The image is a little dark but you'll mostly want to listen to this one, which runs three minutes. And let's thank Phil Pollard for sending me the link.
Raymond Scott (1908-1994) was a composer and musician who created a lot of popular music but who holds a special place in the hearts and ears of cartoon buffs. Carl Stalling, who did the music for most of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons, liked to use Scott compositions in his work, especially after 1943 when Scott sold his publishing company to Warner Brothers Music. Thereafter, Scott tunes were heard often in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, especially the song in this clip, "Powerhouse." Stalling usually employed "Powerhouse" whenever the on-screen action involved automation or robots or anything of that nature.
This clip is from the April 16, 1955 edition of Your Hit Parade, a long-running radio-then-TV show which each week presented musical acts and performances of tunes that were then climbing the charts. I don't think "Powerhouse" was at that moment but Mr. Scott was the orchestra leader on the series so he was often featured. He called his group the Raymond Scott Quintette, even though it always had six guys in it. He's the one tickling the ivories, as they say…
