I was trawling through the soundtrack section of my record collection when I came across a selection of Muppet Show LPs, so I decided to give them a play.
The Muppet Show dates to the mid 1970s, but their origin dates back to 1955 when a puppeteer called Jim Henson created a character he called Kermit the Frog. Henson also coined the term Muppet as a portmanteau of marionette and puppet. As the cast of muppet characters increased, so did their exposure. They appeared on shows such as ‘Sam & Friends’, ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ and most famously, ‘Sesame Street’. Henson was keen to develop his own show and a couple of pilots were produced for the ABC Network, but neither was picked up.
However, someone in the UK was watching. That person was Lew Grade. He had had experience of producing puppet shows for TV in the form of ‘Thunderbirds’ and ‘Captain Scarlet’. The show ran from 1976 to 1981 and consisted of 120 episodes. It can best be described as a variety show as it included sketches, musical numbers and running gags. It was also famous for the guest stars who took part. Names such as Steve Martin, Christopher Reeve, Vincent Price, Elton John, Leo Sayer and Alice Cooper all signed on to take part in this unique show.
So back to the records. After a quick spin, it made me realise what a wide musical pallet they had introduced me to. There was folk, rock, pop, music hall, blue grass, light opera, jazz, novelty and even a song featured in an Italian modo movie. The people who put together The Muppet Show must have been well versed in the music of the 19th as well as early to mid 20th Century. This got me thinking. What about the original versions of those records.
What I have tried to do on this compilation is to include the oldest recorded version of each song where possible spread over four sides of a vinyl record.
Disc 1
- You Are My Sunshine – Pine Ridge Boys
- Lydia, The Tattooed Lady – Groucho Marx
- Mississippi Mud/I Left My Sugar – Paul Whiteman’s Rhythm Boys
- Blue Skies – Al Jolson
- Mad About The Boy – Phyllis Robins with Jack Hylton & His Orchestra
- Baby Feet – Jan Garber & His Orchestra
- Who – George Olsen
- A Foggy Day – Fred Astaire
Side 2
- Happy Feet – Paul Whiteman Orchestra with The Rhythm Boys
- Sixty Seconds Got Together – The Mills Brothers
- On A Tree By The River, A Little Tom-Tit – The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company
- Pennsylvania 6-5000 – Glenn Miller
- I’m Five – Danny Kaye
- Pachalafaka – Irving Taylor (Vocal by Earl Brown)
- Cuanto Le Gusta – Carmen Miranda & Andrews Sisters
- The Gypsys Violin – Abe Burrows
- It Was a Very Good Year – The Kingston Trio
Side 3
- There’s A New Sound – Tony Burrell
- Mr Bass Man – Johnny Cymbal
- Do Wah Diddy Diddy – The Exciters
- Simon Smith & His Amazing Dancing Bear – Alan Price Set
- I’m In Love With A Big Blue Frog – Peter, Paul & Mary
- For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
- Dog Walk – Paul Tracey
- Just One Person (From Snoopy, The Musical) – Ensemble Cast
- What now My Love – Jane Morgan
- When – Abe Burrows
Disc 4
- Macho Man (Single Version) – The Village People
- Coconut – Harry Nilsson
- New York State Of Mind – Billy Joel
- Mah Nà Mah Nà (Single Version) – Piero Umiliani
- Time In A Bottle – Jim Croce
- The Wishing Song – Paul Tracey
- Garden Song – David Mallett
Just to finish off, the albums I have in my collection and were the basis for this compilation were ‘The Muppet Show’ (1977), ‘The Muppet Show 2’ (1978) and ‘Jim Henson’s Muppet Show Music Album’ (1979). I also have an EP of music hall songs and ‘A Christmas Together’ which The Muppets produced along with John Denver. However, neither the EP or the Christmas album got much of an airing but the other three albums did. All the music comes from the first four season of the show.
Disney bought the Henson Company and so I thought it was appropriate to have this LP appear on Walt Disney Records.