Disney Composer, Alan Menken, Reaches EGOT Status
Composer Alan Menken is well-known in the world of Disney for his work on music in “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin”. In fact, if you click here you can hear a quick introduction to many of his most famous Disney songs at the official Alan Menken website.
EGOT
On July 26th, with the Daytime Emmy win for the song “Waiting in the Wings” from Disney’s “Rapunzel Tangled Adventure”, Menken officially reached EGOT status. If you are unfamiliar with this distinction, I can tell you there are only 16 EGOTs in the world.
Career Highlight
EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. The fab four of awards in entertainment. In an interview with Variety, Menken says, “The business aspect of what we do is so fueled by moments like that. People get excited and they want to know you’re excited. It’s a nice celebration of one’s career and work, and you can’t deny that it feels good.”
The Oscar
When Menken won his Oscar for “The Little Mermaid”, he remembers being “terrified” and “exhilarated” when it was announced. “It was an incredible time. It was this sense of this out-of-body experience. Who was I to be here as this Broadway writer and how did I become an Oscar winner?” (Variety)
The Grammy
When Menken won the Grammy for Aladdin’s “A Whole New World”, he was up against Meat Loaf, Billy Joel and Neil Young. He remembers the song from Aladdin was the only song not performed live at the Grammy event. So, the shock of winning made the award all the sweeter.
The Tony
The Tony award was for “Newsies” in 2012. In his Variety interview, Menken takes time to assure fans they are still writing and developing new music for Broadway even during the closure due to COVID-19. Like many of us, the team is using virtual platforms to practice and work.
New Projects
Menken says he is currently working on “Disenchanted” and a new “Beauty and the Beast” prequel, “The Little Town.” I’ve also been working on the new animated picture “Spellbound” with John Lasseter. (Variety)
Keep looking for new material coming from Alan Menken. Even with the goal of EGOT all taken care of, he shows no signs of slowing down.
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