SESAME STREET CLASSICS ARRIVE ON STREAMING
Warner Music Group and Sesame Workshop have recently announced a joint effort that marks the relaunch of Sesame Street Records, the label that released over 60 classic originalSesame Street albums from 1970 to 1984. To celebrate 50 years since the program first aired, the extensive Sesame Street music catalog, including original titles and newer collections from Golden Music, Koch and Sony Wonder, has finally joined the streaming age. As of this writing, a whopping 119 titles--many previously unavailable in the digital domain--have been added to streaming services and digital download retailers. The effort is part of the launch of WMG's new Arts Music division, which aims a spotlight on under-represented genres, such as Broadway, jazz, and children's music.
Popular music has always been an integral part of Sesame Street's appeal. As such, the Sesame Street albums include a number of rock and roll pastiches and parodies. From "Barn in the U.S.A.," "(I Can't Get No) Co-operation," "Letter B.," "I Want To Hold Your Ear," and "Kids Just Love to Brush," to the doo-wop send-up "Fixin' My Hair" and Elmo's cover of "Drive May Car," classic music figures greatly on these titles.
In fact, many music legends lent their hand to Sesame Street catalog. Pete Seeger and Dinah Shore each recorded an album with the Sesame Street gang. Other famous special guests include José Feliciano ("Puerto Rico"), Robin Gibb ("Sesame Street Fever"), Johnny Cash ("Nasty Dan"), B.B. King ("B.B. The King"). Other legends tackling Sesame Street classics include Stevie Wonder ("1-2-3 Sesame Street"), Carpenters ("Sing"), Little Richard ("Rubber Duckie"), and Ray Charles ("It's Not Easy Being Green"). Meanwhile, the star-studded Elmopalooza features Gloria Estefan, En Vogue, Fugees, Steven Tyler, Shawn Colvin, Kenny Loggins, Jimmy Buffett, and Celine Dion.
Aside from reissuing the classic titles, WMG plans to unearth unreleased music from the Sesame Street vault to build new compilations. Listeners can expect thematic albums featuring appearances by famed musicians and other celebrities from across Sesame Street's 50-year history. While ten such collections are already available digitally, even more new titles are set to debut in early 2019 on CD and vinyl, as well as digital and streaming platforms.
A limited number of physical releases have already arrived. The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store chain is carrying four exclusive vinyl picture disc LPs entitled Big Bird's Best, Grover's Greatest, Cookie Monster Mix, and Sing Silly Songs! On CD, Arts Music has issued It's Christmas Time!, drawing from Merry Christmas from Sesame Street (1975), Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1980), and Sesame Street Christmas Sing-Along (1984); plus two collections of All-Time Favorites and a budget-priced, alphabet-centric series of six titles (also tapping classic albums) including C Is For Cookie, C Es Para Canta, E Is For Elmo, F Is For Fun, G Is For Grover, and N Is For Numbers. See all nine of these CDs here.
What better way to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of Sesame Street than with their classic music? Listeners can now find 119 Sesame Street titles on digital download and streaming services, courtesy of Sesame Workshop and WMG/Arts. A full list of all the titles is below!
1970s
Sesame Street 1 Original Cast Record, Vol. 1 & 2 (1970)
The Muppet Alphabet Album, Vol. 1 & 2 (1971)
My Name Is Roosevelt Franklin (1971)
Sesame Street 2 Original Cast Record, Vol. 1 & 2 (1971)
Sesame Street Concert On Stage Live (1973)
Big Bird Sings! (1974)
Ernie's Hits (1974)
Grover Sings The Blues (1974)
Let a Frown Be Your Umbrella (1974)
Letters and Numbers, Vol. 1 & 2 (1974)
Welcome! (also known as ¡Sesame Mucho!) (1974)
Sing The Hit Songs Of Sesame Street (compilation, 1974)
Pete Seeger & Brother Kirk Visit Sesame Street (1974)
Somebody Come and Play...With Me On Sesame Street (1974)
Bert and Ernie Sing-Along (1975)
The Count Counts, Vol. 1 & 2 (The Count's Countdown Show From Radio 1-2-3) (1975)
The Sesame Street Monsters! (A Musical Monster-osity) (1975)
Merry Christmas From Sesame Street (1975)
Aren't You Glad You're You? (1977)
Big Bird Leads The Band (1977)
Bob Sings! (1977)
Happy Birthday From Sesame Street (1977)
Let Your Feelings Show, Vol. 1 & 2 (1977)
Numbers (1977)
The Sesame Street Fairytale Album (1977)
Signs! (1977)
Sleepytime Bird (1977)
What Time Is It On Sesame Street? (1977)
David...Daydreamin' On a Rainy Day (1978)
Fair Is Fair (1978)
Sesame Street Fever (1978)
Sesame Street Story Time (1978)
At Home With Ernie and Bert (1979)
Dinah! I've Got a Song (1979)
Every Body's Record (1979)
Sesame Disco (1979)
1980s
Christmas Eve On Sesame Street (1980)
Love (1980)
Big Bird's Birdtime Stories (1980)
The Sesame Street Anniversary Album (compilation, 1981)
Big Bird Discovers the Orchestra (1981)
Sesame Country (1981)
Getting Ready for School (1981)
Bert and Ernie: Side By Side (1981)
Grin and Giggle With Big Bird EP (1981)
Exercise! (1982)
Big Bird Presents Hans Christian Andersen (1982)
Sesame Street Sing-Along! (1982)
Just The Two of Us (1982)
Just Friends, Vols. 1 & 2 (Big Bird/Oscar The Grouch) (1982)
For the First Time (1982)
My Sesame Street Record: All About Me (1983)
The Gang's All Here (1983)
The Best of Bert (compilation, 1983)
The Best of Ernie (compilation, 1983)
The Best of The Count (compilation, 1983)
The Best of Cookie Monster (compilation, 1983)
The Best of Grover (compilation, 1983)
The Best of Oscar The Grouch (compilation, 1983)
Surprise! (1983)
Born To Add (Great Rock & Roll) (1983)
Christmas Sing-Along (1984)
1990s
True Blue: Cookie Monster and Grover (compilation, 1990)
Jim Henson: A Sesame Street Celebration, Vols. 1 and 2 (1991)
Sing: The Songs of Joe Raposo, Vols. 1 and 2 (1992)
We Are All Earthlings, Vols. 1 and 2 (1993)
Sesame Road, Vols. 1 and 2 (1993)
The Bird Is the Word! (compilation, 1995)
Splish Splash: Bath Time Fun (1995)
Platinum All-Time Favorites (compilation, 1995)
A Sesame Street Christmas (compilation, 1995)
"C" Is For Cookie: Cookie's Favorite Songs (compilation, 1995)
Elmo's Favorite Sing-Alongs (compilation, 1995)
Sing The Alphabet (compilation, 1996)
Monster Melodies (compilation, 1996)
Dreamytime Songs (compilation, 1996)
Bert and Ernie's Greatest Hits (compilation, 1996)
Platinum Too, Vols. 1 and 2 (compilation, 1997)
The Count's Countdown (compilation, 1997)
The Best of Elmo (compilation, 1997)
Oscar's Trashy Songs (compilation, 1997)
Kids' Favorite Songs (compilation, 1997)
Hot! Hot! Hot! Dance Songs (compilation, 1997)
Fiesta Songs (compilation, 1998)
Elmopalooza (1998)
Elmo's Lowdown Hoedown (compilation, 1998)
Elmo Says BOO! (compilation, 1998)
Elmo Saves Christmas: Holiday Favorites (1998)
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
2000s-2010s
CinderElmo (2000)
Elmo and the Orchestra, Vols. 1 and 2 (2001)
Kids' Favorite Songs 2 (2001)
Songs From the Street: 35 Years of Music (compilation, 2003)
A Celebration of Me, Grover (compilation, 2004)
Christmas Collection (compilation, 2011)
Valentine's Collection (compilation, 2012)
Travel Songs (compilation, 2012)
Sunny Days Collection (compilation, 2012)
Summer Games Collection (compilation, 2012)
Summer Collection (compilation, 2012)
Healthy Habits Collection (compilation, 2012)
Halloween Collection (compilation, 2012)
Giving Thanks Collection (compilation, 2012)
Elmo's Dance Party (compilation, 2012)
Back to School (compilation, 2012)
Back to School Collection (compilation, 2012)
Holiday Classics (compilation, 2013)
V is for Valentine (compilation, 2014)
Lyrical Letters (compilation, 2014)
B is for Boo! (compilation, 2018)
¡C es para Canta! (compilation, 2018)
C is for Cookie (compilation, 2018)
E is for Elmo! (compilation, 2018)
F is for Fun! (compilation, 2018)
G is for Grover! (compilation, 2018)
N is for Numbers (compilation, 2018)
It's Christmas Time! (compilation, 2018)
All-Time Favorites 1 (compilation, 2018)
All-Time Favorites 2 (compilation, 2018)
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No mention of Anne Murray Sings for the Sesame Street Generation from 1979. Is that album not part of the Sesame Street Records catalog?
I thought the same thing too! I believe it was also reissued under the title THERE'S A HIPPO IN MY TUB, and therefore transferred to her catalog.
Still, nice to see all these old Sesame Street albums back into the fold, even though I never had any of them growing up. All I had were my old Sony Wonder SS videotapes.
The album was first a Murray release,via EMI ,in 1977 and later Sesame Street licensed the material with a new title and artwork in 1979.
I found a lot of this on Amazon Music already. At the time I was a little old for Sesame Street, but Zoom was great!
I don't think there was ever a soundtrack album, but I'd love to see "Julie on Sesame Street" from 1973. That was back in the day when you told the family to shut up because you were taping a cassette from the TV speaker! (and I'm amazed my 45-year-old cassette still works at all...)
Like all kiddie records,vinyl originals are a tough find because of abuse,by...the kiddies. Early titles ,and these were on Columbia and Warner,were released but still came under the abuse. Also,like Disney records,there was a wealth of titles released on 7",often with storybooks and great artwork. The artwork is as valuable as the record. Hopefully there will be a Sesame Street presence each Record Store Day to bring back some titles to pristine beauty. But,please,no cassettes. And using Cracker Barrel as a spot for buying physical media is just plain wrong as the restaurants are version of dirty book stores for diabetics and folks with heart disease.