In Colorado this time
of year, afternoon thundershowers are prevalent, invariably followed by a stunning
rainbow. So, the other day when I saw
yet one more, I was reminded of the wonderful song “Rainbow Connection,”
written by the award winning songwriters Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher.
Originally performed
by muppet Kermit the Frog (voiced by the late, great Jim Henson), It debuted in
the 1979 hit The Muppet Movie (if you
haven’t seen that movie, it’s another one of those “Not to be missed” things to
put on your list).
Williams and Ascher,
both in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, earned Oscar nominations for the movie’s
score and this terrific song, which often has been compared with “Over The
Rainbow” in The Wizard of Oz exactly 40 years earlier. Both songs are beautiful, make up the opening
scene of their respective movies, and reflect each singer's urge to find
something more in life.
"Rainbow
Connection" has been recorded by hundreds of artists around the world –
everyone from Jason Mraz to Willie Nelson and Sarah McLaughlin to the Yale
University Whiffenpoofs and the Cast of “Glee.”
The American Film Institute rated it the 74th greatest movie
song of all time – not bad for being sung by a frog.
Here's a version by
the late Karen Carpenter, whose voice truly took every song to its highest
level. May you find your own rainbow
connection in all your writers' moments.
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