John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
Title card
Genre	Television special
Created by	Jim Henson
Written by	Herbert Baker Bob Finkel Jon Stone
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
Production
Executive producer	Jerry Weintraub
Producer	Bob Finkel
Running time	50 minutes
Production company	Henson Associates
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	December 5, 1979 (1979-12-05)

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 commercially released on any standard home video format.

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[]

• John Denver as himself

Muppet performers[]

• Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef, Waldorf, and Link Hogthrob
• Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Animal
• Jerry Nelson as Robin the Frog, Sgt. Floyd Pepper, and Lew Zealand
• Richard Hunt as Scooter, Janice, Statler, and Beaker
• Dave Goelz as Gonzo the Great, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and Zoot

Soundtrack album[]

A Christmas Together
Soundtrack 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) A Christmas Together (1979) Autograph (1980)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
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 CD by Denver's own Windstar label in 1990 and again by LaserLight Digital in 1998; LaserLight issued it once again in 2000, 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 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" 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 was also released containing most of the songs and the musical scores from the special.

Track listing[]

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"The Twelve Days of Christmas"	Traditional Milt Okun[a]	John 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 Bob Beers[a]	Denver and Scooter with the Muppets
4.	"Christmas Is Coming"	Traditional Beers[a]	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 Okun[a]	The Muppets
7.	"When the River Meets the Sea"	Paul Williams	Robin the Frog and Denver with the Muppets

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Little Saint Nick"	Brian Wilson Mike Love[b]	Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
2.	"Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913"	Robert Bridges Lee Holdridge	Denver
3.	"The Christmas Wish"	Danny Wheetman	Kermit the Frog with the Muppets
4.	"Alfie, the Christmas Tree"/"Carol for a Christmas Tree"/"It's in Every One of Us" (medley)	Denver / Holdridge / David Pomeranz	Denver with the Muppets
5.	"Silent Night, Holy Night (Stille Nacht)"	Traditional Okun[a]	Denver with the Muppets
6.	"We Wish You a Merry Christmas"	Traditional Okun[a]	Denver with the Muppets

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies arranged by
• ^{^b} Mike Love was added to the credits for "Little Saint Nick" after a 1994 court case.^[2]

Personnel[]

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

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

Muppet performers[]

• Dave Goelz – lead and harmony vocals
• Louise Gold – harmony vocals
• Jim Henson – lead and harmony vocals
• Richard Hunt – lead and harmony vocals
• Kathryn Mullen – harmony vocals
• Frank Oz – lead and harmony vocals
• Jerry Nelson – lead and harmony vocals
• Steve Whitmire – harmony vocals

Session musicians[]

• Hal Blaine – drums, percussion, arranger
• – acoustic guitar, arranger
• James Burton – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, arranger
• Ray Charles – vocal arranger
• Emory Gordy Jr. – bass guitar, arranger
• Glen D. Hardin – piano, electric piano, electric organ, celesta, arranger
• Lee Holdridge – orchestra arranger
• Jim Horn – flute, tin whistle, alto flute, bass flute, baritone saxophone, arranger
• Herb Pedersen – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, arranger
• – mandolin, harmonica, arranger

References[]

External links[]

• John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together at IMDb
• John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together on Muppet Wiki