New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Just in time for the holiday season, the cozy collection of music from Jim Henson's EMMET OTTER'S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS will be available commercially for the first time ever this November. The 16-track album with music written and produced by Grammy®-, Golden Globe®- and Oscar-winning songwriter, Paul Williams ("Rainbow Connection," 'Theme from "The Love Boat,'" "We've Only Just Begun") will hit store shelves and all digital platforms on November 2nd. The album will be released on vinyl exclusively at thousands of independent record stores on
Black Friday, November 23rd. A list of participating stores can be found at RecordStoreDay.com/Stores.
Based on a book by Russell and Lillian Hoban, this beloved Christmas tale, with an all-puppet cast of woodland creatures, tells the story of Ma and Emmet Otter - a family that has little more than each other. When a talent show is held in town, a fifty-dollar prize gives them each hope of buying the other a real present. Originally broadcast on HBO in December 1977, the special was nominated for four Emmy® awards. Directed by Jim Henson and adapted for the screen by Jerry Juhl, EMMET OTTER starred Jerry
Nelson (Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show) as Emmet Otter, Frank Oz (Star Wars, The Muppet Show, The Dark Crystal) as the puppet performer of Ma Otter, Marilyn Sokol (Sesame Street) as the voice of Ma Otter, along with frequent Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Eren Ozker, and Jim Henson himself.
Both the CD/digital and vinyl releases contain 15 tracks from the TV special and a bonus, "lost" song that never made it to air, along with extended liner notes featuring interviews with Oz and Goelz, and a special note from Williams. Paul recalls, "The great thing about Jim Henson is that he never wrote down to his audience. He never asked me to write kids' music. But there is a humor in there that is pure Muppet. And I think that the inspiration came from the book, but it also came solidly from my exposure to Jim's style. That's why you wind up with lines [from "Bar-B-Que"] like 'the sauce Mama makes will stay there forever if you dare to get it under your nails.' I think that sometimes we're at our best when we're trying to show off for somebody we really love - and I really loved Jim."
On December 9, in celebration of the first release of the original soundtrack recording of EMMET OTTER'S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS, Academy Award®-winning composer Paul Williams joins Jim Henson Legacy President
Craig Shemin at The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York for a clip-filled discussion of his many musical collaborations with Jim Henson and the Muppets. After the program, Paul Williams will sign EMMET OTTER CDs (available for sale in the museum shop). For more information on "An Afternoon with Paul Williams," please visit movingimage.us.
Music.Film Recordings is also partnering with Rochester, NY's Lovin' Cup Bistro & Brews to present "The
Music of Emmet Otter's Jug-band Christmas (and other Jim Henson favorites)"! Featuring an all-star lineup of Rochester's favorite bands, the event will pay homage to EMMET OTTER with an interactive performance of its music. There will be four shows across 3 dates, November 30-December 2, and tickets will be available through Lovin' Cup.
1. The Bathing Suit That Grandma Wore
2. Jam Session
3. Ain't No Hole In The Washtub
4. When The River Meets The Sea
5. Bar-B-Que (Jug Band)
6. Carrots The Dancing Horse
7. Bar-B-Que (Yancy Woodchuck)
8. Dancing Rabbit Act
9. Squirrel Acrobatic Act
10. Our World
11. Brothers
12. Riverbottom
Nightmare Band
13. Our World-Brothers
14. Our World-Brothers Club Reprise
15. When The River Meets The Sea Reprise
Bonus Track:
16. Born In A Trunk
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 60 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world-famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include Julie's Greenroom (Netflix), Dot. (Universal Kids /Hulu), Splash and
Bubbles (PBS), Word Party (Netflix), Doozers (Hulu/ Sprout), and the Emmy®-nominated Sid the Science Kid (PBS), Dinosaur
Train (PBS), and Pajanimals (Universal Kids). Television productions include Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller and the sci-fi cult series Farscape. Features include Disney's
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, as well as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, MirrorMask, and Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow. The Company is currently in production on the upcoming Netflix original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Projects in development include the highly anticipated film Fraggle Rock.
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and post production facilities. The Company is home to Jim Henson's Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television, theme park and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry's top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company's Henson Alternative brand recently premiered The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (Netflix) and is currently touring Puppet-Up! - Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show. Its feature The Happytime Murders, starring Melissa McCarthy, was released last summer.
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