Comments on: Music and Muppets

Music and Muppets

blahblahblah — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:56:18 -0800

The Muppet Show featuring performances: by Johnny Cash (and two more), Steve Martin on banjo, Elton John (and two more), Alice Cooper (also some skits), Debbie Harry (and another), Liza Manelli singing Copa Cabana, REM, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich vs. Animal, Rita Moreno vs. Animal, Harry Belafonte (vs. Animal), Julie Andrews and more, Mac Davis, Nureyev singing and tap dancing,Sandy Duncan, John Denver, Paul Simon (on lute!), and a somewhat freaky version of The Gambler.

Bonus songs without the live stars: The Devil Went Down to Georgia, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, I Will Survive, Manamana, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Mr. Bassman, and I'm My Own Grandpa! My first Youtube linkfest, but at least it has muppets!

By: blahblahblah

blahblahblah — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:02:37 -0800

Some notes: I know the REM piece is from Sesame Street, but still. Also, the Rita Moreno appearance won her an Emmy. And I forgot Gene Kelly's lovely number !

By: doift

doift — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:18:57 -0800

It's amazing how much of my early education in popular music came from The Muppet Show. Even today, when I hear the original version of a song that I first learned from the Muppets, it's kind of jarring.

By: cmgonzalez

cmgonzalez — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:35:20 -0800

Ruth Buzzi and Sweetums cover Frankie Valli.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:37:02 -0800

Peter Sellers.

By: louche mustachio

louche mustachio — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:52:21 -0800

Zero Mostel!

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:38:06 -0800

MUPPETZ FUKKIN RAAAAAAHHHHHHHK!!!!

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:41:40 -0800

Another bonus song without the live stars: Octopus's Garden. And don't even hint at apologies for YouTube linkfests. Thre's nothing wrong with YouTube linkfests, if they're good linkfests, and this is a good linkfest.

By: miss-lapin

miss-lapin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:55:58 -0800

How about Joel Grey singing "Cabaret" or Rodger Moore's version of "Talk to the Animals"? I know it's not singing, but I've always been partial to Harvey Korman as an animal trainer.

By: I Foody

I Foody — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:17:17 -0800

The gambler in "The Gambler" looks just like Harry Dean Stanton the fact that he has real hands and a puppet head adds too his creepiness.

By: mattoxic

mattoxic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:35:33 -0800

I remember the Steve Martin guest spot on the Muppet show as a highlight of eighties tele-viewing. Thanks heaps for this.

By: brujita

brujita — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:35:26 -0800

I remember Dale Evans singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" and Helen Reddy singing a duet of "I am Woman" with Miss Piggy---including "P.I.G." after getting the death glare. :-)

By: rokusan

rokusan — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:14:02 -0800

I love how Cash does his usual growly, melodramatic reading, but once and awhile just breaks a grin that ends up... creepy. It's like he keeps thinking "Kids show. Kids show. Better smile." Seems like a weird song choice for the Muppets, a long way to go for a yippie-ya-yay joke. Anyway thanks for the recap of my entire childhood, blah.

By: ulotrichous

ulotrichous — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:20:20 -0800

It was Raquel Welch singing 'I'm a woman'. Helen Reddy attempted to launch the career of Sopwith the Camel, also known as 'Loretta'. Nice post!

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:21:13 -0800

Kermit the Frog's latest work (nsfw language)

By: Hal Mumkin

Hal Mumkin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:33:20 -0800

I watched that Gambler one and was struck by the refs to booze, smokes, and the dude dying in the carriage like that and wondered if that sort of thing would fly in kids' shows today. I noticed they were having a debate about it in the comments on YT, and about whether the Muppet Show was really a kids' show or not. My husband reckons it was a "family" show, in that the family could all sit and watch it together and there would be things for the kiddies to appreciate and things for the adults to appreciate, which if you think about it is probably a much more civilized way to be, rather than the parents parking their kids in front of an "age-appropriate" (soulless, bland, annoying) TV show and walking away. I thought the thing was fantastic, by the way, if creepy, and I think if I ever have kids I'm just going to have to buy DVDs of all these old shows that I used to watch when I was little and just avoid broadcast TV altogether.

By: gerryblog

gerryblog — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:56:36 -0800

The Springsteen classic "Born to Add." "In the Navy." Swedish Chief, Beaker, and Animal sing "O Danny Boy." I did a Muppet Week on my blog not too long ago which had a few others I don't see here. I love this stuff. Great post.

By: lazaruslong

lazaruslong — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:07:51 -0800

Oh man. The third Johnny Cash link ("more") has some of the most painful quasi-dancing by the Man in Black in the beginning, but somehow seeing him trying so hard to be "kid-friendly" is just so incredibly endearing. This is a great post. Thank you.

By: lazaruslong

lazaruslong — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:16:32 -0800

And the REM! Wow. Great post again. Sheesh.

By: JaredSeth

JaredSeth — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 07:59:33 -0800

The one that always sticks in my head, video and all, is Leo Sayer doing "You make me feel like dancing". And there is goes again.

By: JaredSeth

JaredSeth — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:03:09 -0800

Or "When I need you". The description on YouTube: Leo Sayer in the woods with muppets with bipolar disorders,/em>

By: rokusan

rokusan — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:11:38 -0800

That Springsteen one was new to me, gerry. "And we scream into that bitter night, hey one plus three makes four." I'm crying now from laughing so hard.

By: Hal Mumkin

Hal Mumkin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:19:15 -0800

In the Navy (without the live stars)

By: Hal Mumkin

Hal Mumkin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:19:36 -0800

oops, beaten to it

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:24:42 -0800

the Buddy Rich vs Animal thing is one of the greatest things i've ever seen in my life. I heard afterward that Rich told animal to "shave the fucking beard off" because this is not the goddamn house of david fuckin' baseball team.

By: Dr. Zira

Dr. Zira — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:11:20 -0800

Roger Moore in James Bond mode, singing. Kind of. James Coburn peacing out w/Animal.

By: lysdexic

lysdexic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:29:48 -0800

Am I dreaming, or was there a Muppet Show/Sesame Street puppet version of "Close to You"? I've been trying to find it for ages. Basically the Opera Muppets are singing it, and the birds and critters and girls all get "stuck" to the guy being sung about as the lady is singing it.

By: lysdexic

lysdexic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:33:30 -0800

And anything with Animal just makes my day. Thanks!

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:51:56 -0800

That Gambler segment has haunted me all my life.

By: Artw

Artw — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:40:46 -0800

Awesome! Proped my daughter up on my knee and watched several with her this morning.

By: Vindaloo

Vindaloo — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:14:51 -0800

This post has all sorts of awesomeness!

By: cazoo

cazoo — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:59:45 -0800

That REM "Furry Happy Monsters" clip made my day.

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:38:27 -0800

Wow - Jackson is a pretty risqué choice of song for a kids' show (middle of the third Cash link).

By: ormondsacker

ormondsacker — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:41:15 -0800

lysdexic: That was from the James Coburn show. Not on YouTube, although the Connie Stevens version is.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:51:26 -0800

That Gambler video is weird. And I saw the video that "Kermit" was reacting to ... and my mind has been deeply scarred, moreso than goatse or any other video I've ever seen. Nauseous just thinking back to it ...

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:53:00 -0800

Drummers in general could learn a lot from Animal. For example: Drum solos? Boring. Drum solos plus random primal screaming? Awesome.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:03:02 -0800

That Buddy Rich vs. Animal segment is one of my earliest inspirations to play drums - I later was lucky enough to see Buddy Rich live. I really miss the Muppet Show, not the least for the great collection of musical guests. The show with Alice Cooper is one of the best. Fantastic clip collection. Thanks.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:06:05 -0800

Flunkie writes "Drum solos? Boring." Not to other drummers, or anyone who has been inspired in that direction. Drum solos plus random primal screaming? Awesome. Yes, that's true.

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:09:21 -0800

Touchy, touchy.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:27:16 -0800

Flunkie writes "Touchy, touchy." Well, I've heard it a lot over the years. But they did inspire me, and still do, although the drum solo is not as prominent as it once was. I know not everyone thinks of rhythm as musical by itself, but you'd be surprised how much expression you can get from a simple drum kit. OK, rant off ... /derail

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:36:54 -0800

Way back in the day when I used to DJ I used to finish with the Muppet Theme Tune... hearing it always brings back pleasant memories. And the Buddy Rich drum battle is the greatest thing of ever, ever.

By: ALongDecember

ALongDecember — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:40:31 -0800

If we're going to include Sesame Street, then I always loved "U Really Got a Hold on Me" featuring Smokey Robinson and a very large letter U.

By: Artw

Artw — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:57:11 -0800

"Drum solos? Boring." Not to other drummers Hmmm...

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:52:22 -0800

One of my favorites: Danny Kaye - "Inch Worm"

By: obol

obol — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:20:45 -0800

These are great to revisit. Time in a bottle is my favorite.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:31:05 -0800

Whoa that Drum Battle Buddy Rich Vs Animal was amazing, sitting here slack-jawed, surprised the drums didn't burst into flame. What delicious ferocity. Put Down the Duckie of yore post. The Steve Martin Rambler skit gave scary little peeks into the yaw of entropy with his melting momentarily into the absurd. Wonderful post. Sesame Street and The Muppet Show are superb. A handy list of the different Muppet characters, most of them with their own Wikipedia page. Elmo, a personal hero and mentor, isn't in the list, he has his own page though. He was the only Muppet ever to testify before the U.S. Congress. At the request and with the assistance of Rep. Duke Cunningham, he testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education in April 2002, urging support for increased funding in music education.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:33:54 -0800

nickyskye: He was the only Muppet ever to testify before the U.S. Congress. A Muppet talking to puppets. Huh. Recursive.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:42:10 -0800

Take a Chance on Me. Very cute.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:05:36 -0800

Elmo, a personal hero and mentor... Uh oh. You might want to avoid my song, then: Bring Me the Head of Elmo

By: erikharmon

erikharmon — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:02:06 -0800

I've enjoyed this Crystal Gale appearance on the Muppet Show. Please don't judge me.