Posted by Aubrey 1/22/23
Today’s topic: the music of the Sailing Ship Columbia or (S.S. Columbia). I have ignored where/what narration plays for the sake of just compiling what tracks are being played generally alongside the narration. Over time, the Norman Luboff Choir tracks are being removed and replaced with shorter edits of Toucan Pirates songs.
I tried my best to create a timeline of narration track changes, but my reference material is limited. Insights from others are always welcome!
Magic Music member ex-wdi referred to this loop as the “Docked Seaman” loop, which was played when the Columbia was docked in Fowler's Harbour, prepping for the day and was 14:58 in length [1]. DL Flight 295 made reference to this loop, stating that it was created for a 1980's renovation for the Below Decks exhibit [1].
RocketRodsXPR has stated, “When talking about Columbia's music, there are a few tracks that I've only heard in situ when the Columbia was being prepped at Fowler's Harbor and when it was backing into position at the dock. Once the Rivers switch track reconnected and it was ready to load, the music changed to the ones we know so well (with Thurl).” He has created a reconstruction based on the audio he captured live on a recording from May 1997, which runs 14:08. As to the time discrepancy, if this is indeed the Docked Seaman loop, he says either “there's either another song missing OR there's enough screwed up with the LP version online (which has skips and all) to shorten it.”
I created the track listing below based on his reconstruction. All tracks appear to be from side A of a 1973 vinyl “Songs & Sounds Of The Sea” on the National Geographic Society label which is currently out of print. The record has ocean noises that run behind and between every track.
<aside> 📌 Sailing Ship Columbia_ Harbor Docking BGM (1973) 1.mp3
https://mega.nz/file/E4AXlZBD#b2N4UMRM8GUMe_UR2C61N6v7wFfYzU2wSK9g_7tQqzY
</aside>
Magic Music member ex-wdi listed this as the tracklist for the Columbia Music Proper [1], and other members confirmed that this listing lines up with their recordings as far back as the 80s [1]. RocketRodsXPR has referenced the Luboff track order was last used in December 1998 when the major accident occurred [2].
Length of narration: ~00:14:21