Sesame Street Saturdays: Top Ten Unreleased Sesame Songs

Happy Sesame Street Saturday, everybody! Today The Muppet Mindset welcomes Sesame Street enthusiast Michael Wermuth, Jr., also known as minor_muppetz at Muppet Central Forum, who brings us a listing of what he sees as the top ten Sesame Street songs never released on any album in the show's 40 year history.

Top Ten Unreleased Sesame Street Songs

Michael Wermuth, Jr. - There have been many Sesame Street albums over the years, but there have also been many songs on Sesame Street that have not had any official album release. The following is my list of the top ten Sesame Street songs that have not officially been released on any albums. Pretty much all of the songs on this list have either been released on video/DVD or can be viewed at sesamestreet.org. NOTE: Due to the major lack of new Sesame Street albums since 1998 I am not including songs that were introduced since then.

10. "In the Trash Can" performed by Bruno and the Trashmen (circa 1993)

This song marks one of the few times Bruno the Trashman spoke, and, even more rare, one of the few times he was seen without Oscar. In this song he sings vocals for a group introduced by Gina as "Bruno and the Trashmen." Despite having his name in the groups title, Bruno is not the lead singer. He mostly just scats, with a little bit more to sing at the end. The scene takes place in the arbor area, with a performance stage for the other singers. Camille Bonora does a great job as the lead singer and there is also a great vocal performance by Martin Robinson. Near the end Bruno walks by with his trash can to collect trash thrown by the other singers. The set-up is a bit amazing; Bruno and the Trashmen all wear some sparkly clothing, and Bruno's trash can is decorated with sparkly material.

9. "I'm a Real Cowboy" performed by Forgetful Jones and Clementine (circa 1990)
This song was one of the few songs featuring Forgetful Jones (others include "Write It Down" and "I'll Always Remember I Love You"). In this song, Clementine and some other cowboys sing a song to remind Forgetful Jones what he is, but he keeps forgetting, messing up by thinking he is other things, like an astronaut. This was released on the video "Kid's Favorite Country Songs."

8. "Tell A Joke" performed by Harvey Kneeslapper (circa 1970's)

I didn't really know about this song until it was uploaded at sesamestreet.org. This song marks one of the few times Harvey Kneeslapper interracted with the humans. He enters the street at a time when Luis is feeling glum, Susan is tired, and Bob is feeling great, and they are not in the mood for any jokes (not even the great-feeling Bob). But Harvey feels that that's a great time for jokes, and sings a song about joke-telling, telling a bunch of bad one-liners in the process. As the song progresses, each human leaves the scene one by one, but Harvey Kneeslapper is oblivious that they are gone until the end.

7. "Bert's Blanket" performed by Bert and the Sheep (circa 1989)
In this number, Bert thinks he will finally get a good nights sleep, due to Ernie sleeping over at The Count's castle. However, a group of sheep soon show up to sin g  asong about where Bert's blanket came from. Their singing narrarates footage of Ernie as a farmer, shaving sheep and collecting their wool for blanket material. However, when Bert asks if they'll talk about what happens next, the sheep don't really know (they think somebody uses a magic wand and turns it into a blanket), but Bert tells them what all happens before the blanket is made.

6. "A Song From Kermit" performed by Kermit the Frog (circa 1977)
I first saw this segment a few years ago when it was released on Sesame Street: Old School Vol. 2. It has a beautiful melody from Kermit, and the setting is simple but great. Kermit sings while sitting on a park bench. For awhile I thought that the background (a plain blue sky with clouds and a building) was all one piece, but then I noticed that the clouds actually move. It's not that noticable, but it's still impressive that they would have the clouds in the background move, rather slowly while the camera slowly zooms in on Kermit. This is perhaps one of Kermit's most underrated Sesame Street songs, having not been released on any albums, or included in "The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street" video back in 1998.

5. "Rock 'N Roll Readers" performed by Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats (cira 1980's)
A great song from Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats. Telly Monster sees them at the library and wonders why they are there, since Telly thinks they only perform in rock concerts. Chrissy informs him that that's not all that they do, and proceed to perform in the library, explaining that when they aren't on stage, they are "making an appearance at the library".

4. "How to Get to Yellowstone Park" performed by Don Music and Kermit the Frog (circa 1983)
Don Music tries to write a song, with the lyrics being that of the familiar Sesame Street theme, but can't think of a place to ask how to get to. Kermit comes in, in reporter trenchcoat and with microphone but never talking to the audience or acknowledging Sesame Street News, to help Don Music. He suggests palces to get to, all of which Don Music knows how to get to, until Kermit suggests Yellowstone Park. And then they go back and change lyrics until it rhymes and makes sense, and then Kermit reluctantly hears the full setting, with back-up by Chrissy and the Alphabeats. Very few Don Music tunes have been released in audio format (I think Mary Has a Bicycle is the only one that has had album releases), which is a real shame.

3. "Fat Cat Scat Scat" performed by Bip Bippadotta and Anything Muppets (circa 1973)
Bip Bippadotta and a group of anythign muppet hipsters sing a song where they list words that rhyme. And after calmly and casually listing the words, Bip Bippadotta runs up and whildly recites a poem using those words, in a manner similar to the classic Muppet performance of "Mahna Mahna". This sequence has been released on quite a few videos and DVDs, but has yet to have an official audio release.

2. "I Love My Elbows" performed by Kermit the Frog (circa 1989)
This was one of my favorite Kermit songs as a kid, and considering it has a 1989 copyright date, it was one of Jim Henson's last musical performances as Kermit. In this song, Kermit sings about his elbows and what he can do with them. The singing and the music are also great. I was surprised that this song wasn't included on the album "Jim Henson: A Sesame Street Celebration", which included many Kermit songs.

1. "Imagine That" performed by Ernie (circa 1985)
This is one Ernie song that I remember very well from my childhood. It is arguably one of Ernie's best-known songs from the 1980's. Ernie sings about the things he likes to imagine being, such as a knight and a ship captain, before revealing that he also likes to imagine being himself. This one has been released on a few videos and DVDs, one of which has the same title as this song, and I won't be surprised if the upcoming 40th anniversary DVD includes it. Why it hasn't been released on any albums is beyond me.

Special thanks to Michael Wermuth, Jr. for his fantastic article!