I am seriously looking for your input on this; I assure you it is not a trick question, but what I think to be a very simple and straightforward one. That said, I am not doing this as a multiple-choice poll, but open-ended, for reasons which I will reveal at a later date. Please do leave your answer in the comments, even if others have already answered (and please do your best not to be influenced by earlier answers, whether they agree or disagree with yours). And despite this being the internet, I am asking for your honest first answer (even if it is “I don’t know”). Please do not google, bing, or otherwise search–I’m not looking for their answer, I’m looking for yours.
The question is: Who sang “The Rainbow Connection”?
177 comments
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Sheila
April 24, 2012 at 12:29 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
rikitiki
April 24, 2012 at 12:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
That would be Kermit the Frog. If the question is about who provided Kermit’s voice…I think at that time it was Jim Henson. That song was from the first Muppet Movie as well.
Dana Hunter
April 24, 2012 at 12:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The dude or dudette who voiced Kermit.
eric
April 24, 2012 at 12:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I also associate it with Kermit. Don’t know if Henson or one of his staff wrote it, or it was a cover. Don’t really care; Kermit will always own the song for me. :)
Pteryxx
April 24, 2012 at 12:38 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit/Jim Henson, afaik.
godlesspanther
April 24, 2012 at 12:45 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Damn! I’m usually good at music trivia, but this one sunk me.
busterggi
April 24, 2012 at 12:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m joining the majority for a change – that was my favorite from The Muppet Movie.
Kevin
April 24, 2012 at 12:57 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog, aka, Doug Henning.
In the first Muppet Movie, including while riding a bicycle. Which was the first time anyone had seen his legs, as I recall (Kermit’s, not Henning’s).
Peter Cranny
April 24, 2012 at 12:58 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
Kevin
April 24, 2012 at 12:59 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Crap. Jim Henson…Doug Henning was a magician…may still be one.
Ah, memory. How it fails one.
readingwhilefemale
April 24, 2012 at 1:04 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I had never even heard of the song until just now, and I had no idea who sang it until I read the comments. Oops.
Rawnaeris
April 24, 2012 at 1:08 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog
readingwhilefemale
April 24, 2012 at 1:08 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
*goes to youtube*
Oh, THAT song.
*facepalm*
Humanists Harbor
April 24, 2012 at 1:13 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I heart The Muppets. It was definitely Kermit the Frog, the late great Jim Henson being the puppeteer of course. I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it!
Katherine Lorraine, Chaton de la Mort
April 24, 2012 at 1:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
Brianne
April 24, 2012 at 1:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
Zoe
April 24, 2012 at 1:18 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It doesn’t really matter (to me, anyway) who voiced it — Kermit sang it.
ACuriousMind
April 24, 2012 at 1:29 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I dunno.
Suezboo
April 24, 2012 at 1:34 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit
SherryH
April 24, 2012 at 1:35 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know if he was the first, or the only, but I distinctly remember hearing it sung by Kermit the Frog. (There may have been backup from other Muppets, but Kermit was definitely the main singer.) And, no, I don’t remember the voice actor who would actually have been singing it. Was Kermit voiced by Jim Henson?
And, again, not 100% sure, but I’m pretty positive it was in the Muppet Movie that I heard it.
Blondin
April 24, 2012 at 1:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Okay, I couldn’t help seeing other people’s answers but honestly I was going to say Kermit/Jim Henson.
Philip
April 24, 2012 at 1:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the frog
Synfandel
April 24, 2012 at 1:38 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Never heard of it.
Blondin
April 24, 2012 at 1:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kevin@10, Doug Henning WAS a magician. He died of liver cancer in 2000. I saw him perform live several times before he left Winnipeg. What a pity he got mixed up in TM bullshit and didn’t seek proper medical care when he needed it.
Donovan of NH
April 24, 2012 at 1:44 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know
george.w
April 24, 2012 at 1:45 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I scrolled past the other answers to say; Kermit The Frog sang the main song in the original Muppet Movie. Other characters may have joined in the chorus, I can’t remember.
This is not to say that the song couldn’t have existed prior but that is when I first heard it.
Darth Marmalade
April 24, 2012 at 1:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Mm? Yes, Kermit the Frog, voiced by Jim Henson, afaik. Now you’ve got me wondering if the Muppets got it from somewhere else.
Daniel Fincke
April 24, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
when you ask it like that, I must say Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog.
dpearson
April 24, 2012 at 1:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Never heard of it.
Stephanie
April 24, 2012 at 1:55 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog, definitely.
Jenna
April 24, 2012 at 2:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
John Denver! And of course Kermit… Which came first in my mind, I’m not terribly certain.
CyberLizard
April 24, 2012 at 2:01 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson
rpenner
April 24, 2012 at 2:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
My memory of the period indicates that many people sang it, but I thought it was first sang by Kermit the Frog.
kaboobie
April 24, 2012 at 2:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
My immediate response was Kermit the Frog, though with a moment’s reflection I might have said Jim Henson.
When Kermit started strumming the intro on his banjo in the recent film “The Muppets”, I teared up.
Alverant
April 24, 2012 at 2:06 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The world’s fastest filker, Tom Smith, still sings it often after his tribute song to Jim Henson titled, “A Boy and His Frog” (YouTube it and be prepared to turn on the water works).
I sing it too occasionlly.
Note, your question did not ask who sang it first, just who sang it.
carpenterman
April 24, 2012 at 2:06 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I could not even recall the song until I read the comments.
Does that mean I have no soul?
TX_secular
April 24, 2012 at 2:12 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
No idea, never heard of it.
sisu
April 24, 2012 at 2:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog, of course!
HP
April 24, 2012 at 2:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Lots and lots of people have sung “Rainbow Connection.” As others have pointed out, it was premiered by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie.
If you want to know who was the first to sing “Rainbow Connection,” then either Paul Williams or Kenneth Ascher, who are co-credited with music and lyrics. But this is easily accessible information, so I can’t fathom your purpose in asking.
Despite your assurances, I suspect this is a trick question of some sort, because you can Google like the rest of us.
[edit--I did not need to google, of course; I knew the answer(s). I was not after what the answer is, but after what people say the answer is. That's why it was a poll, not a question.--DC]
Unless you have reason to believe that the easily accessible information is wrong, in which case I’m going to guess Joe Raposo.
dobbinriddle
April 24, 2012 at 2:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
Besomyka
April 24, 2012 at 2:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know. The title sounds familiar, but I don’t have any melody or lyrics in my head that could even help me guess.
Probably a group from the 1970′s, but… heck if I know.
Trebuchet
April 24, 2012 at 2:26 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Posting without looking at any previous comments: I’m completely clueless. I don’t even remember a song of that title.
Thorne
April 24, 2012 at 2:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Don’t know. Never heard of it.
Rogue Medic
April 24, 2012 at 2:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Are you planning a scandalous rewrite of the lyrics?
Are you wondering if all you have to worry about is a fake frog?
The real danger is the pig. Cloven-hoofed and everything. Clearly a religious allegory.
I also associate the song with Kermie.
.
cathyw
April 24, 2012 at 2:31 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit The Frog, of course, and I think I might have a glimmer of what your reasons-to-be-named-later are…
Natalie Reed
April 24, 2012 at 2:36 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit The Frog did.
amenhotepstein
April 24, 2012 at 2:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog in “The Muppet Movie”
Natalie Reed
April 24, 2012 at 2:38 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And I have a bone to pick with anyone who says it WASN’T Kermit.
jmravec
April 24, 2012 at 2:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It was Kermit the Frog from the original Muppet Movie circa 1978.
Tim Eisele
April 24, 2012 at 2:44 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I agree that it was Kermit.
NathanDST
April 24, 2012 at 2:55 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog
First answer that came to me.
Pat
April 24, 2012 at 3:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit!
PaulG
April 24, 2012 at 3:03 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson.
Tenebrarius (@Tenebrarius)
April 24, 2012 at 3:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Andy Williams / Kermit the Frog
right?
Tenebrarius (@Tenebrarius)
April 24, 2012 at 3:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Grr… Argh….
Paul Williams. I was half right, right? I was picturing him as I gave the wrong name.
Physicalist
April 24, 2012 at 3:33 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog
Noadi
April 24, 2012 at 3:44 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog.
MoeFaux
April 24, 2012 at 3:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
My answer was “The Muppets.” But looking at the other responses, I have a vague recollection of it being Kermit.
Epinephrine
April 24, 2012 at 3:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit. It may be older, but it’s what I think of.
Jim Johnson
April 24, 2012 at 4:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog
sphex
April 24, 2012 at 4:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
KERMIT!!!
ToSeek
April 24, 2012 at 4:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit!
augustpamplona
April 24, 2012 at 4:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know who sang this.
Myxozoa
April 24, 2012 at 4:14 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog voiced by Jim Henson
Lorax
April 24, 2012 at 4:29 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit T. Frogg
Jag
April 24, 2012 at 4:31 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Whoever did the voice for Kermit the Frog, although it took me a few minutes to put an image with the voice in my head.
Justin Barrett
April 24, 2012 at 4:33 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson
Brad
April 24, 2012 at 4:48 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
Heather
April 24, 2012 at 4:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit and the Muppets.
EricJuve
April 24, 2012 at 4:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know
--bill
April 24, 2012 at 4:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit!
OverlappingMagisteria
April 24, 2012 at 4:57 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog! (though I have no idea who voiced him. Did Jim Henson do the voices too??)
HA2
April 24, 2012 at 5:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The version that I now have stuck in my head is by the Carpenters.
I have a suspicion that that is a cover, but you didn’t ask who sang it first, just who sang it :)
HennaHonu
April 24, 2012 at 5:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I have no idea. The name sounds vaguely familiar, but I definitely couldn’t hum a refrain…
jaranath
April 24, 2012 at 5:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog and/or Jim Henson. Dunno if the song was original or not, but that’s who (to me) “sings it”, and while I know Henson was Kermit, I really just think of the Muppet when I imagine the song.
No trick question? What are you up to, then…? Tell me and I’ll buy you a bottle of one of the finest wines of Idaho!
Katalina
April 24, 2012 at 5:25 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kenny Loggins?
Katalina
April 24, 2012 at 5:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
So now I cheated and looked at everyone else’s responses – I assumed Kermit the Frog wasn’t a choice, for some reason! I have a feeling that Kenny Loggins was a cover, too, and that I don’t know the original singer.
Linda Grilli Calhoun
April 24, 2012 at 5:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog voiced by Jim Henson.
Ed Oleen
April 24, 2012 at 5:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I just asked my good friend Miss Piggy, and her response (after swooning) was “KERMIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!”
Plien
April 24, 2012 at 5:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I just watched the latest Muppet movie, which has a version of this song, otherwise i wouldn’t have remembered the original muppet movie.
So that’s Kermit voiced by Jim Henson.
I <3 the muppets, get teary eyed by them & stuff like "a boy & his frog". Heck, i even get the wobblies by this post & thinking of all the good they have done.
The Muppets
Sesame Street
The Freggles
The Storyteller
Labyrinth (i <3 Bowie for his role in that movie!)
The Dark Crystal
Farscape
*sigh*
Hops of to watch some henson…
Don F
April 24, 2012 at 5:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m sure it was . . .
. . . Not A Clue . . . .
Minus
April 24, 2012 at 6:06 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Don’t know. Never heard of it.
Phrogge
April 24, 2012 at 6:11 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog (or, more properly, whoever voiced him at the time; Jim Henson, I think.)
Makita
April 24, 2012 at 6:46 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know. Never heard of it before. Sorry if that messes up your stats. Full disclosure. I didn’t grow up here, not my culture.
Nobby
April 24, 2012 at 6:54 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit! It may have been a cover, but I always associate it with Kermit.
iknklast
April 24, 2012 at 7:11 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog in the First Muppet Movie. Which I suppose means Jim Henson.
acupofneurochemicals
April 24, 2012 at 7:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
t don’t know
Anitra
April 24, 2012 at 7:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit The Frog
adamjackson
April 24, 2012 at 7:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I know the song from the Muppet Kermit, as performed by Frank Oz.
jameshotelling
April 24, 2012 at 7:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog!
reasonbeing
April 24, 2012 at 7:45 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog, but I have no clue who the actor that played his voice was if that is what you are looking for.
maddog1129
April 24, 2012 at 8:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I thought it was Kermit the Frog.
Chris Hallquist
April 24, 2012 at 8:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I have no idea.
Rob
April 24, 2012 at 8:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog
Stephanie Zvan
April 24, 2012 at 8:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson is my first answer. I would say Kermit, but A Muppet Christmas Carol disconnected the two for me.
Kristen
April 24, 2012 at 8:25 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Paul Williams wrote it, Kermit the Frog sang it originally. My favorite version is Paul Williams and Jason Mraz :)
Caleb O
April 24, 2012 at 8:26 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Mac Miller?
Fabio GarcÃa
April 24, 2012 at 8:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
No clue.
Jen
April 24, 2012 at 8:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog :D
puppy
April 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog. I couldn’t sing a single bar of it, though. The Muppets scare the crap out of me and I avoid them whenever possible.
Fighter
April 24, 2012 at 8:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Shit! My “honest first answer” is Kermit the Frog, so I guess I have to give that one, but the answer I really want to give is Me First and The Gimme Gimmes!!!!
Terriaminute
April 24, 2012 at 8:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson, as Kermit the Frog.
Andrew Hall
April 24, 2012 at 8:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I haven’t looked at any of the other answers, and I’m 95% sure it was Kermit the Frog from one of the Muppet movies.
DonDueed
April 24, 2012 at 8:56 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson, in character as Kermit (as far as I can recall).
Ray, rude-ass yankee
April 24, 2012 at 9:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
My recollection is that it was Kermit the Frog voiced by Jim Henson in “The Muppet Movie” Love that movie! That’s the only version I know.
Buffy
April 24, 2012 at 9:10 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the frog.
Artor
April 24, 2012 at 9:12 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Henson/Kermit are the only names I can come up with.
Mike Haubrich
April 24, 2012 at 9:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I remember watching the movie with my nephew in the theaters. Kermit the Frog. He also plays the banjo.
Helen
April 24, 2012 at 9:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Strictly speaking, I don’t know for sure. My immediate association is Kermit the Frog of The Muppets, so that would mean I think Jim Henson sang it.
That’s if you mean “who sang it first”. If you want a list of people who have sung the song at some point in time, then definitely Jim Henson, bunches of other people, and also a former classmate of mine.
[edit--I've sung it many a time, myself!--DC]
Stan Brooks
April 24, 2012 at 9:23 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Without first looking, I have absolutely no idea.
Lynn Wilhelm
April 24, 2012 at 9:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog. Don’t care if there was a human “behind” him it was Kermit.
Baalzaire
April 24, 2012 at 9:48 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit. With a little help from Jim Henson.
AMW
April 24, 2012 at 9:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit/Jim Henson
had3
April 24, 2012 at 9:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Paul Williams
had3
April 24, 2012 at 9:54 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Btw, I scrolled to the end of the comment section and entered my answer before reading any comments. Now for the good stuff…
tms
April 24, 2012 at 10:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I have absolutely no idea, nor have I ever heard, or heard of, “The Rainbow Connection”.
Liisa
April 24, 2012 at 10:35 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog!!
ron
April 24, 2012 at 10:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit
Chuck Nelson
April 24, 2012 at 10:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog.
You should check out the Doc “Finding Elmo”, great stuff with lots of old photos and footage of Jim and Kermit Love.
[edit--that would be "Being Elmo", and I intend to.--DC]
N. Nescio
April 25, 2012 at 12:14 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Skipped to bottom.
Jim Henson when he voiced Kermit the frog in the muppets movie.
I don’t ‘get’ this poll. I hope the results involve clever prose.
Russ
April 25, 2012 at 1:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the frog, in the swamp, with a banjo.
Emory K.
April 25, 2012 at 1:17 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
dunno.
martinbenson
April 25, 2012 at 3:59 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I have no idea. I suspect I’d recognize it if I heard it, but the title means nothing to me.
John S. Wilkins
April 25, 2012 at 4:35 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson.
Aliasalpha
April 25, 2012 at 6:47 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Am I the only one in shock at the number of people who’ve never heard of the song? You people were clearly not raised right if you don’t know the muppets!
EcksLibris
April 25, 2012 at 7:18 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog as voiced by Jim Henson in The Muppet Movie!
Tehpet
April 25, 2012 at 7:45 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit Theee Frog here folks. Also some other muppets. Some humans too, but nobody cares about them.
Eidolon
April 25, 2012 at 8:06 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Interesting. I can see Kermit on the bike, hear the intro banjo bit and and I would think Jim Henson voicing the song. Now I will go watch it.
como
April 25, 2012 at 8:12 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit’s is the first version I heard, back in the ’70s. I faintly remember some other woman singing it too, though (Dione Warwick?)
Mimmoth
April 25, 2012 at 8:17 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The one I remember is Kermit T Frog.
It’s a pretty good song, though, so I don’t doubt others have recorded it, and I have no reason to think Kermit was necessarily the first.
Scott Simmons
April 25, 2012 at 8:21 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
Now can I go Google it? I can’t help but be curious what other answers are floating around on the ‘net; I can’t recall ever hearing anyone else perform this other than as a Muppets homage.
hopeevey
April 25, 2012 at 9:09 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the frog, of course :)
The Lorax
April 25, 2012 at 10:04 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit.
Cedric Katesby
April 25, 2012 at 10:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit.
bahrfeldt
April 25, 2012 at 10:22 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Real nice to see what brings the greatest number of responses. For the record, I remembered Kermit, assuming a cover but I see no one else will swear to that either.
Shawn
April 25, 2012 at 10:50 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
Urg
April 25, 2012 at 11:01 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the frog.
Janstince
April 25, 2012 at 11:12 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
One Brow
April 25, 2012 at 11:14 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
KIermit at the beginning of the movie, with a reprise by all the Muppets at the end of the movie.
=8)-DX
April 25, 2012 at 11:17 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I am sadly unqualified to answer this question. However, I do have an appropriate photo taken last week.
Rainbow power is the future resolution of the energy crisis
Atomic Z
April 25, 2012 at 11:56 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog (aka Jim Henson)
David
April 25, 2012 at 11:56 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ahh fond memories of my childhood… it was, of course, Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie, as so many have said. I still own the album and photo book. Jim Henson was one of the greats.
Captain Mike
April 25, 2012 at 12:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
@ Kevin @ 10: Henning was a magician, but he later went insane and then even later went into Canadian politics (while still nuts). His Natural Law Party wanted to replace the military with levitating transcendental meditators.
machintelligence
April 25, 2012 at 12:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Sadly, I have no clue.
PorkRoller
April 25, 2012 at 12:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog
trubertiam
April 25, 2012 at 1:49 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Heigh-ho, Kermit the Frog.
Rip Van Winkle
April 25, 2012 at 2:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
1. Kenny Loggins
2. Kermit the Frog
I thought of them *almost* simultaneously so it was difficult to say which was my “first” thought.
ctenotrish
April 25, 2012 at 2:09 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog.
caseloweraz
April 25, 2012 at 2:23 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
There’s no way to prove it, of course, but yes, I clearly remember that it was Kermit the Frog, on the illimitable Muppets Show.
(And I would guess that Kermit was voiced by the late Jim Henson.)
Warren
April 25, 2012 at 4:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog, as voiced by Jim Henson.
F
April 25, 2012 at 4:28 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog and teh Muppets?
bradself
April 25, 2012 at 5:02 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I didn’t know
Eric O
April 25, 2012 at 5:56 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know that song. Maybe I’d recognise it if I heard it, but I still probably wouldn’t know who the singer is unless he or she has a very distinctive voice.
Eric O
April 25, 2012 at 6:01 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Disregard this comment for polling purposes: After googling it, it seems like I do know the song after all. I just didn’t recognise the title.
Matthew Morse
April 25, 2012 at 6:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m guessing that the point of asking is the distinction between Kermit and Jim Henson. That is, did Kermit sing it, or did Jim Henson? My answer, in agreement with the majority, is Kermit.
oldebabe
April 25, 2012 at 6:54 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
i don’t know. I don’t even know the song, and perhaps have never heard it.
rodrigo
April 25, 2012 at 7:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
What is “The Rainbow Connection”?
Of course, right after that first thought came “It’s a song, you silly!”, but you did ask for our first …
fizzchick
April 25, 2012 at 7:52 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog
Badland
April 25, 2012 at 8:19 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Late to the party but it’s Jim Henson via Kermit, ya?
Alethea H. Claw
April 25, 2012 at 10:18 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit (character); Jim Henson (actor)
For any musical, if you ask me who sang a song, I’d only give the actor’s name if I forgot the character’s name.
DJJ
April 25, 2012 at 10:46 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The lovers, the dreamers, and Kermit.
craigthomas
April 26, 2012 at 1:04 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit
Theshiningfool
April 26, 2012 at 9:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog!
(I have no idea who sang for Kermit, but he’s the reason I know the song, and the reason I picked up the banjo!)
OmegaMom
April 26, 2012 at 9:06 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
KERMIEEEEEE! Of course it’s Kermit The Frog! And, oh, yeah, some human guy named Jim Henson.
Pierce R. Butler
April 26, 2012 at 10:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Damfino.
*reads some comments*
Oh, no wonder: I’m of the pre-SS generation.
Jon
April 27, 2012 at 9:29 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog sang it in the movie. Other people have covered it, of course.
llyris
April 27, 2012 at 9:31 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the frog. Well, the man behind the frog. Was it Jim Henson?
*Done! now I can read the comments*
Die Anyway
April 28, 2012 at 12:30 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Hmmm… a poll that can’t be pharyngulated.
First thought was Kermit, second thought was “well literally it was whomever was the voice of Kermit”, third thought was “was Jim Henson still doing Kermit at that point?”
I’m old enough to remember Kermit from the original coffee commercials. I was living in the D.C. area at the time.
carolw
April 28, 2012 at 4:26 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Kermit the Frog. I love that song. Here, I’m going to age myself – we sang it in elementary school choir (shortly after it came out).
Phledge
April 28, 2012 at 4:29 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I think Matthew @#155 has it. My very first thought was Kermit, but then my mind revolted and said, “Kermit isn’t REAL–it was Jim Henson!” But then I wondered what the definition of real is if it excludes a character like Kermit. I might be confused all day.
The Ridger
April 29, 2012 at 8:25 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’m too late to vote, but I wanted to thank Alethea H. Claw – it bugs me when people say “Jimmy Stewart said” or whatever. I know why they do it, but the odds that Stewart (for example) subscribed to everything his characters said are vanishingly small…
Katkinkate
April 30, 2012 at 12:26 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The puppeteer behind Kermit the frog. Technically it was Kermit, but he’s actually just an imaginary character personified by a felt puppet with someone’s hand up its fabric backside.
Katkinkate
April 30, 2012 at 12:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Unless, someone else performed it first then that might be the right answer, but the first time I ever heard of it was with Kermit.
abb3w
April 30, 2012 at 1:10 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Errr? Well, the song by that name I recognize was a number from the original Muppet Movie. The main singer for the opening version was Kermit T. Frog, voiced by Jim Henson, though some of the other Muppets also sang in the reprise – I’d guess Frank Oz was at least one of the voices. There probably are others in the Henson team who were singing in the reprise, but those are the only two muppeteers I recall by name.
As I suspect a trick question, I’d note it’s been sung by others since; there might possibly be another unrelated song by that name; and I’m not 100% sure it was original to the Muppet Movie, either.
Now, to go peek at what other people said….
Skye
May 2, 2012 at 11:02 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Sorry, I must have grown up under a rock – I am 30, and my first response was Kenny Loggins!
Neil C. Reinhardt
August 3, 2012 at 5:45 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
SORRY, PROBABLY DUE TO MY BEING OLDER THAN DIRT :-)
I HAVE NO IDEA,
Neil C. Reinhardt
August 3, 2012 at 5:56 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
EVEN WE WHO ARE “OLDER THAN DIRT” CAN AND DO, LEARN.
Muppet Movie – The Rainbow Connection – was written for The Muppet Movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFLZ-MzIhM
Jason Mraz
Rainbow Connection 3:46.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dggdoi0rgSjI
Willie Nelson performing Rainbow Connection.
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h%3Fv%3DdeebKNI-dTE