Film Albums: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1964) - A Disneyland Record

On February 1964, Walt Disney's The Wonderful World of Color aired the first of their three-part series titled "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" based on the story of Dr. Syn (Patrick MacGoohan), the English pastor who masqueraded as the fearsome Scarecrow at night to lead a band of smugglers and, like Robin Hood, share his spoils with the poor people of his parish. 

You can read our write-up on this great historical-adventure series here, but for this post we are featuring the thrilling theme song sung by none other than the Wellingtons who were best known for singing the "Three-hour tour" theme to Gilligan's Island. Terry Gilkyson wrote the lyrics and music to this memorable ballad of Dr. Syn. Gilkyson was an excellent writer of folk music and had a number of popular hits ("Greenfields", "Memories are Made of This") but is best known for his work with the Walt Disney Studios in the 1960s where he composed music for The Moon-Spinners, The Three Lives of Thomasina, The Jungle Book ("The Bare Necessities"), and The Aristocats ("Thomas O'Malley Cat").

The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh was one of the many Disneyland records released by The Walt Disney Music Company. This one is number LG-774. 

You can listen to the ballad of The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh here.

Bonus 45 rpm: Another great Halloween ballad is "Demons and Witches" recorded in 1963 by The Four Preps. It features a great guitar strum and wonderful harmonies by the Prep boys.