Rainbow Connection

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"Rainbow Connection" is a song from the 1979 film The Muppet Movie, with music and lyrics written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher.[1] The song was performed by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog during the film's opening number, where it opens with Kermit sitting alone on a log in the swamp, playing the song on his banjo. The song is an integral part of Kermit's character's arc, since it establishes his dream of "making millions of people happy," which motivates his journey to Hollywood throughout the film.

"Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1979, with the song remaining in the Top 40 for seven weeks in total.[2] Williams and Ascher received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 52nd Academy Awards.[3]

In 2020, "Rainbow Connection" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.[4]

Production

Williams and Ascher, who had previously collaborated on several songs for the 1976 film A Star Is Born, were tasked with writing the songs for The Muppet Movie. For the song that became "Rainbow Connection", Jim Henson told them that the opening scene should feature Kermit the Frog by himself, singing and playing the banjo. Williams and Ascher wrote most of the song fairly quickly at Williams's house but got stuck trying to think of appropriate words for the part in the chorus that eventually became the phrase "the rainbow connection"; they were looking for a way to tie in the chorus to the song's theme of rainbows. As they sat down for dinner with Williams's then-wife, Kate Clinton, they explained to her their predicament of looking for a phrase that would provide "a rainbow connection", then realized, in the course of explaining the problem to her, that the phrase "the rainbow connection" would itself be a good fit.[5] Williams and Ascher used "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio as inspiration for the song.[6]

Williams has said that his favorite lyrics in the song are in the second verse, which begins with "Who said that every wish / Would be heard and answered / When wished on the morning star?", because they imply that "there's power in your thoughts".[5] He also noted that the lyrical phrasing was written weirdly with Kermit's speech patterns in mind.[7]

Critical reception and awards

Allmusic described "Rainbow Connection" as an "unlikely radio hit ... which Kermit the Frog sings with all the dreamy wistfulness of a short, green Judy Garland"[8] and went on to add that Template:" 'Rainbow Connection' serves the same purpose in The Muppet Movie that 'Over the Rainbow' served in The Wizard of Oz, with nearly equal effectiveness: an opening establishment of the characters' driving urge for something more in life."[8] Others have similarly referred to "Rainbow Connection" as the film's "I Want" song.[9]

Ascher and Williams received Oscar nominations at the 52nd Academy Awards for the score of The Muppet Movie and for "Rainbow Connection", which was nominated for Best Original Song.[10] The score lost to Bob Fosse's All That Jazz.[11] The song lost to "It Goes Like It Goes" from Norma Rae, a win that some critics denounced.[12][13]

Legacy and other Muppet renditions

The song's name has been used by a number of charitable organizations wishing to evoke its message, including a children's charity similar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation,[14] a summer camp for seriously ill children,[15] and a horseriding camp for people with disabilities.[16] The name's influence can also be seen from business names[17] to artificial Christmas tree products.[18]

The American Film Institute named "Rainbow Connection" the 74th greatest movie song of all time in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.[19]

Kermit the Frog reprised the song on The Muppet Show in 1981 as a duet with Debbie Harry when she was a guest star. Jeff Moss and Ralph Burns also quoted the song's intro as the intro to the instrumental, "carriage ride" rendition of "Together Again" that segued into the Muppet Babies song sequence, "I'm Gonna Always Love You" in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). The song is also reprised by a large group of Muppets as the closing number in the 1985 special The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years.

Kermit reprises the song in the 2011 film The Muppets, this time as a duet with Miss Piggy that leads into the entire Muppet group singing together. A shorter version of the song performed by tribute band "The Moopets", along with Fozzie Bear, is also used in the film. The iTunes release of The Muppets soundtrack included a new version of the song as an exclusive bonus track, recorded by Steve Whitmire as Kermit. The song was also reprised in the TV series The Muppets, in the 2015 episode "Pig's in a Blackout".

In 1996 in Whanganui, New Zealand, a 21-year-old man burst into the radio station Star FM and took the manager hostage, demanding that Kermit the Frog's rendition of the song be played.[20]

On September 24, 2011, the town of Leland, Mississippi, changed the name of a local bridge to "The Rainbow Connection" in honor of Henson on what would have been his 75th birthday. Henson had lived in Leland and played near the bridge as a child.[21]

On April 25, 2020, Disney released a new performance of the song (performed by Matt Vogel as Kermit the Frog) on social media to lift spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

On January 14, 2022, during Epcot's Festival of the Arts, "Rainbow Connection" was featured in a lighting display on Spaceship Earth.[23]

Boys II Men will be recording a new rendition for the brand new show World Of Color Happiness debuting at Disney California Adventure as a part of the Disneyland Resort 70th Anniversary Celebration.

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Rainbow Connection"
Chart (1979–1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[24] 14
US Billboard Hot 100 25
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[25] 18

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Rainbow Connection"
Chart (1980) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[26] 98

Certifications

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Carpenters version

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Tracklist

  • CD single UICY-5006
  1. "The Rainbow Connection"
  2. "Leave Yesterday Behind"
  3. "Medley (Superstar/Rainy Days and Mondays)"
  • JP CD promo (2001) SIC-1039
  1. "The Rainbow Connection"
  2. "Leave Yesterday Behind"

Other versions

The following artists have also recorded the song:

Artist Year Notes
Template:Sortname 1980 album Running for My Life
Template:Sortname 1980 album The Scent of the Roses
Template:Sortname 1980 album Waikiki, My Castle by the Sea (sung primarily in Hawaiian)
Template:Sortname 1981 2001 album As Time Goes By; an outtake from the 1981 album Made in America
Template:Sortname 1980 Cantonese version 明日再明日 from album 人在江湖
Template:Sortname 1981 album Small Voice
Template:Sortname 1993 album Sweet Potatoes[27]
Template:Sortname 1994 album Return to Pooh Corner
Less Than Jake 1997 EP Muppets
Template:Sortname 1999 TV Ally McBeal (season 2, episode 13 – "Angels and Blimps")
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes 1999 album Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Are a Drag
Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand 2001 album Live
Template:Sortname 2001 album Rainbow Connection
Template:Sortname 2002 album For the Kids
Template:Sortname 2003 album Peter Cincotti
Template:Sortname 2004 album For the Kids Too!
Template:Sortname 2004 album Mary Had a Little Amp
Template:Sortname 2005 album Isn't It Romantic: The Standards Album
Template:Sortname 2009 album The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me
Template:Sortname 2010 album Sing Me to Sleep: Indie Lullabies[28]
Weezer and Hayley Williams 2011 album Muppets: The Green Album
Template:Sortname 2012 album Piano Lullabies
Template:Sortname 2012 album sketches
Yale Whiffenpoofs 2013 released as "Rainbow Connection (Glee Cast Version) – Single" and credited as the Glee Cast[29]
Template:Sortname 2014 album Nightlight
Template:Sortname 2015 album We Love Disney
Template:Sortname 2016 album Bellissimo!, as "El-Creepo!"
Sleeping at Last 2016 album Covers, Vol. 2
Template:Sortname 2017 album Fancy Words for Failure[30]
Template:Sortname 2017 album Lullaby Girl
Template:Sortname 2017 official soundtrack of the Legion TV series[31]
Template:Sortname 2018 American Idol audition (solo) and finale performance (duet with Kermit the Frog)
Template:Sortname 2019 Performance at Newport Folk Festival (duet with Kermit the Frog)
Template:Sortname and Template:Sortname 2019 Performance on 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards
Template:Sortname 2021 album Release Me 2 (duet with Kermit the Frog)
Kermit the Frog, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Nick Cannon, and Jenny McCarthy-Walhberg[32] 2022 Performance from season 8 of The Masked Singer for Muppet Night
Template:Sortname 2025 album Music from Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration

Appearances in other media

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
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  5. ↑ a b Paul Williams interview, NAMM Oral History Program, June 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
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  8. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Cbignore
  12. ↑ Tom Shales. "Kramer vs. Everybody," The Washington Post (DC), April 15, 1980, page B1: "The already forgotten ballad 'It Goes Like It Goes,' from 'Norma Rae,' won the Oscar as best song over competitions that included 'The Rainbow Connection' ..."
  13. ↑ Rich Copley. "'The 75th annual Academy Awards' – trophy date on your night with unpredictable Oscar. Will he be a dream—or a dud?", Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), March 21, 2003, Weekender section, page 18: "Sometimes, old baldy leaves us scratching our skulls: ... the 1979 Oscar for best original song goes to It Goes Like It Goes from Norma Rae instead of Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie ..."
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  27. ↑ Madrina Music MM#102 CD
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Cbignore
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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