Annette recorded her first song, "How Will I Know My Love" in 1958, after first singing it in a scene on The Mickey Mouse Club. Thousands of people called the studio wanting to buy the record after the episode aired. It was soon followed by "Tall Paul", "First Name Initial" and "Pineapple Princess", along with many others. During these early recordings, musician & producer Tutti Camarata developed the famous "Annette Sound", a method of double tracking her vocals for a richer, fuller sound, a process still widely used today. It was in 1959 that she made her big screen debut in Walt Disney’s "The Shaggy Dog", her first of several Disney films.
In 1963 Annette starred in her first non Disney movie alongside Frankie Avalon in "Beach Party", the first of many in the iconic Beach Party series. She appeared in The Monkees' 1968 film, Head, and later, 1987's "Back To The Beach", which would ultimately be her last role. Annette's then recent diagnosis with multiple sclerosis and the symptoms of the disease would prove too difficult for her to continue acting. She hid the diagnosis until 1992, going public to correct rumors that her impairments were a result of alcoholism.
In 1993, she opened the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders, to help find a cure for MS. She made her last public appearance in 1996 on an episode of “Biography”, about her life. After 15 years outside of the public eye, and nearly 25 years of battling the disease, Annette Funicello died on April 8, 2013 from complications of MS.
The Monkey's Uncle
Annette Funicello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, yeah, She loves the monkey's uncle,
Whoa, whoa, She loves the monkey's uncle,
And the monkey's uncle's ape for me!
I don't care what the whole world thinks!
She loves the monkey's uncle!
Call us a couple of "missing links",
Love all these monkeyshines,
Every day is Valentine's,
I love the monkey's uncle,
And the monkey's uncle's ape for me!
Ape for me!
Uh, huh, She loves the monkey's uncle,
Yeah, yeah, She loves the monkey's uncle,
Whoa, whoa, She loves the monkey's uncle,
And the monkey's uncle's ape for me!
This in my heart jumps like a clown
She loves the monkey's uncle!
Feels like the circus just came to town!
She loves the monkey's uncle!
I live in a "jungle gym",
In order to be with him
I love the monkey's uncle,
And I wish I were the monkey's aunt!
Monkey's aunt!
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
On the day he marries me
What a nutty family tree!
A bride!
A groom!
A chimpanzee!
Let them say he's the booby prize!
She loves the monkey's uncle!
He is the guy I idolize!
She loves the monkey's uncle!
Love all those monkeyshines,
Every day is Valentine's,
I love the monkey's uncle,
And the monkey's uncle's ape for me!
Ape for me!
Uh, huh, She (I) loves (love) the monkey's uncle,
Yeah, yeah, She (I) loves (love) the monkey's uncle,
Whoa, whoa, She (I) loves (love) the monkey's uncle,
And I'm MAD about his chimpanzee!
"The Monkey's Uncle" is a playful and whimsical song about a woman's affection for a man who happens to be the monkey's uncle. Annette Funicello's voice exudes joy and lightness, as she sings about disregarding societal norms and embracing her love for a "missing link." The lyrics suggest that their love is unconventional, but that it is true and enduring. In fact, the couple's peculiarities make them even more endearing in each other's eyes. Annette is thrilled to be with someone who shares her love for "monkeyshines", and she imagines a future where they are united as husband and wife, with a chimpanzee as their child.
The song was released in 1965, as part of the soundtrack for the film "The Monkey's Uncle," which starred Annette Funicello and fellow Disney icon Tommy Kirk. The film was one of several made by Disney during the 1960s that attempted to appeal to the burgeoning youth culture through music and humor. Annette, who had already made a name for herself as a Mouseketeer on "The Mickey Mouse Club," was a natural fit for these projects. "The Monkey's Uncle" was written by the Sherman Brothers, who were responsible for many of Disney's most memorable songs, including those for "Mary Poppins" and "The Jungle Book."
Line by Line Meaning
Uh, huh, She loves the monkey's uncle,
She loves the man that is unconventional and different from everyone else.
Yeah, yeah, She loves the monkey's uncle,
She really loves the monkey's uncle and doesn't care what others think.
Whoa, whoa, She loves the monkey's uncle,
She has strong feelings for the monkey's uncle that are difficult to express.
And the monkey's uncle's ape for me!
She is also attracted to the monkey's uncle's chimpanzee.
I don't care what the whole world thinks!
She is willing to go against societal norms and expectations for love.
Call us a couple of 'missing links',
People may judge and ridicule them for their unconventional relationship.
Love all these monkeyshines,
She enjoys the playful and mischievous behavior of the monkeys.
Every day is Valentine's,
She feels love and affection for the monkey's uncle every day.
And the monkey's uncle's ape for me!
She is attracted to the monkey's uncle's chimpanzee.
This in my heart jumps like a clown
She feels excited and giddy about her relationship with the monkey's uncle.
Feels like the circus just came to town!
She feels like her life is an exciting and wild circus.
I live in a 'jungle gym',
She feels like she's in a playground or jungle with the monkey's uncle.
In order to be with him
She's willing to adapt to the monkey's uncle's lifestyle to be with him.
I love the monkey's uncle,
She loves the man who is unconventional and different from everyone else.
And I wish I were the monkey's aunt!
She wishes she could be related to the monkey's uncle to be closer to him.
On the day he marries me,
She's daydreaming about marrying the monkey's uncle.
What a nutty family tree!
Their family will be unconventional and unconventional-looking.
A bride!
She will be the bride when she marries the monkey's uncle.
A groom!
The monkey's uncle will be the groom when they get married.
A chimpanzee!
The monkey's uncle's chimpanzee will be a part of their family too.
Let them say he's the booby prize!
Other people may think the monkey's uncle is not a desirable partner, but she disagrees.
He is the guy I idolize!
She looks up to and admires the monkey's uncle.
Love all those monkeyshines,
She enjoys the playful and mischievous behavior of the monkeys.
Every day is Valentine's,
She feels love and affection for the monkey's uncle every day.
I love the monkey's uncle,
She loves the man who is unconventional and different from everyone else.
And the monkey's uncle's ape for me!
She is attracted to the monkey's uncle's chimpanzee.
Uh, huh, She (I) loves (love) the monkey's uncle,
She loves the man that is unconventional and different from everyone else.
Yeah, yeah, She (I) loves (love) the monkey's uncle,
She really loves the monkey's uncle and doesn't care what others think.
Whoa, whoa, She (I) loves (love) the monkey's uncle,
She has strong feelings for the monkey's uncle that are difficult to express.
And I'm MAD about his chimpanzee!
She is very attracted to the monkey's uncle's chimpanzee.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: RICHARD M. SHERMAN, ROBERT B. SHERMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Michael-uw3lk
@@cabezadepija7318 seems like our debate is more about our taste/preferences on what era we like of the Beach Boys. Pet Sounds was the album that changed music in the 60's onward. It is widely considered one of the greatest albums of all time and Paul McCartney sites it as the main inspiration for Sgt. Peppers. Which is another album which is considered one of the greatest. Both those albums changed music forever. For good or for bad, idk.
Mike Love hated it and wanted to stick to their Beach-babe teenage sound, which they were starting to outgrow. Mike Love at best is amateur. If Kokomo is your thing than yeah enjoy your Love. But if you want to see the best of Mike Love listen to their God-awful Summer of Love album because genius Mike got the full reins for that project.
Brian's version of the Beach Boys changed with every album.
Mike's version of the Beach boys is beach teenagers singing about girls. Mike was also a bully and mistreated Brian and would constantly discourage Brian from trying new things.
Respect to you for sticking up for Love, because majority of people would disagree.
@thejiggy22
@Paul Dunn A friend of mine just did some extensive research on the recording of the song, and I can accurately say that the actual lineup for the instrumental track consists of:
Brian Wilson: Organ
Carl Wilson: Lead guitar
Tommy Tedesco: Rhythm guitar
Bill Pitman: Acoustic guitar
Al Jardine: Bass guitar
Dennis Wilson: Drums
Hal Blaine: Timpani
Gene Estes: Tambourine
Steve Douglas: Saxophone
Jay Migliori: Saxophone
@fox2mike28
Can we acknowledge for a moment the absolute genius of the Sherman Brothers here, having just come off cleaning house with all their great songs in Mary Poppins, to then take up the challenge of not only writing an Annette song suited to her singing range, but at the same time a Beach Boys song to both be sung and augmented by their vocal prowess? Kind of a diametrically opposed prospect, but they pulled it off and the end result is a 60s pop classic.
@ketahoer23
Well spoken
@MatiasGeraldoThe2nd
Holy lord!!! I woulda thought this was a fun Brian Wilson creation all day! Wow. Mad respect for them forever and always.
@jg1828
I love her.
@aripineda6267
Definitely, there's a Sherman documentary called The Boys, if you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend it💜❤
@exoticcar5482
@@MatiasGeraldoThe2ndWouldn't be surprised though if Brian still contributed to the vocal arrangements
@cgondek
Annette Funicello always maintained that getting to perform with The Beach Boys was one of the highlights of her career with Disney.
@232mulberrydaddy
I've read the same thing.
@monaiannucci9434
Rang a rang island forreal
@NS-vw8pm
Annette and The Beach Boys, how iconic can you get?