Over its five decades on the air, the iconic children’s
program has featured a multitude of guest stars interacting with the Muppets,
including a slew of prominent musicians. From legends such as B.B. King, RayCharles, David Bowie and Michael Jackson to today’s hit makers such as Katy
Perry, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, many a musician has had their moment with
these beloved characters. This also includes a handful of rockers and rock
bands.
In honor of ‘Sesame Street’s’ 50th anniversary,
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is taking a look back at some of the
rock artists who have gotten to perform on the show over the years. Whether
they performed something new, rewrote their own songs or performed their own
music unedited, here are just seven of the rockers who have had the opportunity
to play with the ‘Sesame Street’ Muppets.
1.
Spin Doctors: In 1993, Spin Doctors were at the
height of their career, having two massive hits with “Two Princes” and “Little
Miss Can’t Be Wrong.” For their appearance on the show, the band rewrote portions of the
former song to soundtrack a segment where Telly and Elmo were fighting over
who Zoe should play with.
2.
R.E.M.:
Following the success of their 1991 album ‘Out Of Time,’ R.E.M. made an appearance
on ‘Sesame Street’ with a rearranged version of their second single, “Shiny,
Happy People.” The song was re-titled “Happy, Furry Monsters”
and was featured in a segment where the band played while all the monster
characters acted out different feelings.
3.
Dave
Matthews: In 2013, Dave Matthews appeared on the show sans band to work
through some feelings with Grover. The singer strums through a new song called “I Need A Word” on banjo
while the two sing about their “not very good” feelings in an effort to find
what’s bugging them.
4.
OK Go: Technically, OK Go’s appearance on the
show wasn’t interacting with the Muppets. However, the band did write an
original song for the show called “Three Primary Colors,”
and starred in the accompanying “insert” video, which they filmed in the
stop-motion style that helped them go viral five years prior.
5.
Paul Simon: Back in 1977, Paul Simon played his
hit song “Me And Julio
Down By The School Yard” sitting on the iconic ‘Sesame Street’ stoop for
the show’s human children (an interesting choice given the song’s subject). Simon
returned more than a decade later to appear with Ladysmith Black Mambazo for “The African Alphabet.”
6.
Train:
Following the release of 2012’s ‘California 37’ and a renewed interest in the
band, Train made an appearance on the iconic show. The band reworked their then
current single “Drive By” into a counting song called “Five By,” which found
the trio, The Count and Elmo wondering how many peaches and chairs they would
need.
7.
Goo Goo Dolls: Still riding high from the
success of 1998’s ‘Dizzy Up The Girl,’ the Goo Goo Dolls were invited to appear
on ‘Sesame Street’ in 2000. The band performed a reworked version of their hit “Slide”
entitled “Pride,”
which they sung to Elmo to celebrate his successes.
Over ‘Sesame Street’s’ 50 year history, the show has played
host to hundreds of guest stars, many of which came from the world of rock and
other genres of music. Take a look back at some of the rock artists who have
reworked their music or written entirely new songs for the show and let us know
who some of your favorite past ‘Sesame Street’ guests were.
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Find music from ‘Sesame Street’ and its many guests at Vinyl
Bay 777. As Long Island’s top new independent record shop, we have thousands of
titles to choose from in a variety of genres. Browse our wide selection of new
and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in
store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles
being added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find
at Vinyl Bay 777.
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