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Disney Maestro Wrote The Music Of Your Childhood

(CBS) -- The composer whose melodies have been a part of your world since the late '80s has flown into town on Aladdin's magic carpet.

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole sat down with Oscar-winning Disney composer Alan Menken. His works, from "Aladdin" to "Beauty and the Beast," created the soundtrack for a generation.

Strangers often remind Menken he hasn't simply scored musical productions.

Rather, he's created a melody for American family life.

"They always use the same phrase: You wrote the soundtrack to my childhood," Menken says.

Ironically, long before he ever played a single note for Disney, the studio's original classics helped his own family find comfort and bond.

"They were the only things I could watch that took the rest of the world away and brought me to a world that was safe," he says.

Menken is in town dropping in on the national tour of "Aladdin." He says he's grateful for the impact his music has had on countless family moments.

"It's just the greatest gift I could have in life," he says.

 

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