With its ubiquitous presence permeating every facet of our lives and a plethora of historical presentations instantly available at the press of a button as close as our pockets, it’s rather easy to forget that not-so-long ago, Disney programming was far more rare with only a precious few outlets to access its wonderful worlds. The most prominent of these was the once premium cable network simply titled The Disney Channel.

For a generation, The Disney Channel was a broadcast ambassador showcasing Michael Eisner’s vastly expanding empire of excellent entertainment from the Studio’s latest theatrical releases to high-quality original TDC films and TV shows — all while placing particular emphasis on Walt’s legacy. Disney’s Past, Present and Future were equally celebrated in a myriad of meaningful ways. It’s also important to note that The Disney Channel held the distinction of being cable’s first, and for a long while only, Family network with programming blocks that accommodated every demographic during their prime viewing hours.

Kids were indoctrinated treated with classic cartoons before heading off to school. Small children were placated throughout the day with pre-school programs. The mid-afternoon belonged to trendy teens who just got home from high school with shows like Kids Incorporated and the new Mickey Mouse Club (later made even more hip by becoming the “MMC”). In the evening, the content reached a climax with engaging entertainment for everyone. And with the kids (finally) asleep, the adults got to relax with Disney Night Time concerts from contemporary artists and commercial-free classic cinema more than ten years before TCM. Couple all of this high-quality content with captivating TV specials chronicling historic accomplishments from the 45-minute “Making of Captain EO” to the creation of the Disney•MGM Studios, and it’s not all difficult to see why so many have been completely enthralled, and in some cases consumed by, the Company that Walt built.

Due in large part to its commercial-free nature, The Disney Channel filled the often quarter-hour gaps in between programs with high-quality interstitial content that could be just as entertaining as the featuring presentations. Among these was the ever-popular “DTV” (a riff on MTV) where classic Disney animation was creatively spliced to accompany popular songs and “Inside Walt Disney Imagineering” which gave viewers extremely exciting behind-the-scenes looks at projects coming soon to the parks. “Dateline: Disney” offered newsreel-style updates and reports of the company’s many creative events and even Epcot-esque educational shorts on “Imagine”.

Taking all this into account, the volume of custom-created content is staggering, especially for a network in the early days of cable TV. I, like nearly everyone on the planet (all the way up to today) had thought everything was crafted in-house and while that might be true for the visuals, Disney’s not-so-dirty little secret was that they did have a lot of “help” in the music department. Over a decade ago, I discovered that, although Station IDs & logos were unique compositions, most of what you heard between the featured presentations was Production Music. (Also known as Stock/Library or Licensed music) While initially, it’s like destroying one’s childhood disillusions, that very quickly transitions to a fascinating exercise in being able to track down these, accidentally beloved scores most of which are highly evocative of the electronic instrumentations so closely associated with the 1980s and early 90s.

This collection is a tribute to that truly special time when Disney’s unlimited possibilities and prolific past were proudly presented.

• Feature Presentation •
  ” Open Market ”
  by Dick Walter

• DTV Theme •
  ” RPM ”
  by Larry Owens

• Imagine •
  Evolution
  by Craig Palmer

• DTV: Drive-In •
  Sunset Boulevard
  by Larry Owens

• A Disney Moment •
  ”Surf”
  by Brian Bennett

• Inside Imagineering Theme •
  ”This is the Future”
  by Richard Allen Harvey

• Dateline: Jet Set for the Studios •
  ”Majestic Panorama”
  by Louis Clark

• Inside WDI: Animatronics •
  “Winning Through”
  by David Reilly

• DTV: The Old Mill •
  ”Disco Blue”
  by Stefan Olesten

• Inside WDI: Pleasure Island •
  ”International Awards”
  by Andy Clark

• Super Sense •
  ”Tinder Land”
  by Barry Joseph

• DTV: Crazy Train to Baia •
  ”Monkey Business”
  by Craig Palmer

• Inside WDI: Splash Mountain •
  ”White Water”
  by Richard Allen Harvey

• Dateline: Dreamflight •
  ”Messenger”
  by John Fiddy

• DTV: Sleepy Hollow Chase •
  ”Breaking the Tape”
  by Craig Palmer

• Dateline: Wonders of Life •
  ”Spirit of Success”
  by John Fiddy

• Inside WDI: Closing Theme •
  ”Winding Down”
  by Warren Bennett

• Making the Disney•MGM Studios •
  ”Life is Good”
  by Andy Clark

• Disney Channel Magazine •
  ”Ain’t No Thang”
  by Jonathan Merrill

• WDW 20th Anniversary Update •
  ”World Link Up (A)”
  by Keith Mansfield

• The Best in Family Entertainment •
  ”Image Attack”
  by Mark Shreeve

• Tonight on the Disney Channel •
  ”Name Dropper”
  by John Hobbs

• Turn on the Best •
  ”The Burn”
  by Jonathan Merrill

• Opening the Great Movie Ride •
  ”Reach for the Stars”
  by Richard Allen Harvey