Pocahontas (soundtrack)

Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 1995 Disney animated film, Pocahontas. It was released by Walt Disney Records on May 30, 1995, on CD and audio cassette. The soundtrack contains songs from the film, including each instrumental song, written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, and conducted by David Friedman. The main songs feature vocals by Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Jim Cummings, David Ogden Stiers, and Bobbi Page. The soundtrack features two hit singles; "Colors of the Wind" performed by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams, and the film's love theme song "If I Never Knew You" performed by American singers Jon Secada and Shanice. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for "Colors of the Wind").

Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedMay 30, 1995
Recorded1994–1995
Genre
Length55:08
LabelWalt Disney
Producer
Walt Disney Animation Studios chronology
The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1994)		 Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
(1995)		 The Hunchback of Notre Dame: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
(1996)
Singles from Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
  1. "Colors of the Wind"
    Released: May 30, 1995
  2. "If I Never Knew You"
    Released: September 12, 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Filmtracks[2]

In honor of the film's twentieth anniversary, the soundtrack was remastered and reissued as the eleventh entry of The Legacy Collection series. The Legacy edition includes the film's complete original soundtrack in chronological order, along with six demo recordings in a two-disc set. There are 28 tracks on disc one, and 14 tracks on disc two. This release includes the song "If I Never Knew You", performed by Kuhn and Gibson in the film. The original song performed by the characters was cut from the film, and not included on the original soundtrack. The song was put back into the movie when it was re-released for the 10th anniversary of the film, and finally featured on the new edition of the soundtrack.[3]

Background

The music for Pocahontas has one of the largest and most complex scores ever written for a Disney animated film. It was the fourth Disney animated film that was composed by Alan Menken.[4] He had previously worked with lyricist Howard Ashman, who died before the making of Pocahontas. He began working with Stephen Schwartz, who became the lyricist for the soundtrack.[5]

Schwartz was recommended to Menken by people at Disney.[6] On a documentary of the soundtrack, Menken says that after he thought about it he realized that Schwartz' style would be perfect for the film's music because of his writing that is a brilliant combination of theater, folk, and classic. Menken said, "I just really felt that he and I would be able to find a voice that was unique to the two of us together, and we did." The first song they wrote together was "Colors of the Wind". According to Jim Pentecost, the producer of the film, the emotion of the lyrics and music for "Colors of the Wind" was very powerful and defined the movie and what it was going to be about. The song was written at the beginning stages of developing the story. Jim Pentecost said, "When Stephen came up with the title 'Colors of the Wind' and developed his lyric, it helped greatly to tell us what this movie should be."[7]

Menken and Schwartz came together and were able to create this soundtrack based on things they felt strongly about and found a way of expressing through music. On the soundtrack documentary video, Schwartz talked about how they knew what they wanted to say through the music and portray who Pocahontas was, and they were able to find the parts of themselves that met with the character of Pocahontas to create the music for the film.[8]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Stephen Schwartz; all music is composed by Alan Menken

Side 1
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."The Virginia Company"Chorus1:30
2."Ship at Sea (Score)"Alan Menken2:34
3."The Virginia Company (Reprise)"Mel Gibson and Chorus0:35
4."Steady as the Beating Drum (Main Title)"Chorus1:46
5."Steady as the Beating Drum (Reprise)"Jim Cummings0:45
6."Just Around the Riverbend"Judy Kuhn2:27
7."Grandmother Willow (Score)"Alan Menken1:27
8."Listen With Your Heart I"Linda Hunt, Bobbi Page1:12
9."Mine, Mine, Mine"David Ogden Stiers, Mel Gibson, and Chorus3:05
10."Listen with Your Heart II"Linda Hunt, Bobbi Page2:46
11."Colors of the Wind"Judy Kuhn3:34
12."Savages (Part 1)"David Ogden Stiers, Jim Cummings & Chorus1:43
13."Savages (Part 2)"Judy Kuhn, David Ogden Stiers, Jim Cummings & Chorus2:15
14."I’ll Never See Him Again (Score)"Alan Menken1:55
Side 2
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
15."Pocahontas (Score)"Alan Menken1:22
16."Council Meeting (Score)"Alan Menken1:11
17."Percy's Bath (Score)"Alan Menken0:51
18."River's Edge (Score)"Alan Menken1:27
19."Skirmish (Score)"Alan Menken2:02
20."Getting Acquainted (Score)"Alan Menken1:30
21."Ratcliffe's Plan (Score)"Alan Menken1:47
22."Picking Corn (Score)"Alan Menken0:55
23."The Warriors Arrive (Score)"Alan Menken1:23
24."John Smith Sneaks Out (Score)"Alan Menken1:14
25."Execution (Score)"Alan Menken1:34
26."Farewell (Score)"Alan Menken4:47
27."Colors of the Wind (End Title)"Vanessa Williams4:17
28."If I Never Knew You (End Title)"Jon Secada & Shanice4:13

Chart and commercial success

The film's soundtrack is probably best known for the song that serves as the film's anthem, "Colors of the Wind", which went on to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award. As a single, "Colors of the Wind" went on to reach #4 on the U.S. pop charts in 1995, and was one of Williams' biggest hits. The Pocahontas soundtrack joined other Disney animated feature soundtrack albums in the multi-platinum category in the certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America. Pocahontas was simultaneously certified triple-platinum, platinum and gold. It became the fifth consecutive soundtrack for a Disney animated film to surpass the 3 million milestone, following The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.

The soundtrack also won the Academy Award for Best Musical or Comedy Score, sold 2.3 million copies in the remaining two months of 1995 alone, and went on to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200.[9]

Charts

Singles
Chart (1995) Peak
position		 Single Artist
Billboard Hot 100 4 "Colors of the Wind" Vanessa L. Williams
Hot R&B / Hip Hop Singles & Tracks 53
Australia Singles Chart 16
UK Singles Chart 21
UK Singles Chart 51 "If I Never Knew You" Jon Secada and Shanice

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[19] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[20] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[21] 4× Platinum 400,000^
France (SNEP)[22] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[23] Platinum 500,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Gold 7,500^
Sweden (GLF)[25] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Filmtracks review
  3. Reif, Alex (August 19, 2015). "The Legacy Collection: Pocahontas Soundtrack Review". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  4. Rosela1996 (June 7, 2013), The music of Disney's "Pocahontas", retrieved July 27, 2016
  5. "Pocahontas". November 6, 2005. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  6. redmorgankidd (February 6, 2009), The Making of Pocahontas (1/3), archived from the original on 2021-12-15, retrieved July 27, 2016
  7. Rosela1996 (June 7, 2013), The music of Disney's "Pocahontas", retrieved July 27, 2016
  8. Rosela1996 (June 7, 2013), The music of Disney's "Pocahontas", retrieved July 27, 2016
  9. http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12040603 "Pocahontas"
  10. "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Pocahontas". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Pocahontas" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Pocahontas" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack – Pocahontas" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  14. "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Pocahontas". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  15. "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack – Pocahontas". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  16. "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  17. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  18. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  19. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1995 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  20. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1996". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  21. "Canadian album certifications – Various – Pocahontas". Music Canada.
  22. "French album certifications – B.O.F. – Pocahontas" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Diverse; 'Walt Disney - Pocahontas')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  24. "New Zealand album certifications – Various – Pocahontas". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  25. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  26. "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Pocahontas". Recording Industry Association of America.
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