Muppet Hits
Louise Gold starred as one of the Muppet Performers
Catalogue number: (CD - US
Pressing) 74860 30021-2, (CD - UK Pressing) 74321 14480-2,
(Cassette - US Pressing) 74860 30021-4, (Cassette - UK Pressing) 74321
14480-4
Cast
The Players:
Jim
Henson (as: Kermit
The Frog, Dr Teeth, Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Waldorf, The Newsman, Captain Link
Hogtrob, Mahna Mahna, and other assorted characters)
Frank Oz (as: Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Animal,
Sam The Eagle, Marvin Suggs, and other assorted characters)
Jerry
Richard
Hunt (as: Scooter,
Sweetums, Stadler, Janice, Beaker, Wayne, Mildred, and other assorted
characters)
Dave
Goelz (as: The
Great Gonzo, Zoot, Bunsen Honeydew, Muppy, and other assorted characters)
Louise
Gold (as: Zelda
Rose, Annie Sue Pig, and other assorted characters)
Eren
Ozker (as: Hilda,
Wanda, and other assorted characters)
John
Lovelady (as
various assorted characters)
Uncredited:
Kathryn
Mullen (as various
assorted characters - notably a nurse)
Steve
Whitmire (as
various assorted characters)
Production Team
Songs
originally produced by - Jim Henson
With the
help of - Peter Harris
Executive
Producer - Robert Kraft
Orchestra
conducted by - Jack Parnell
Track Listing
1. The Muppet Show Theme
- Cast (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry
2. Mahna Mahna
- Mahna Mahna, and the Two Snowths (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and, Richard
Hunt)
3. There’s A New Sound
- Scooter (Richard Hunt)
4. Coconut - Kermit
a nurse, A Witch Doctor, and, another nurse (Jim Henson, Louise Gold,
Jerry
5. Lady Of
6. The Rhyming Song
- Fozzie Bear, Link Hogthrob, Scooter, and, Annie Sue (Frank Oz, Richard
Hunt, Jim Henson, and, Louise Gold
7. Upidee - Fozzie Bear,
A Blond Pig, Baskerville The Afghan Hound, Another Dog, Miss Mousey, A Goat (Frank
Oz, Louise Gold, Jerry Nelson, and possibly Richard Hunt)
8. Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing
Bear - Scooter and Fozzie (Richard Hunt and Frank
Oz)
9. Trees - Wayne
and Wanda (Richard Hunt and Eren Ozker)
10. I’m Five - Robin (Jerry
Nelson)
11. Cuanto Le Gusto
- Miss Piggy and The Pigs (Frank Oz, with: Jim Henson, Jerry
Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goez, and, Louise Gold)
12.
13. Sax And Violence -
Instrumental
14. Mr Bassman -
Floyd and Scooter (Jerry Nelson, and, Richard Hunt)
15. Who? - Zelda Rose
and Her Singing Owl (Louise Gold, with Jerry Nelson)
16. At The Dance
- Scooter, a muppet girl, Male Chicken, Female Chicken, Kermit, Miss Piggy,
Fozzie Bear, another muppet girl, Animal, a sheep (Richard Hunt, Jerry
Nelson, Frank Oz, Jim Henson, and, Louise Gold)
17. Happy Feet
- Kermit and Frog chorus (Jim Henson with others out of: Frank Oz,
Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and,. Dave Goelz)
18. We Got Us -
Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, and The Cast (Jim Henson, Frank Oz,
Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, and, Louise
Gold)
19. Closing Theme
- Instrumental
If getting the CD, at least, the
It should be noted that:
Track 5, Lady Of Spain, comes from the very first The
Muppet Show Album, therefore ‘The Players’ on that track can only
consist of a selection of: Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave
Goelz, Eren Ozker, John Lovelady, and, Jim Henson.
Track 12, Borneo comes from comes from The Muppet Show 2, therefore ‘The Players’ on
that track can only consist of a selection of: Jim Henson, Frank Oz,
Richard Hunt, and, Dave Goelz, in fact the remainder of the Jugband
at that time.
According to various Muppet fans it is thought that:
On Track 7, Upidee, Jerry
Nelson voices 5 different characters, namely: Baskerville The Afghan
Hound, Another Dog, Miss Mousey, and, A Goat
On Track 16: At The
Dance, The girl dancing with Scooter and the Male Chicken are voiced by Jerry
Nelson, The female Chicken is voiced by Richard Hunt, and: the Sheep
dancing with Animal and the girl dancing with Fozzie are voiced by Louise
Gold.
The version of Who? used on this album
is the one that was specially recorded for the album The Muppet Show Album 2, with Zelda
Rose sung by Louise Gold, rather than the version on the Milton Berle
episode of The Muppet Show, where it was sung by somebody else (an unsuccessful
candidate auditioning for a job on the show).
All of the performers featured on this album had
worked on The Muppet Show, as
did Peter Harris and Jack Parnell.
All the performers featured on this album also feature
on: Muppet Hits 2, along with a different
version of The Muppet Show Theme.
The Muppet Show Eight: Louise Gold, Dave
Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry
Nelson, Frank Oz, and, Steve Whitmire also puppeteered on The
Great Muppet Caper and they all sang on The Great Muppet Caper (Soundtrack
album), John
Denver and The Muppets A Christmas Together, John Denver &
The Muppets Merry Christmas 45RPM, Christmas
For Kids, John Denver Christmas, and, Muppet Music Sampler (on which the tracks Mahna
Mahna, At The Dance, Fozzie On Skates, and,
part of The Rhyming Song can also be found).
The Muppet Show Eight: Louise Gold, Dave
Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry
The Muppet Show Eight (Louise Gold, Dave
Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry
The Muppet Show
Eight (Louise Good, Dave Goelz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt,
Kathryn Mullen, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz,
and, Steve Whitmire) all puppeteered
on The Muppets Go To The Movies,
which Peter Harris also directed.
They also all featured on the documentary Of
Muppets And Men.
Louise Gold, Dave Goelz, Jim
Henson, Richard Hunt, Jerry
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry
Louise Gold, Dave Goelz, Jim
Henson, Richard Hunt, John Lovelady, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Jim
Henson, Richard Hunt, John Lovelady, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry
Jerry
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave
Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen
puppeteered on The Dark Crystal, for which Jerry
Dave Goelz, Jim Henson, Kathryn
Mullen, Frank Oz, and, Steve Whitmire also puppeteered on Labyrinth.
Louise Gold, Dave Goelz, Jerry
Louise Gold and Peter Harris
also worked on Spitting Image and the album Spit In Your Ear.
Louise Gold, Jerry Nelson, Richard
Hunt, and, Frank Oz can also be heard on Born
To Add.
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry
Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold can also be heard on Elmo’s Lowdown Hoedown.
Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Richard
Hunt, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen
appeared in “a burlesque show with some of the
Muppet-company”.
Frank Oz, Jerry
Nelson, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and, Louise Gold went on to puppeteer on Muppet Treasure Island.
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and, Louise Gold went on to puppeteer on The Animal Show, on which Frank Oz did a guest puppeteering appearance, and Peter Harris was also involved with.
Louise Gold, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, and, Steve
Whitmire puppeteered on Tale Of The Bunny Picnic.
Jerry Nelson, and, Dave Goelz (besides puppeteering on Fraggle
Rock itself) did voice-work on the UK Co-Production of Fraggle Rock, on which Louise Gold puppeteered.
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Richard Hunt, Kathy Mullen,
Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and, Steve
Whitmire performed at Jim
Henson’s Memorial Service (where Richard
Hunt, and, Frank Oz again sang Simon
Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear).
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Jerry Nelson, and, Steve
Whitmire’s recording credits include A
Green And Red Christmas.
Louise Gold, and, Richard Hunt had puppeteered on The Ghost Of Faffner Hall.
Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold puppeteered on The
Secret Life Of Toys.
Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry Nelson,
Frank Oz, and, Steve Whitmire puppeteered together on Sesame
Street (in the early 1990s).
Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold’s recording credits include The Count’s Countdown, however there has
been some debate as to whether Louise
Gold actually sang on it.
Review
by Emma Shane
To
my mind this is one of the best compilations from The Muppet Show,
as it contains many delightful, and very funny, numbers. It also happens to
showcase quite nicely some of the very best of The Muppet Show’s
singing talents (namely: Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, and Louise
Gold). Although there are undoubtedly some numbers I enjoy very much more
than others, they are all very listenable, so that although it is nice that
with this being on CD one can pick and choose tracks, that is not so vital to
ones enjoyment of it. The songs featured on it largely come from the earlier years
of The Muppet Show, Seasons I, II and III, hence why Steve
Whitmire does not appear to be featured at all, and Kathryn Mullen
is only on once without a credit. This also accounts for the appearance of
Season I performers Eren Ozker and John Lovelady. I have not
actually been able to work out where John Lovelady appears. Eren
Ozkar duets Trees with Richard Hunt. However, if her
contribution to the song is anything to go by, she was rather lacking the sort
of presonce her successor on The Muppet Show possesses.
The
majority of tracks on the album come from actual numbers on The Muppet
Show. However, two tracks and various bits of linking material were
recorded especially for one or other of the Muppet Show albums,
usually The Muppet Show 2. The two tracks in question being At
The Dance (which is rather obvious on hearing it, as one of the jokes
is about dancing on a phonograph record) and Who? a number which Louise
Gold never actually sang on The Muppet Show. At The
Dance is a very funny way of preserving on record a popular feature on
The Muppet Show. The jokes on this track are great fun: Kermit
describing the sort of circumstances under which he would dance with Miss
Piggy, Male and Female chickens discussing “Peoplepox” as opposed to
Chickenpox, and my favourite, Fozzie Bear asking a cute-sounding girl how she
likes the jokes on the album. Lasting all of 53 seconds, Louise Gold’s
rendering of Jerome Kern’s Who? must be the shortest
version of that song on record! Short it maybe, but she does of course sing it
very well, and it is a treat to hear this terrific Muppet vocalist have one
track on this album almost to herself (there is contribution from Jerry
Nelson as the singing owl).
Indeed
this album is a good one for anyone who enjoys hearing The Muppet Show’s
three top singing talents. All three having their moments in the sun. Richard
Hunt has a bizarre solo in There’s A New Sound, he also sings
the lead vocal really well on Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear.
Jerry Nelson is at his cute best as Robin The Frog singing I’m Five,
he has such a wonderful voice, that he cannot help but sing it well, with
feeling, even when trying to portray a character who things its a silly
sentimental song (as Robin supposedly did). These three also get to shine
in duets. Mr Bassman is an excellent number, primarily because it
is sung extremely well by Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt. I don’t
know that I’d have actually liked the number if it had not been so well sung.
While one of my favourite tracks on the album is Borneo, which,
besides being great fun, is sung by a pair who must surely be one of the
greatest singing-double-acts ever to grace the muppets, Jerry Nelson and
Louise Gold. Their strong, magnificent voices dominate the number, and
make it, well worth hearing.
The
trio also give added strength numbers led by other performers. For example,
they provide a strong chorus to Frank Oz’s performance of Cuanto
Le Gusto. While Louise and Jerry can be very clearly heard on Coconut,
a song led by Jim Henson as Kermit. This is another of the high spots on
the album. It includes the English muppeteer Louise Gold as a
narrator/nurse, singing, for once, in something approaching her normal accent!
I think the track also includes backing vocals from Kathryn Mullen, but
she is uncredited. Although Jim Henson may not have been quite one of
the greatest singers, he did sing nicely with a lot of feeling. On this album
he is perhaps at his best as Kermit singing Happy Feet, which is
a glorious piece of fun.
This
album is simply a whole lot of fun, very much like the muppets. This is
characterised by many of the ensemble pieces. Upidee is
gloriously silly, and actually says it is a silly song. It is sung quite
adequately by Frank Oz and wonderfully bizarrely by Louise Gold,
but gets its real tour de force from Jerry Nelson, as about five
different characters! The Rhyming Song is a wonderful piece of
silly fun. It is not exactly The Rhyming Song, but it is very
Muppet, performed by such hopeless hams as: Fozzie Bear and Link Hogthrob, the
not-easily fazed Scooter, and the delightful Annie Sue. The latter gets a
characteristic last word “Well it wasn’t that bad”, which might (in
Annie Sue’s modest kind of way) sum up this album. However, the finale is a
stroke of genius. Whoever came up with the brilliant idea of getting the
muppets to sing We Got Us, deserves an ovation. The song may have
originally been written for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme to
sing in the 1968 musical Golden Rainbow. But I do not think it
can ever have been better inhabited than it is by the muppets. All of them
perform it well, with real sincerity and enthusiasm, this is hardly surprising
because this song is just so much their song. In particular the lines “People
may say we are crazy the way we are, that we won’t even discuss,.... we got us”;
Which about sum up the wonderfully: funny, anarchic, crazy, eccentric, loveable
muppets, and the uniquely talented men and women who puppeteered them,
especially on The Muppet Show.
Critics Comments
“This
album represents a diverse compilation of favorite songs from the different
episodes of “The Muppet Show”. Featured are the talents of several great
performers and singing material written by many great songwriters”, SLEEVE
NOTES
Links about Muppet
Hits
Muppet
Wiki’s page for this album: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppet_Hits
