Disney songwriter Robert Sherman died on Monday March 5, 2012. Sherman and his brother Richard Sherman, collectively known as ‘The Sherman Brothers,’ wrote timeless classics such as ‘It’s a Small World’, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, ‘There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’, and ‘The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room’.
Sherman’s son, Jeff, posted the following message on Facebook:
Hello to family and friends,
I have very sad news to convey.
My Dad, Robert B. Sherman, passed away tonight in London. He went peacefully after months of truly valiantly fending off death. He loved life and his dear heart finally slowed to a stop when he could fight no more.
I will write more about this incredible man I love and admire so much when I am better rested and composed. He deserves that.
In the meantime, please say a prayer for him. As he said, he wanted to bring happiness to the world and, unquestionably, he succeeded. His love and his prayers, his philosophy and his poetry will live on forever. Forever his songs and his genius will bring hope, joy and love to this small, small world.
I love you, Dad.
Safe travels.
Love,
Jeff
The Sherman Brother’s works are still heard, and thought of, on a daily basis by people throughout the world decades after the songs’ publishing. Just last January, Brevard times recollected the historical significance of ‘There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’:
“The height of American optimism and futurism, embodied by the 1964 New York World’s Fair song ‘There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’ and pinnacled by the 1969 Apollo Moon landing, did and could only occur when the U.S. dollar was as good as gold and the U.S. economy was not shackled by the ever expanding corporate and social welfare state that exists today.”