Fly Higher

Fly Higher is a heartwarming coming-of-age story told from the father’s perspective, following a daughter as she goes on her first date, gets married, and has a daughter of her own. This touching song by Brian Walton has won multiple SGA American Standards Awards, has been featured in many Disney productions, and, alongside Black Widow, is among his most prolific works.

Brian first wrote “Fly Higher” in 2011 to celebrate the birth of his first granddaughter. Over the next 5 years, he explored different styles before settling on a fully acoustic version, which he released in October 2016. The song’s concept departed from Brian’s usual hard-drinking country music style by being family-oriented and thoughtful. At first, fans didn’t know what to make of it, but by the time the song received its first award in 2017, its popularity had shot through the roof, and it began climbing the charts.

Brian first pitched “Fly Higher” to Disney for the soundtrack of “Raya and the Last Dragon.” They loved the concept but wanted an orchestral version. Brian then reorchestrated the instrumentation and prepared the score sheets for the final recording, which took place in 2020 at the Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Subsequently, during his tenure as Associate Music Director at Disney, Brian adapted the orchestral score of “Fly Higher” a few more times for full-length animated films like “Elemental” and “Wish.”