"Mickey Mouse March" is the opening theme for ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first te ...

'' television show, which aired in the United States from October 1955 to 1959, on the ABC television network. The song is

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

d with the slower "it's time to say goodbye" verse, at the end of each episode. In the show's opening, the song is partially performed by the characters Dumbo and

Jiminy Cricket Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the Talking Cricket, a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', which Walt Disney adapted into the animated film '' Pinoc ...

. It also ended with

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...

attempting to hit a gong with the ''Mickey Mouse Club'' title on it but would end with comic results, such as him getting hit by lightning, or the gong turning out to be a pie, or Donald just hitting a triangle instead. It has since become the theme song for the titular

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

and his franchise. The song was written by the ''Mickey Mouse Club'' host

Jimmie Dodd James Wesley Dodd (March 28, 1910 – November 10, 1964) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known as the master of ceremonies for the popular 1950s Walt Disney television series ''The Mickey Mouse Club,'' as well as the writer o ...

and was published by

Hal Leonard Corporation Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Cur ...

, on July 1, 1955. Dodd, who was a guitarist and musician hired by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

as a songwriter, wrote other songs used over the course of the series, as well, such as the “theme day” songs sung on the show.

Covers

Julie London Julie London (born Julie Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch song, torch singer noted for her contralto voice, London recorded over thirty album ...

covered the song on her 1967 album, '' Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast''.

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

performed a bit of the song during his May 2, 1975 concert in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. A concert recording of the show was made available on the Follow That Dream Collectors' label release, ''Southbound - Tampa / Atlanta '75.'' Mannheim Steamroller covered the song as the final track on the album, '' Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse'' (1999). In 2000, a eurobeat version of the song was released on the Japan-only '' Eurobeat Disney'', recorded by

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'' ...

and Dave Rodgers. Andrew W.K. also covered the song, on the Japanese-only release of the album '' Mosh Pit On Disney'' (2004). In 2017,

D-Metal Stars D-Metal Stars is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band spin-off of the successful Animetal USA project. The band covers heavy metal versions of popular Disney songs on Walt Disney Records. Members *Michael Vescera (Obsession (band), ...

created a Heavy Metal cover of the song on the album "Metal Disney" featuring Mike Vescera and Rudy Sarzo.

References

{{authority control Disney songs 1955 songs Songs about mice and rats Songs about fictional male characters Animated series theme songs Television theme songs Music television series theme songs Comedy television theme songs The Mickey Mouse Club