John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together

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.

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
Title card
GenreTelevision special
Created byJim Henson
Written by
Directed byTony Charmoli
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Production
Executive producerJerry Weintraub
ProducerBob Finkel
Running time50 minutes
Production companyHenson Associates
Release
Original networkABC
Original release
  • December 5, 1979 (1979-12-05)

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 and the Muppets: A Christmas Together

Muppet performers

Soundtrack album
A Christmas Together
Soundtrack album by
John Denver and The Muppets
ReleasedOctober 1979
GenreChristmas music
Length35:25
LabelRCA Records
ProducerMilton Okun
John Denver chronology
John Denver
(1979)		 A Christmas Together
(1979)		 Autograph
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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.TitleWriter(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"
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 WilliamsRobin the Frog and Denver with the Muppets 
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Little Saint Nick"
Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem 
2."Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913"
Denver 
3."The Christmas Wish"Danny WheetmanKermit the Frog with the Muppets 
4."Alfie, the Christmas Tree"/"Carol for a Christmas Tree"/"It's in Every One of Us" (medley)
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

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

Session musicians
  • Hal Blaine – drums, percussion, arranger
  • Denny Brooks – 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
  • Danny Wheetman – mandolin, harmonica, arranger

References
  1. Christmas Together - John Denver, The Muppets | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
  2. Doe, Andrew G. "Album Archiveq". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012.
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