My son is heavily into Sesame Street. As is the norm, his favorite is Elmo but he does have a fondness for Bert and Ernie, Big Bird and Grover. It pleases me immensely that all of these Sesame Street records that I have collected over the years can actually have a purpose. I play them for him regularly and he even has his own little i-pod with a giant collection of the albums on it. Yesterday we took a listen to a rare gem, "Sesame Street Fever". It was, disco-y but it was still cool since it was the Muppets. I mean, when Henson was alive, the Muppets could do no wrong. (Since his death, they have gone wrong numerous times but that's another post). Anyway, it made me think that there was a rash of disco-related cash ins when the dance fever craze became a sensation. Over the next few days we'll take a look at how that sensation affected the children's market. Today, obviously, we are focusing on Sesame Street Fever. This album came out in 1978 and features disco interpretations of familiar Sesame Street hits. The album's title and cover is an obvious and quite frankly, a hilarious send up of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. And speaking of Saturday Night Fever, the Bee Gees' own Robin Gibb appears as a guest vocalist and can also be heard in conversation with Cookie Monster during the introduction to "C is for Cookie". Believe it or not but this album reached #75 on Billboard's album chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA. This album was even nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children, but lost to another Henson production; the first cast album from The Muppet Show. As with all disco stuff, once the novelty wears off, you are pretty much done with it. Thankfully, this album is so short that the novelty wears off about the same time the record ends. Here for you now is Sesame Street Fever. Enjoy!
Sesame Street Fever
No comments:
Post a Comment