School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Paul J. Smith

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Paul J. Smith was born in 1906 in Calumet, Michigan, and was an American composer and violinist best known for his work at Disney. He studied music at The College of Idaho and then at the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago. His aptitude for theory and composition won him a scholarship to Juilliard, although it is unclear whether he used it. In 1934 he joined Disney, where he remained for a large part of his life as a composer for films, animation and live action, cinema and television.

Music and breakthrough

Smith received an Oscar nomination for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He won his only Oscar together with Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for the music of Pinocchio. Six nominations followed, for Saludos Amigos, Victory Through Air Power, The Three Caballeros, Song of the South, Cinderella and Perri. He wrote the music for most of the episodes of the True-Life Adventures, Disney's nature film series, and for more than seventy animated shorts. In Fantasia he can be seen himself as a member of the orchestra.

Influence

His music belongs to the first decades of the Disney film, when studio composers wrote scores for cartoons and nature documentaries.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to an excerpt from Pinocchio and notice how the music follows the movement on screen. Try to hear how an orchestra accompanies a cartoon story.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists