"Sing" is a 1971 song written by

Joe Raposo Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH (February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American composer and songwriter. He is best known for his work on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', for which he wrote the theme song, and several no ...

for the children's television show ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' as its

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

. In 1973, it gained popularity when performed by

the Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

, a number 3 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Raposo was a staff songwriter for ''Sesame Street'', Review of "Sing"on

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and the song became one of the most popular on the program, sung in English,

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and

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

. In its initial appearance, it was sung by the show's adult human cast members and

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, including

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skate, ice skate, dance, swim, sing, write poetry, d ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

's 1972 version of the song was released as a single, reaching number 28 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart.

The Carpenters' versions

Although

had an

easy-listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit ...

hit in 1972 with "Sing",

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...

and Richard Carpenter heard the song for the first time as guests on the

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television special ''Robert Young with the Young'' in 1973. They loved the song and felt that it could be a hit. It appeared as the debut single on the group's 1973 album '' Now & Then''. It reached #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and #1 on the ''Billboard''

chart, and it became the group's seventh

gold single Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. It also became Carpenters' eighth top-ten single in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The Carpenters' recording was produced and arranged by Richard Carpenter and engineered by Ray Gerhardt. Karen Carpenter sang lead vocals, with backing vocals by herself, Richard and the Jimmy Joyce Children's Choir. Keyboards were played by Richard, bass by

Joe Osborn Joe Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018recorders by Tom Scott. In 1974 while touring

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the Carpenters recorded their first live album in

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. It contained a new version of the song with the children's chorus sung by the Kyoto Children's Choir. It is featured on the album '' Live in Japan,'' recorded in June 1974 and released in Japan only on March 7, 1975. The album has since been released on CD. The 1991 box set ''

From the Top From the Top is an independent nonprofit organization known best for its longstanding NPR radio and PBS television programs with the same name. Co-founded by Gerald Slavet and Jennifer Hurley-Wales in 1995, the organization showcases and devel ...

'' contains a bilingual version of the song; the title is listed as "Canta/Sing," and the song is sung with alternating Spanish and English lines. The Mexican single version contains full Spanish lyrics except for the

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. A new recording and remix of Carpenters' version was created in 1994 by sound engineer Roger Young and first released on '' Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration''.

Subsequent ''Sesame Street'' versions

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. Tomlin started her career in stand-up comedy and sketch comedy before transitioning her career to acting across stage and screen. ...

sang and signed the song to a group of deaf children on ''Sesame Street'' in 1975. The same year, she played the mother of two deaf children in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

's film ''

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'', and they sang the song in the film. In 1976, on the 11th episode of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'', guest

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

sang the song. Alaina Reed (as Olivia) sang it while

Linda Bove Linda Bove is a Deaf American actress, her most notable role being a fictionalized version of herself in the PBS children's series ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2002. Bove was the first Deaf actress to be a member of the program's recurring c ...

(as

Linda Linda is an English feminine given name, derived from the Spanish word , meaning "pretty." Linda may also refer to: Names * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) ...

) signed the lyrics on ''Sesame Street''. Many other versions have been performed. The original and subsequent ''Sesame Street'' recordings were released on ''Sesame Street Concert/On Stage – Live!'' (1973), ''Sing the Hit Songs of Sesame Street'' (1974), '' Bert & Ernie Sing-Along'' (1975), ''Sesame Street Silver – 10th Anniversary Album'' (1978), ''Sesame Street Disco'' (1979), ''Sing: Songs of Joe Raposo'' (1992), ''Sesame Street Platinum: All Time Favorites'' (1995), ''The Bird Is the Word – Big Bird's Favorite Songs'', ''Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music'' (2003) and ''The Best of Elmo''. A Spanish version was included in ''Fiesta Songs!'' (1998).

Personnel

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and early drummer of the highly successful duo the Carpenters, formed with her older brother Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard. Wi ...

– lead and backing vocals, drums * Richard Carpenter – backing vocals, piano,

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orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

Joe Osborn Joe Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Tom Scott – recorders *The Jimmy Joyce Children's Choir – backing vocals *Doug Strawn -

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

, tambourine

Barbra Streisand medley

In 1972

recorded " Make Your Own Kind of Music" in a

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

with "Sing," which became a number 28 hit on the ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart and appeared at number 94 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Chart performance

;Carpenters version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Sesame Street 1973 singles Songs about music The Carpenters songs Barbra Streisand songs Sesame Street songs Songs written by Joe Raposo Pop ballads 1972 songs A&M Records singles 1970s ballads