leading his Wonderland Jazz Band on two recording sessions, and playing and recording occasionally with the Disney "house" band, the Firehouse Five Plus Two.
Bruns was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2001.
Disney filmography
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Mickey and the Beanstalk | Composer |
| 1952 | Captains Outrageous | Composer |
| 1954-1970 | The Magical World of Disney | Composer Piano Conductor Himself: "Back Stage Party" |
| 1955 | The Mickey Mouse Club | Composer: "Circus Day" |
| 1955 | Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier | Composer Musical Director Songwriter:"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" "Farewell" |
| 1956 | Davy Crockett and the River Pirates | Composer Songwriter: "King Of The River" "Yaller, Yaller Gold" |
| 1956 | Westward Ho, the Wagons! | Composer Songwriter: "Westward Ho the Wagons!" "The Ballad of John Colter" "I'm Lonely My Darlin'" |
| 1956 | Jack and Old Mac | Composer |
| 1956 | In the Bag | Composer Songwriter: "Humphrey Hop" |
| 1956 | A Cowboy Needs a Horse | Composer |
| 1957 | Perri | Composer: "Perri" |
| 1957 | The Truth About Mother Goose | Composer |
| 1957 | Johnny Tremain | Composer "Johnny Tremain" |
| 1957-1959 | Zorro | "Zorro theme" Additional Music |
| 1958 | Paul Bunyan | Composer |
| 1958 | Tonka | Songwriter: "Tonka" |
| 1959 | Disneyland '59 | Composer |
| 1959 | Eyes in Outer Space | Composer |
| 1959 | Noah's Ark | Composer |
| 1959 | Sleeping Beauty | Composer Music Adapter Songwriter: "Hail to the Princess Aurora" "The Gifts of Beauty and Song" "I Wonder" "Skumps" "Sleeping Beauty" |
| 1960 | Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus | Composer: stock music - uncredited |
| 1960 | Goliath II | Composer |
| 1961 | One Hundred and One Dalmatians | Composer |
| 1961 | The Absent-Minded Professor | Composer |
| 1961 | Babes in Toyland | Conductor Music Adaptor music: "Mother Goose Village and Lemonade" "We Won't Be Happy Till We Get It" "Just A Whisper Away" "Slowly He Sank To The Bottom of the Sea" "Castle in Spain" "Never Mind, Bo-Peep" "I Can't Do The Sum" "Floretta" "Forest of No Return" "Go To Sleep" "Toyland" "Workshop Song" "Just A Toy" "Tom and Mary" "We Won't Be Happy Till We Get It (Reprise #1)" "We Won't Be Happy Till We Get It (Reprise #2)" |
| 1961 | The Saga of Windwagon Smith | Composer |
| 1963 | Son of Flubber | Composer |
| 1963 | The Sword in the Stone | Composer |
| 1964 | The Restless Sea | Composer |
| 1965 | A Country Coyote Goes Hollywood | Composer Songwriter: "Coyote Song" |
| 1965 | Freewayphobia | Composer |
| 1965 | Steel and America | Composer |
| 1965 | Donald's Fire Survival Plan | Composer |
| 1965 | Goofy's Freeway Troubles | Composer |
| 1966 | The Ugly Dachshund | Composer |
| 1966 | The Fighting Prince of Donegal | Composer |
| 1966 | Follow Me, Boys! | Composer |
| 1967 | The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin | Composer |
| 1967 | Mosby's Marauders | Composer |
| 1967 | The Jungle Book | Composer |
| 1968 | The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit | Composer |
| 1968 | The Love Bug | Composer |
| 1968 | The Young Loner | Composer |
| 1969 | It's Tough to Be a Bird | Composer |
| 1969 | The Social Side of Health | Composer |
| 1970 | The Aristocats | Composer |
| 1970 | Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt | Composer |
| 1971 | The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove | Composer |
| 1972 | The Mouse Factory | musical director music supervisor |
| 1973 | Robin Hood | Composer Songwriter: "Love" |
| 1973 | VD Attack Plan | Composer |
| 1974 | Herbie Rides Again | Composer |
| 1974 | Man, Monsters and Mysteries | Composer |
