This morning, I was writing a post for Pop Rock Nation about kids' music. The post was inspired, in part, by my discovery of Alison Krauss's latest project with children's author Sandra Boynton. I blogged about that yesterday.
Anyway, as I was writing the post, I was thinking of classic children's songs. And of course, the last song I put in the post was "The Rainbow Connection", made famous by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie. As a child of the 70s and 80s, that song was part of my childhood soundtrack. I usually find it very moving, though I like some renditions more than others.
Who knew this song would touch so many people, kids and adults alike? Now I think I need to pull out my Muppet Movie Soundtrack.
Anyway, as I was writing the post, I was thinking of classic children's songs. And of course, the last song I put in the post was "The Rainbow Connection", made famous by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie. As a child of the 70s and 80s, that song was part of my childhood soundtrack. I usually find it very moving, though I like some renditions more than others.
This is the classic interpretation of Paul Williams' and Kenneth Ascher's famous song…
Later, Debbie Harry of Blondie sang it with Kermit on The Muppet Show.
Jason Mraz tackles it in this video…
I love the way Willie Nelson does "The Rainbow Connection". He starts playing at 2:00 in this video. I used this song when I made a memorial video for my sweet old hound, MacGregor.
Here's Kenny Loggins' distinctly 90s version of "The Rainbow Connection".
And yes, Karen Carpenter sang it too. I kind of think Richard went a bit schmaltzy with this arrangement. Too bad, since Karen's vocals are exquisite. Incidentally, Karen Carpenter died 31 years ago today.
Not to be outdone, Sarah MacLachlan sang it too… adding her own brooding style to this song.
Jazz singer Jane Monheit offers her dreamy interpretation of "The Rainbow Connection". Jane Monheit is especially fond of songs about rainbows. Check out her version of "Over The Rainbow".
The Dixie Chicks contribute a pleasing bluegrassy version of "The Rainbow Connection". I really like their version, too. And this video is very cute!
And finally, there's my version. I actually recorded this in September in a key I don't usually do it in...
Who knew this song would touch so many people, kids and adults alike? Now I think I need to pull out my Muppet Movie Soundtrack.
