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Just released today, a new video that puts a totally different spin on a classic Muppet song, which is part of the new CD, Muppets: The Green Album.
Produced in preparation for Walt Disney Pictures' family film comedy, THE MUPPETS, which opens in theaters nationwide November 23, 2011, Muppets: The Green Album features 12 Disney Records tracks that reinvent such favorite Muppet tunes as "Rainbow Connection," "Wishing Song," "Bein' Green," "Our World" and more, all performed by an eclectic array of talent: Weezer and Haley Williams; The Airborne Toxic Event; Andrew Bird, and My Morning Jacket to name a few.
Check out the newly released video below for the “Muppet Show Theme Song” by OK Go and The Muppets.
Today marks the birth date of one of those rare, multi-talented entertainers, puppeteer-actor-producer-director-writer and composer, Jim Henson, whose legacy lives on in some of the finest children’s programming ever created.
Born in 1936 in Greenville, Mississippi, Henson accomplished an outstanding, award-winning body of work in his 53 years of life, encompassing both television and film.
Widely known as the creator of “The Muppets,” it was Henson’s skilled presentation of some of these beloved fabric characters, such as “Kermit the Frog” that provided dual stars for him and his amphibian characterization on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
It was also Henson’s puppetry talents that were instrumental to the success of one of the longest running and most honored children’s programs, Sesame Street.
Henson’s life was cut short May 16, 1990, dying within a matter of days after contracting a streptococcal infection.
Today, Henson’s creative work continues through his family-run Jim Henson Company, the Jim Henson Foundation and the multitude of products that bear his signature.
Henson once said, “When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there.”
On September 26, 1992, Henson was proclaimed, "Humanitarian, muppeteer, producer and director of films for children that encourage tolerance, interracial values, equality and fair play," when he was posthumously awarded the Children’s Peace Award. This honor, which is part of the Courage of Conscience Awards, places his name and work alongside that of humanity’s finest contributors: names such as Mahatma Gandhi; John Lennon and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The video tribute below is also a testament to his work and is but a fraction of the outpouring of admiration for Henson that has made its way to the Internet over the years.
Featured on the video is the talented Sarah McLachlan, singing the “Rainbow Connection” from the 1979 hit film, The Muppet Movie, which was originally sung by Henson as Kermit. The song became part of music history when it made Billboard’s Hot 100 and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Born and raised in Chicago, Paula began her career as an on-air announcer/reporter for classical radio, WEFM. An alumnus of NBC-TV’s Daytime Writers Program, she served as head of the Literary Department for the Savage Agency, Hollywood; developed programming for Blair Entertainment, New York and wrote for such diverse publications as: the Martha’s Vineyard Times; Cape Cod Life; Berkshire Eagle; and Scripps-Howard News Service. She is signatory to the Writers Guild of America; a member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA. Her acting credits include: "Starman;" “Hardcastle & McCormick;” “Remington Steele,” and “General Hospital;” commercials for clients such as Sears and McDonald’s and stage roles that included Lady Macbeth. She has administered blogs – Paula Slade: In My Humble Opinion and Paula Slade: National Children’s Entertainment as well as a contributing writer and co-administer for Sadie Sapiens: The Voice for Those Who Can’t Speak… At Least Not Yet! Today she is Vice President/Creative Director and audiobook narrator for ARTISTIC MEDIA ASSOCIATES, INC. She and her husband reside on the East coast along with their goofy and loveable cat and dog.