when did it start becomming common to remake songs?

[minor muppetz]

At what point did it start becomming really common for Sesame Street songs to be remade? It seems to me like it's been really common since at least 1998.

Of course, during the early years there were songs that got remade, but not as often as now. During the early years it seems like there were a few songs that got remade a lot, including Sing, The People in Your Neighborhood, and One of These Things (it seems like almost every first season episode that aired on Noggin featured different version of this song, almost always sung by Susan). For awhile it seems like Bein' Green was Kermits only Sesame Street song, remade twice during the early 1970s (once with Lena Horne). It seems like Kermit hardly started having more Sesame Street songs untill the late 1970s, after he became the host of The Muppet Show.

t seems likee very song is now being remade, possibly to make them more up-to-date.

 

[D'Snowth]

I'm pretty sure it was sometime during the mid-to-late nineties, I think it was said because they don't want to make the show look "dated".

 

[mikebennidict]

Well if that's the case than write new ones. I mean it's 1 thing to have the cast, including the muppets sing the older songs but it's another when they redo a film or whatever and reuse them. Case in point, the kids turning the Jack-In-The-Box to see what the numder of the day is. The opening part is a remake of the song that went with those old number films. For pete sakes!

 

[minor muppetz]

In recent years it seems like most songs have been remade to be modernized, though during the early years it seems like there wasn't too much concern about whether something was dated. I wouldn't be surprised if skits with the original orange Oscar or green Grover stopped being shown after the first season, though (and I now know that the orange Oscar did sing I Love Trash, which got remade a year or two later, and some first season Grover sketches were later remade as well). It seems like The Peple in Your Neighborhood got remade alot, though I think this purpose was to teach kids about more jobs (I think there were actually two different versiosn from the first season... one featuring a postman and a firefighter, as heard on the first album, and another one that was seen in The Sesame Street Book of People and Things).

I sometimes wonder why Bein' Green was remade. I don't know which remake was made first, the solo Kermit remake or the one with Lena Horne. These were both made only a few years after the original, and I have a feeling that first season Kermit skits were still being shown by then (the original version of Bein' Green was featured in the 25th anniversary video, though I don't know if it was still being shown on the show at that point).

 

[Java]

I also believe a lot of the songs are being remade as the voices are changed so that the show flows better for today's young veiwers.

 

[minor muppetz]

Well if that's the case than write new ones. I mean it's 1 thing to have the cast, including the muppets sing the older songs but it's another when they redo a film or whatever and reuse them. Case in point, the kids turning the Jack-In-The-Box to see what the numder of the day is. The opening part is a remake of the song that went with those old number films. For pete sakes!

I wonder why those new segments always use a jack-in-the-box. Why not do something new for each number? Maybe have somebody pull out a sheet of paper with one number on it, use a slot machine for another number, have the number of the day appear in a lottery-type situation (but there'd only be one ball), have somebody open a present with a number inside, etc.

 

[ISNorden]

I wonder why those new segments always use a jack-in-the-box. Why not do something new for each number? Maybe have somebody pull out a sheet of paper with one number on it, use a slot machine for another number, have the number of the day appear in a lottery-type situation (but there'd only be one ball), have somebody open a present with a number inside, etc.

Great idea; most number-of-the-day segments are boringly predictable, although the new format (kids on the street helping the Count count) has varied the action more. What made the Baker, Pinball and Jazz number clips so memorable? In my opinion, the animators kept a good balance between repeating familiar parts (the opening/closing, the numbers reappearing) and showing new, different images for each number.

 

[ISNorden]

It seems like The People in Your Neighborhood got remade a lot, though I think this purpose was to teach kids about more jobs (I think there were actually two different versions from the first season... one featuring a postman and a firefighter, as heard on the first album, and another one that was seen in The Sesame Street Book of People and Things).

You're probably right, especially since new jobs developed (one 90s version included a "cable guy") and old ones changed titles (in another 90s remake, the postman was now female and called herself a "letter carrier").

Some of the variations, such as colonial-era jobs at a historical site, taught more than the typical "People" segment. Others, such as "insects in your neighborhood" and "letters in the alphabet", should have used a different format in my opinion: nothing's wrong with children learning about nature and letters, but fitting those topics into a "People"-style lesson plan feels awkward to me.

 

[Big Bird Fan]

The only thing that bothers me about remakes is that we never hear the originals anymore! When when the last time we had Ernie sing "Rubber Dukie", or Cookie sing "C is for Cookie"? Kids today probably don't even realize Cookie has his own song.

 

[ISNorden]

The only thing that bothers me about remakes is that we never hear the originals anymore! When when the last time we had Ernie sing "Rubber Duckie", or Cookie sing "C is for Cookie"? Kids today probably don't even realize Cookie has his own song.

Losing characters' classic theme songs is a crying shame: Ernie still owns a rubber duck but doesn't sing about it, and Cookie Monster sings that preachy "A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food" song now. (Judging by the way sweets get demonized in other health segments, the new song should have been called "A Cookie Is An Almost-Never Food, Touch One And You'll Get Sick".)

I miss the original Sesame Street, where the characters and the music were simply unfooled around with (to borrow an advertising slogan). A two-year-old has no concept of "outdated" music or characters; he usually watches whatever's on, no matter how old it is. I bet a lot of old-school fans have children of their own, and want to share memories with those children when a favorite song/sketch/cartoon pops up on TV.