Released June 1979 | Recorded 1978 | |
Published 1979 (Fuzzy Muppet Songs) Label Atlantic (1979)
Walt Disney Writer(s) Paul Williams
Kenneth Ascher | ||
"Rainbow Connection" is a song from the 1979 film, The Muppet Movie, with music and lyrics written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. The song was performed by Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson) in the film. "Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1979, with the song remaining in the Top 40 for seven weeks total. Williams and Ascher received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 52nd Academy Awards.
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Critical reception and legacy
Kenneth Ascher and Paul Williams received Oscar nominations at the 52nd Academy Awards for the score of The Muppet Movie and for "Rainbow Connection", which Allmusic described as an "unlikely radio hit ... which Kermit the Frog sings with all the dreamy wistfulness of a short, green Judy Garland" and went on to add that "Rainbow Connection" serves the same purpose in The Muppet Movie that "Over the Rainbow" served in The Wizard of Oz, with nearly equal effectiveness: an opening establishment of the characters' driving urge for something more in life." The song lost the Oscar to "It Goes Like It Goes" from Norma Rae, a win that some critics decried.
The song's name has been used by a number of charitable organizations wishing to evoke its message, including a children's charity similar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a summer camp for seriously ill children, and a horseriding camp for people with disabilities. The name's influence can also be seen from business names to artificial Christmas tree products.
The American Film Institute named Rainbow Connection the 74th greatest movie song of all time in AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs.
In 1996 in Whanganui, New Zealand, a 21-year-old man burst into a radio station (Star FM) and took the manager hostage. His demand was to play "Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog.
Other renditions in Muppets productions
Kermit the Frog reprised the song on The Muppet Show in 1980 as a duet with Debbie Harry when she was a guest star. The song is also reprised by a large group of Muppets as the closing number in the 1986 special The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years. Kermit the Frog also reprises the song in the 2011 film The Muppets, this time as a duet with Miss Piggy that leads into the entire Muppet group singing together. A shorter version of the song performed by tribute band "The Moopets" is also used in the film. The iTunes release of The Muppets soundtrack includes a new version of the song as an exclusive bonus track, recorded by Steve Whitmire, the current performer of Kermit the Frog. The song was also reprised in the TV series The Muppets, in the 2015 episode "Pig's in a Blackout".
Covers
The following artists have also covered the song: