John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
Genre Television special
Created by Jim Henson
Written by Herbert Baker
Bob Finkel
Jon Stone (special material)
Directed by Tony Charmoli
Starring John Denver
Muppet performers:
Jim Henson
Frank Oz
Jerry Nelson
Richard Hunt
Dave Goelz
Steve Whitmire
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s) Jerry Weintraub
Producer(s) Bob Finkel
Running time 50 minutes
Release
Original network ABC
Original release December 5, 1979

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together is a 1979 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets and singer/songwriter John Denver. The special first aired December 5, 1979 on ABC. The special has never been released in any standard home media video format and there are currently no plans to release it.

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 over-emphasizes 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 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

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together.

Muppet performers

Additional Muppets performed by Mike Davis, Cheryl Henson, Phillip Huber, Brian Muehl, Kathryn Mullen, Bob Payne, and Steve Whitmire.

Soundtrack album

A Christmas Together
Studio album by John Denver and The Muppets
Released October 1979
Genre Christmas music
Length 35:25
Label RCA Records
Producer Milton Okun
John Denver chronology
John Denver
(1979)		 John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
(1979)		 Autograph
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

Better known is the soundtrack album of the same name, which featured 13 tracks of traditional Christmas carols and original songs. This album, originally released on RCA Records in October 1979, was re-released on Denver's own Windstar label in 2000 as an abridged ten-track version; the original full-length CD was subsequently re-released 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 a different recording of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" than 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" were 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 was also released containing most of the songs and musical scores from the special.

CD track listing

This is the track listing for the full version of the soundtrack.

  1. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (traditional, arranged by Milt Okun) (Denver with the Muppets)
  2. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane) (Rowlf the Dog and Denver)
  3. "The Peace Carol" (traditional, arranged by Bob Beers) (John and Scooter with the Muppets)
  4. "Christmas Is Coming" (traditional, arranged by Beers) (Miss Piggy with Scooter, The Great Gonzo and Robin the Frog)
  5. "A Baby Just Like You" (John Denver/Joe Henry) (Denver with the Muppets)
  6. "Deck the Halls" (traditional, arranged by Okun) (The Muppets)
  7. "When the River Meets the Sea" (Paul Williams) (Robin and Denver with the Muppets)
  8. "Little Saint Nick" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) (Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem)
  9. "Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913" (Robert Bridges/Lee Holdridge) (Denver)
  10. "The Christmas Wish" (Danny Wheetman) (Kermit the Frog with the Muppets)
  11. Medley: "Alfie, the Christmas Tree" (Denver) / "Carol for a Christmas Tree" (Holdridge) / "It's in Every One of Us" (David Pomeranz) (Denver with the Muppets)
  12. "Silent Night, Holy Night (Stille Nacht)" (traditional, arranged by Okun) (Denver with the Muppets)
  13. "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (traditional, arranged by Okun) (Denver with the Muppets)

Mike Love's credits for "Little Saint Nick" were awarded after a 1994 court case.[2]

Personnel

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

Muppet performers

Session musicians

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic
  2. ↑ Doe, Andrew G. "Album Archiveq". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
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