Tune Tuesday – Muppet Music

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40 years ago this week, The Muppet Movie hit theaters. My brother and I always made it a point to watch the Muppet Show on TV. It was always fun to see the famous guest stars interact with Kermit and the gang. If I am being honest, I am still upset that the final 2 seasons of The Muppet Show has yet to come out on DVD!

The movie itself was the 10th highest grossing film of 1979 and was loaded with cameos from celebrities like Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, Milton Berle, Dom Deluise, Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, Telly Savalas, and so many more. The cameo by Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy is especially special, because Bergen passed away shortly after he shot his scene in 1978. Bergen was a hero of Muppet creator Jim Henson, and the movie is dedicated to his memory.

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The movie itself is a masterpiece. It remains, in my opinion, the best of all the Muppet films. Jim Henson did things in this movie that had never been done before – we saw Muppets walking, and Kermit riding a bike!!!!

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The movie had a great story and thanks to the writing of Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher, some really amazing music! The soundtrack includes “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” (which would be performed at Jim Henson’s funeral), “Never Before, Never Again”, and the bluesy, “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along”. All of these are great songs in their own right, but for Tune Tuesday, and in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of The Muppet Movie, here are MY favorite songs from the film.

Can You Picture That?

I have always loved Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem! First of all, what a great name for a band! Second, Dr. Teeth was always so “hip.” Floyd and Janice were “like totally far out!” Animal was one hell of a drummer and I Zoot could really nail a sax solo! I always loved how they could take a standard song like “Tenderly” and rock it out! Check out this groovy track!

Oh yeah, whoo
Everybody’s lover, everybody’s brother, I wanna be your lifetime friend
Crazy as a rocket, nothin’ in my pocket, I keep it at the rainbow’s end
I never think of money, I think of milk ‘n honey, grinnin’ like a Cheshire cat
I focus on the pleasure, somethin’ I can treasure, can you picture that?
Can you picture that?

Hey Floyd, take a verse

Let me take your picture, add it to the mixture, there it is I got you now
Really nothin’ to it, anyone can do it, it’s easy and we all know how
Now begins the changin’, mental rearrangin’, nothing’s really where it’s at

Now the Eiffel Tower’s holdin up a flower
I gave it to a Texas cat
Fact is there’s nothin’ out there you can’t do
Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you

Beat down the walls, begin, believe, behold, begat
Be a better drummer, be an up and comer Can you picture that?
Can you picture that
All of us are winnin, pickin and a-grinnin, Lordy but I love to jam

Jelly-belly gigglin’, dancin’ and a-wigglin’, honey that’s the way I am

Lost my heart in Texas, Northern lights affect us
I keep it underneath my hat
Aurora Borealis, shining down on Dallas, can you picture that?
Can you picture that?

Can you picture? You gotta see it in your mind
Can you picture? You know it’s quick and easy to find
Can you picture? You don’t have to buy a frame
Can you picture? Can you picture that?
Can you picture that?

Use it if you need it
Don’t forget to feed it
Can you picture that?

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Movie Fact: The Studebaker in the movie is currently housed at The Studebaker Museum in Indiana.

Movin’ Right Along

There is just so much to love about this song! Kermit and Fozzie are traveling the open road in the Studebaker mentioned above. It’s really the perfect song to kick off any road trip. It’s just a fun song. As I watch this scene now, I think about how many times my buddies and I would hop in my Caprice Classic in high school, pop in a “driving mix” tape and sing along to songs as we drove around wasting gas. We were so much like Kermit and Fozzie!

Movin’ right along in search of good times and good news,
With good friends you can’t lose,
This could become a habit!
Opportunity knocks once let’s reach out and grab it (yeah!),
Together we’ll nab it,
We’ll hitchhike, bus or yellow cab it!
(Cab it?)

Movin’ right along.
Footloose and fancy-free.
Getting there is half the fun; come share it with me.
Moving right along (doog-a-doon doog-a-doon).
We’ll learn to share the load.
We don’t need a map to keep this show on the road.

(Hey, that song is sounding better Fozzie.)

Movin’ right along,
We’ve found a life on the highway.
And your way is my way,
So trust my navigation.

California here we come, the pie-in-the-sky-land.
Palm trees, and warm sand.
Though sadly we just left Rhode Island.
(We did what?!)
(Just forget it.)

Movin’ right along (doog-a-doon doog-a-doon).
Hey LA, where’ve you gone?
Send someone to fetch us, were in Saskatchewan!

Movin’ right along (doog-a-doon doog-a-doon).
You take it, you know best.
Hey, I’ve never seen the sun come up in the West?

Movin’ right along.
We’re truly birds of a feather,
We’re in this together and we know where we’re going.
Movie stars with flashy cars and life with the top down.
We’re storming the big town,
(Yeah, Storm is right should it be snowing?)
(Uh, no I don’t think so…)

Movin’ right along,
Do I see signs of men?
Yeah, “welcome” on the same post that says “come back again.”
Moving right along, nice town!
Footloose and fancy-free,
You’re ready for the big time…
Is it ready for me?

Movin’ right along,
Movin’ right along,
Movin’ right along,
Movin’ right along

The Rainbow Connection

What an amazing song this is! It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (it lost to a song no one remembers), it was a Top 40 hit (reaching #25 on the charts), and has been covered by artists like The Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson, Judy Collins, Kenny Loggins, Jason Mraz, Gwen Stefani, and The Carpenters (just to name a few!). The American Film Institute named the song one of the top 100 songs in their AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Songs list (it came in at #74).

Jim Henson told the song writers that the opening song would be Kermit in a swamp singing with a banjo. According to Paul Williams, he and Kenny Ascher wrote most of the song fairly quickly at Williams’ house, but got stuck trying to think of appropriate words for the part in the chorus that eventually became the phrase “the rainbow connection”; they were looking for a way to tie in the chorus to the song’s theme of rainbows. As they sat down for dinner with Williams’ then-wife, Kate Clinton, they explained to her their predicament of looking for a phrase that would provide “a rainbow connection”, then realized, in the course of explaining the problem to her, that the phrase “the rainbow connection” would itself be a good fit.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Paul Williams explained how the song was recorded. He said that when the song was being recorded in the studio, Jim Henson started by simply performing the song himself in Kermit’s voice. However, there was a feeling that something was missing. Williams said that somebody, he doesn’t recall who, suggested that Kermit should give the song a try. Henson then took the Kermit the Frog puppet into the recording booth with him and performed the song with the world’s most famous piece of green felt. He says that “Kermit sang it brilliantly! One can only imagine what this looked like to the people working on recording the song. Kermit the Frog himself, with Jim Henson standing behind him, really did sing “Rainbow Connection.” Clearly, this was the thing that was missing. The recording would then be perfect, and would go on to inspire millions in The Muppet Movie.

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side
Rainbows are visions
But only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide

So we’ve been told
And some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong, wait and see
Some day we’ll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me

Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it’s done so far

What’s so amazing
That keeps us stargazing
And what do we think we might see
Someday we’ll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers, and me

All of us under its spell, we know that it’s probably magic

Have you been half asleep?
And have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name
Is this the sweet sound
That called the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same

I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it
It’s something that I’m supposed to be
Someday we’ll find it
The rainbow connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

La da da di da da dum da duh da da dum di da ohhh

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Happy Anniversary!

40 years later, and this movie still amazes me. It never gets old. I still enjoy watching it and I still tear up during the finale. 40 years later and I agree with the Swedish Chef – “Der Flim is Okie Dokie”!

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A Few Laughs …

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The great Red Skelton once said “Live by this credo: have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations.” In a world where there is so much sadness, sometimes you need to be the one to share something funny or make someone laugh. As I take a break from musical blogging – here are some quotes that I hope will make you smile and laugh.

“I went to a restaurant that serves breakfast at any time. So I ordered French toast during the Renaissance.” – Steven Wright

“I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery. When I got there, the guy was locking the front door. I said, ‘Hey, the sign says you’re open 24 hours.’ He said, ‘Yes, but not in a row.'” – Steven Wright

“According to most studies, people’s No.1 fear is public speaking. No.2 is death. Death is No.2. Does that sound right? This means, to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” – Jerry Seinfeld

“Here’s a picture of me with REM. That’s me in the corner.” – Milton Jones

“I needed a password eight characters long, so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” – Nick Helm

“A government survey reveals the prime minister is doing the work of two men. Laurel and Hardy.” – Ronnie Corbett

“God gave men a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time.” – Robin Williams

“The worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades.” – Demetri Martin

‘Got a waterbed to spice up our love life. Doesn’t work, we’ve drifted further apart.’ – Keith Chegwin

“Starbucks says they are going to start putting religious quotes on cups. The very first one will say, ‘Jesus! This cup is expensive!’” – Conan O’Brien

“I like video games, but they’re really violent. I’d like to play a video game where you help the people who were shot in all the other games. It’d be called ‘Really Busy Hospital.” -Demetri Martin

As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. – Buddy Hackett

People say New Yorkers can’t get along. Not true. I saw two New Yorkers, complete strangers, sharing a cab. One guy took the tires and the radio; the other guy took the engine. – David Letterman

Italians are fantastic people, really. They can work you over in an alley while singing an opera. – Don Rickles

I once made love for an hour and fifteen minutes, but it was the night the clocks are set ahead. – Garry Shandling

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac? – George Carlin

Whenever I’m on my computer, I don’t type ‘lol’. I type ‘lqtm’ – laugh quietly to myself. It’s more honest. – Demetri Martin

I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book. – Groucho Marx

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays. – Henny Youngman

If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead. – Johnny Carson

Married men live longer than single men. But married men are a lot more willing to die. – Johnny Carson

My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already. – Milton Berle

Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves? – Robin Williams

A girl phoned me the other day and said… ‘Come on over, there’s nobody home.’ I went over. Nobody was home. – Rodney Dangerfield

Director Mel Brooks said, “Humor is just another defense against the universe.” The universe has no shortage of things to make us unhappy. Every day we see sadness and unpleasant images in the news. Defend yourself against the evil and the pain. Arm yourself to take on life’s challenges – by smiling … by laughing.

Pork and beans and a Diablo Sandwich

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Recently, a few of my Facebook friends began posting their top 10 funniest movies. One of those friends, actor Eddie Deezen (yes, THE Eddie Deezen from Grease, 1941, and other films), posted an article that he wrote about the classic film Airplane! which has led me to write this blog entry.

To have to pick out just 10 favorites would be next to impossible for me, I have to admit. Maybe if we broke the list up into subcategories like Slapstick Comedy, Screwball Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Vulgar Comedy, etc… I might be able to narrow it down to 10 in each of them, but probably I don’t necessarily want to do that.

A radio program director once told me to be careful with comedy. He said, “Comedy is subjective. What you find funny may not be funny to me and vice versa”. Perhaps this is why some comedies do better at the box office than others. Think about it, how many times has someone come up to you and said, “Oh man! You have got to see (insert movie here)! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen!” ? So you take their advice and about 30 minutes in you are ready to walk out or turn it off. Comedy is subjective.

I am sure there will be more blogs about this topic, but for today, here is a look at two of my favorite ’70’s comedies….

Blazing Saddles

I was 4 years old when Blazing Saddles came out. It was 1974. Times were MUCH different that today. There were things in this movie that you simply could not do today! However, at the time, they were accepted. I don’t know how old I was when I first watched it. I do know that it had a great cast: Harvey Korman, Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Madeline Khan, David Huddleston, Slim Pickens, and director Mel Brooks, just to name a few.

One of the reasons this movie is funny to be is the absurdity of so many of the situations. The black sheriff who takes himself hostage, the townspeople who believe it, the grown adult who bathes with his squeaky toy frog, a phony toll booth in the middle of the desert, and of course, the characters crossing the bridge from movie to movie set, and eventually watching their own movie. “Extremes are funny” claimed, Manny Balos, one of my high school teachers. That is exemplified in this movie. How does a pie fight break out in a Western? Are Raisinets really the candy of choice for bad guys?

The one scene that is often talked about most when this film comes is is the campfire scene. Here, a bunch of cowboys are sitting around the fire, eating pork and beans. What follows is a bunch of them breaking wind in a symphony of flatulence. While this is not the first fart joke in a movie, it was certainly the first instance of audible flatulence to hit theaters. The conclusion of this scene contains one of my favorite lines in the film. Upon exiting his tent, Slim Pickens’ character begins to smell the results of the beans and starts waving his hat around to fan the odor away. He is asked if he wants some more beans, and he simply replies “I’d say you had enough!”

Smokey and the Bandit

I will always remember when I saw Smokey and the Bandit. August 16, 1977 – the day Elvis died. I saw it at the drive in and while we waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie to start, we were listening to AM 560 Honey Radio (where I would eventually work) and they broke the news and began playing all Elvis songs.

The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Snowman (Jerry Reed) are hired by Big and Little Enos to get 400 cases of Coors beer from Texas and bring it back to Atlanta in 28 hours for some big money. In the 1970s, Coors used to be unavailable east of the Mississippi (something to do with the fact that it wasn’t pasteurized and thus needed constant refrigeration).

Smokey is funnier to me now, than when I was 7. As a kid watching this movie, it was about fast cars, a hero trying to get away from the law, and numerous car crashes. Why is it funny to me now? Two words: Jackie Gleason. He plays Sheriff Buford T. Justice of Texas.

I had the chance to interview Jerry Reed shortly before he passed away and I asked him about this film. He said that without Jackie, there probably would not have been a Smokey and the Bandit. He told me how he was given free reign to stray from the “script” and ad-libbed almost everything. As a matter of fact, the word is that there really wasn’t much of a script anyway. Hal Needham showed Burt Reynolds the script on legal pads and most of the cast’s lines were ad-libs.

With mixing ad-libs with profanity, Jackie Gleason spouts off many of the films funniest lines. One such line that is often quoted by fans is when he is talking to his adult son, Junior (played by Mike Henry) – “There’s no way, no way, that you came from my loins. Soon as I get home, first thing I’m gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!” Another line is when (after the roof of their patrol car is ripped off by driving under a truck) Junior is asked to hold Buford’s hat on his head. By removing his hand from his hat to hold Buford’s, his is blown away. “My hat blew off Daddy” to which Buford replies, “I hope your &^% #$% head was in it!”

What also makes this movie memorable is the soundtrack from Jerry Reed. Who doesn’t know “East Bound and Down”?! The song went to #2 on the charts and has been covered by many bands over the years. Many of today’s country singers will do it in their live sets today. The Legend, which is the song that opens the movie, gives you the back story on the Bandit and just how he became the legend he is today. “How would you like to be the dude who handcuffs a legend?” Snowman asks Bandit when he tells him he is unsure why Buford is chasing him. The Legend is one of those songs that is overlooked in my opinion.

There is one scene in particular that is my favorite, and that is the scene where Buford and Bandit meet face to face. What makes it great is that Buford has no idea that he is talking to the Bandit. Buford quickly walks in and says, “Lemme have a Diablo sandwich and a Dr. Pepper and make it fast, I’m in a %$# #$%^ hurry!” The exchange between the two characters is hilarious. How Burt Reynolds is able to keep a straight face while Jackie Gleason rants with food in his mouth is beyond me!

What is a Diablo Sandwich? Well it depends. Some say is a a pulled pork sandwich while others say it is ground beef. Personally, I have never had the pulled pork version of the sandwich, and have yet to find a recipe for that. I have however had it with beef. To wrap up the blog today – here is the recipe I found online for the Diablo Sandwich. It’s great to eat whether you’re in a hurry or not …

Diablo Sandwich Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef
3/4 cup of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup of canned corn
3/4 cup of water
taco seasoning to taste
lettuce
sour cream
hamburger buns

Diablo Sandwich Recipe Directions:
Brown the ground beef. Add remaining ingredients except for lettuce, sour cream and hamburger buns. Let the mixture stew anywhere from 15 minutes to one hour. The longer the better. I cooked it for 40 minutes covered, and then uncovered for the remaining 20 minutes to thicken it up a bit as the liquid burns off. Place the lettuce on a bun, top with the El Diablo beef mixture, and then add a dollop of sour cream.

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