Fun Fact Friday: The Hook and Ladder Company

June 7, 2013 in All Posts, disneyland, disneyland resort, fun facts, Randy, Tips & Tricks for Families by Babes in Disneyland

The Hook and Ladder Company performs in front of the Disneyland Fire Department

Photo credit: Loren Javier / Foter.com / CC BY-ND

The Hook and Ladder Company carries on a Disneyland tradition that dates back to Opening Day, July 17, 1955.Yes there is the tradition of live music in the parks, but the Dapper Dans, the Jambalaya Jazz Band, the Disneyland Band, and others do that, too. The Hook and Ladder Company has a special one.

In the mid-1940’s, a group of Disney animators who loved jazz music gathered around a phonograph at lunch time and played along with the recordings. According to Disney Legend (and one of Walt Disney’s “9 Old Men”), Ward Kimball in an article in Record Changer magazine (September 1949 issue):

“One day the phonograph broke down, and someone had the startling notion to play without it. To our surprise, it sounded better than when we played with the record! I know it sounds corny but it’s true. And from then on we went on playing in our own strictly ‘no style’ style.”

The original band was made up of…

Ward Kimball on trombone,
Clarke Mallery on clarinet,
Frank Thomas on piano,
Ed Penner on bass sax and
Jim McDonald on drums.

Johnny Lucas on trumpet and Harper Goff on banjo were added soon after. Many of these men have credits so extensive with Disney that it would take another 10 posts just to start doing justice to them.

OK, so these guys worked for Disney and formed a jazz band. What does that have to do with Disneyland? I’m glad you asked!

The Firehouse Five Plus Two performed on the Dateline: Disneyland TV special that introduced the country to Disneyland, and played there regularly during the summers for 15 years. They didn’t always play in front of the firehouse–they showed up in New Orleans Square, the Golden Horseshoe, and in parades. They even played on the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad on Opening Day. In fact, their album At Disneyland was recorded in the Golden Horseshoe!

There is so much more to the history of this group (including two other names they performed under before taking on this one), their extensive performances outside of Disneyland, and the varied make-up of the band members over the years. If there’s enough interest in that, I may cover it in a future post.

The Firehouse Five Plus Two’s last performance at Disneyland was in 1971, but today we still have a firemen-themed jazz band in the park: The Hook and Ladder Company! You can find them several times a day (most days) performing in front of the firehouse on Main Street U.S.A. Sometimes joined by “friends” Cruella De ‘Vil, Chip & Dale, and Goofy; if you enjoy jazz music played in a fun and playful way, be sure to check them out!

For you to discover: A Disney animated feature contains an “in joke”/homage reference to the Firehouse Five Plus Two. What is the movie and what is the reference?

You can read more from Randy on his blog, Faith and the Magic Kingdom and listen to his unofficial Disney podcast, Stories of the Magic. Find him on Twitter (@Belgarion42) and on Facebook.

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3 Comments

Comments

Disney Day by Day says

June 7, 2013 at 1:09 pm

Love all the live music in the parks, thanks for the history!

Reply
Randy Crane says

June 10, 2013 at 6:54 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!

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Edmund Velasco says

September 18, 2018 at 9:03 pm

Today was the last day for the Hook & Ladder company. They were given their “End of Run” notice six weeks ago. On their last day they performed with their usual professionalism and presented seven wonderful shows. Tradition be damned I guess…

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