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Alan Menken on Robin Williams’ ‘Friend Like Me’ Performance

“We didn’t know who was going to play the Genie when we wrote the song. We were looking at the character as Black, a hipster, and I suggested a Fats Waller, Harlem stride-piano style from the ‘40s. When Robin Williams was suggested, my first thought was, ‘Can he sing like Fats Waller?’

“Robin learned every note. He was working on Hook at the time, and he would come in after being stuck in a harness all day and sit at the piano and learn. When we went into the studio, we got exactly the Fats Waller performance we wanted, and then everyone said, ‘Okay, but now can we let Robin do his thing?’ He was amazing. That trumpet wah-wah-wah was supposed to be from an instrument, and he made it vocal. He took hold of the creative process.”

– Alan Menken, co-songwriter and composer on Aladdin, via

Entertainment Weekly