4 classic Sesame Street Musical Performances

>> Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I just came back from a Web Writing conference in Washington, DC, that famous "Land of Lincoln," "Cradle of Life" and "Sweet Home Chicago." I was hoping to make it down to the Jim Henson & the Muppets exhibit at the Smithsonian, but no such luck.
Instead, I'm paying tribute to the music of Sesame Street, which got its start on public television in DC 40 years ago. Here are some of my favorite "classic" performances:

James Taylor & Oscar the Grouch - "Whenever I See Your Grouchy Face"
Sure, James was probably on a heroin binge and hanging out at the dump when some cameras just happened to show up, but it doesn't mean it's not a good tune.

Stevie Wonder - "Superstition"
This is why Stevie was it in the 70s. The badass "too large for prime time" band, the 4 year-old go-go girl on the fire escape -- what more could you ask for?

Smokey Robinson - "You Really Got A Hold On Me"
There's a few seconds where that U gets a hold of him like only a trained physician should. Yikes!

Alice Cooper - "School's Out"
The adults are laughing because they know they're warping the minds of oh-so-many children.

If that's not enough for you, check out "Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music," a 3-disc retrospective of Sesame Street songs from 1968 - 2003 (although suspiciously absent is "Teeny Tiny Little Super Guy," my favorite song and segment when I was a kid).

Special thanks to The Daily Naked's collection of Sesame Street videos.

4 comments:

TJ August 01, 2008  

my favorite is "'U' Really Got a Hold On Me".

But this and the other list are missing two recent ones:

Feist - 1,2,3,4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fciD_II7NI

And, of course, Neil Patrick Harris as the "Shoe Fairy":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaszN9ByxM

Ian August 01, 2008  

I hate to say it, but I'm not a huge fan of the Feist one. I love the original song, but something about the production is off on this one.

I'll probably do a follow-up with more "modern" performances. There's a version of the Spin Doctor's "Two Princes" that looks pretty tasty...

Gillen Lee Riggs August 13, 2008  

two things: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HmkLu24w2o


and also:
http://media.ebaumsworld.com/picture/anubis5748/21.jpg

Jess McG August 16, 2008  

I thought the Feist one was pretty adorable, but that's about it.

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