As news of musician Kal David’s death on August 16th made the rounds, I had one of those “that name sounds really familiar” moments.

After reading Cassie Agunde’s article on AllEars.Net, I learned of David’s Disney connection: He’s the voice of Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

Still, I knew I had heard of Kal David before his work with Disney; I just couldn’t figure out how and when. A quick Internet search gave me the answer.

It seems I had seen Kal David perform live and in person on June 24rg, 1970, at the legendary Fillmore East theater in the Greenwich Village section of New York City.

David, along with fellow guitarist Paul Cotton [who went on to play with the band Poco], were the founding members of a band called Illinois Speed Press, whose unique sound combined elements of rhythm and blues and country rock. The band also was known for its use of two lead guitars.

According to the Fillmore East program’s notes on Illinois Speed Press: “The voices and guitars are both delicate and full. The lyrics and melodies have a straight-forward freshness about them.”

Of course, when I heard the name Sonny Eclipse, I knew I had to get in touch with the genius behind Sonny’s songs and witty repartee: Former Disney Imagineering creative director Kevin Rafferty.

It was Rafferty who wrote the script for the show, as well as the clever lyrics for all of the lounge alien’s tunes. Long-time Disney composer George Wilkins wrote the music.

Rafferty offered his unique insight into the creation of Sonny Eclipse, as well as the actual recording of Sonny’s lounge act.

“Sad new about Kal,” Rafferty told me. “I worked with him during the recording sessions at George Wilkins’ house when we were recording Kal playing guitar and laying down the vocals for Sonny Eclipse.

“George had a home recording/mixing studio in his garage, but the recording ‘booth’ itself was his laundry room. The walls were covered in moving quilts!

“It was fun watching Kal singing the Sonny songs leaning against the washer and dryer!”

Rafferty added that “Kal was a lot of fun and truly was a talented blues guitarist. He had a nightclub in Palm Springs [The Blue Guitar], where he performed for many years.”

The set list during Sonny’s act includes “My Name is Sonny Eclipse,” “Out in Space,” “Gravity Blues,” “Planetary Boogie” and “Yew Nork, Yew Nork.”

Wilkins’ resume with Disney is long and impressive.

He joined Disney in 1979 as a protégé to Disney Legend Buddy Baker. While with Disney, Wilkins was a “composer in residence” and the director of music for Walt Disney Imagineering.

“It always amazed me how many people George knew and worked with in the music business, from Percy Faith to Andy Williams to countless others, including rockers and pop idols,” Rafferty said. “He had all kinds of stories about them.

“George and I had a great working relationship and still have a great friendship. We did some fun stuff. In fact, George called me a few weeks ago just to say, ‘Hey man! I’m 88 years old!’’’

Some of Wilkins’ more notable Disney songs include “Living with the Land,” the queue music for Space Mountain, the Country Bear Jamboree holiday and vacation versions, “The Living Seas,” “Food Rocks,” “It’s Tough to Be a Bug!,” “Test Track,” “Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin” and “California Screamin’.”

Chuck Schmidt is an award-winning journalist who has covered all things Disney since 1984 in both print and on-line. He has authored or co-authored seven books on Disney, including his latest, The Beat Goes On, for Theme Park Press. He also has written a regular blog for AllEars.Net, called Still Goofy About Disney, since 2015.