''John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together'' is a 1979

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

starring

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

's Muppets and singer-songwriter

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

. The special first aired December 5, 1979, on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. It has never been released on any standard home video format but the special is available for viewing at the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City with a branch office in Los Angeles. It is de ...

, alongside other Muppet specials.

Plot

The special opens with Denver and the Muppets singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas". To add comedic effect, Fozzie Bear forgets his line ("Seven swans a-swimming.") and Miss Piggy overemphasizes hers ("Five gold rings, ba-dum, bum, bum.") The main plot of the rest of the special is the creation of the special itself and a special musical number for Miss Piggy. During the discussion of her number, Miss Piggy confronts Denver in her dressing room about their presumably mutual attraction. Miss Piggy, as a doll named Fifi, sings "I Will Wait for You" to Denver, who plays a wooden soldier trying to stay in step with a line of marching wooden soldiers. The program concludes with Denver reciting the story of Jesus' birth and joining the Muppets to sing "Stille Nacht/Silent Night" while the children in the audience join in.

Cast

as himself

Muppet performers

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created in 1955 and originally performed by Jim Henson. An anthropomorphic green frog, Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host o ...

Rowlf the Dog Rowlf the Dog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Known most notably as the resident pianist on the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show'', Rowlf is an anthropomorphic scruffy brown dog of indeterm ...

, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef, Waldorf, and

Link Hogthrob The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed h ...

Frank Oz Frank Richard Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), known professionally as Frank Oz, is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through ''The Muppets'', ''Sesame Street'', and '' ...

Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is a The Muppets, Muppet character known for her Breakthrough role, breakout role in the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. She is notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, her tendency to use French l ...

Fozzie Bear Fozzie Bear is a Muppet character from the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show'', best known as the insecure and comedically fruitless stand-up comic''.'' Fozzie is an orange-brown bear who often wears a brown pork pie hat and a ...

, and

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

Jerry Nelson Jerry Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Known for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ''The M ...

as Robin the Frog,

Floyd Pepper Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, or simply The Electric Mayhem, are an American Muppet rock group that debuted in 1975 on the pilot for the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. They are the house band for ''The Muppet Show'', ...

, and

Lew Zealand The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed h ...

* Richard Hunt as Scooter, Janice, Statler, and Beaker *

Dave Goelz David Charles Goelz ( born July 16, 1946) is an American puppeteer and actor known for his work with the Muppets. He is best known for performing the characters Gonzo the Great, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, and Beauregard. He joined Jim Hens ...

Gonzo the Great Gonzo is a Muppet character from the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show'', known for his eccentric passion for stunt performance. Aside from his trademark enthusiasm for performance art, another defining trait of Gonzo is the am ...

, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and Zoot

Soundtrack album

The soundtrack album of the same name has 13 tracks of traditional

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s and original songs. This album, originally released by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

in October 1979, was reissued on compact disc by Denver's own Windstar label in 1990 and again by LaserLight Digital in 1998; LaserLight issued it once again in 2001, this time as an abridged 10-track version; the original full-length CD was subsequently reissued in its entirety in 2006 (the previously missing tracks are "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "When the River Meets the Sea", and "Little Saint Nick"). All releases of the album contain an alternate recording of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" from that featured in the TV special, along with their rendition of "Christmas Is Coming". "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and "A Baby Just Like You" was released as a red vinyl 45 rpm single (RCA PB-11767), while "The Peace Carol", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and "Deck the Halls" were issued on a radio-only promo single (RCA PB-9463). A sheet music edition contains most of the songs and the musical scores.

Track listing

Notes

* signifies arranged by * Mike Love was added to the credits for "

Little Saint Nick "Little Saint Nick" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys first released as a single on December 9, 1963. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the Christmas song applies hot-rod themes to Santa Claus and his sleigh. The single peake ...

" after a 1994 court case.

Personnel

The following credits are sourced from liner notes included with the album release: *

– lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, arranger

Muppet performers

– lead and harmony vocals *

Louise Gold Louise Gold (born 1956) is an English puppeteer, actress and singer. Her long career has included puppetry on television and roles in musical theatre in the West End, as well as other television, film and voice roles. Gold was raised in London ...

– harmony vocals *

– lead and harmony vocals * Richard Hunt – lead and harmony vocals *

Kathryn Mullen Kathryn Mullen (born February 10, 1940) is an American puppeteer, actress, and voice actress most closely associated with Jim Henson projects. History Mullen began performing on ''The Muppet Show'' in its third season, primarily as Gaffer the B ...

– harmony vocals *

– lead and harmony vocals *

Steve Whitmire Steven Lawrence Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work on '' The Muppets'' and ''Sesame Street''. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire originated the roles of Rizzo the R ...

– harmony vocals

Session musicians

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums, percussion, arranger * Denny Brooks – acoustic guitar, arranger *

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana, United States) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also ...

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, arranger *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

– vocal arranger *

Emory Gordy Jr. Emory Lee Gordy Jr. (born December 25, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom ...

– bass guitar, arranger *

Glen D. Hardin Glen Dee Hardin (born April 18, 1939) is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson. Career Hardin was born in Wellington, ...

– piano, electric piano, electric organ, celesta, arranger *

Lee Holdridge Lee Elwood Holdridge (born March 3, 1944) is a Haitian-born American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. An 18-time Emmy Award nominee, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two News and Documentary Emmy Awards, and o ...

– orchestra arranger *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...

– flute, tin whistle, alto flute, bass flute, baritone saxophone, arranger *

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944, in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, singer-songwriter, and actor who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, blueg ...

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, arranger * Danny Wheetman – mandolin, harmonica, arranger

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1979 television specials 1970s American television specials The Muppets television specials American Broadcasting Company television specials Christmas television specials 1979 soundtrack albums 1979 Christmas albums John Denver albums The Muppets albums Christmas albums by American artists Pop Christmas albums RCA Records soundtracks RCA Records Christmas albums Albums arranged by Lee Holdridge Albums produced by Milt Okun American Christmas television specials

Plot

Cast

Muppet performers

Soundtrack album

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Muppet performers

Session musicians

See also

References

External links