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wiley207
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Having watched so many old "Sesame Street" episodes and segments, I have been able to gather information on where many of the sound effects heard in the street scenes and cast/Muppet segments from 1969 up to the early 80s came from, as the sound effects were a lot more unique back then...
One thing I noticed is that back in the day, they often tended to make their own sound effects for certain things, especially the "boings" (like Harvey Kneeslapper pasting a letter or number on his victim), crashes (especially all those off-screen ones) and a few other assorted foley sounds. In many cases these would obviously be pre-recorded, as I'd often hear a certain effect in more than one sketch (I've learned to recognize quite a few of the crashing sounds they've made.) But there are also some instances when taping a sketch where certain sound effects appear to have been done live, like in the old days of radio. One example is in the first season's "The Mysterious Nose Snatcher"; if you listen closely you can hear a guy softly saying "Pop" to cue the sound effects guy to make the popping sound of Ernie's nose coming off. And in the early 70s sketch when Grover instructs the sentient letter R to demonstrate certain R words, it sounds like a couple of the effects, most notably for when the R "rolls" and "rocks", were done live off-camera as the skit was being taped.
Then there are the obvious stock sounds that were taken off of sound effect records. In most cases, they used the Major Records Sound Effects Library from Valentino, a library that saw really heavy use from many production companies between the 50s and the 80s (I remember "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and "Gumby" using quite a few of their effects as well.) Several effects that I was able to identify from the Major library include the wolf howls (often used in sketches with Count von Count), the clattering sounds of the Baker's desserts when he falls down those stairs, any explosions used in this period, wind blowing (like Super Grover flying), the thunderclap often used with Count von Count throughout the 70s (I've also heard it used in Henson's "Tales of the Tinkerdee" pilot from 1962), elephants trumpeting (like Oscar's pet elephant Fluffy) and the steam train sounds they'd often use during that era.
I have also heard some sound effects from Elektra's "Authentic Sound Effects" series of LP records from the 1960s used on the show, such as that fire engine sound with multiple sirens and the doppler bell clanging (like when Ernie tried counting fire engines at night), or that sketch when the Two-Headed Monster tries driving a car with disastrous results; the car crash sound effect in that one came from the "Authentic Sound Effects" library as well, and it was also used a lot by Hanna-Barbera and on "The Price is Right" for the Cliffhangers game.
Just thought this information would be rather useful. And of course, the animated segments' sound effects are a whole other ballpark, since they came from SO MANY sources.
One thing I noticed is that back in the day, they often tended to make their own sound effects for certain things, especially the "boings" (like Harvey Kneeslapper pasting a letter or number on his victim), crashes (especially all those off-screen ones) and a few other assorted foley sounds. In many cases these would obviously be pre-recorded, as I'd often hear a certain effect in more than one sketch (I've learned to recognize quite a few of the crashing sounds they've made.) But there are also some instances when taping a sketch where certain sound effects appear to have been done live, like in the old days of radio. One example is in the first season's "The Mysterious Nose Snatcher"; if you listen closely you can hear a guy softly saying "Pop" to cue the sound effects guy to make the popping sound of Ernie's nose coming off. And in the early 70s sketch when Grover instructs the sentient letter R to demonstrate certain R words, it sounds like a couple of the effects, most notably for when the R "rolls" and "rocks", were done live off-camera as the skit was being taped.
Then there are the obvious stock sounds that were taken off of sound effect records. In most cases, they used the Major Records Sound Effects Library from Valentino, a library that saw really heavy use from many production companies between the 50s and the 80s (I remember "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and "Gumby" using quite a few of their effects as well.) Several effects that I was able to identify from the Major library include the wolf howls (often used in sketches with Count von Count), the clattering sounds of the Baker's desserts when he falls down those stairs, any explosions used in this period, wind blowing (like Super Grover flying), the thunderclap often used with Count von Count throughout the 70s (I've also heard it used in Henson's "Tales of the Tinkerdee" pilot from 1962), elephants trumpeting (like Oscar's pet elephant Fluffy) and the steam train sounds they'd often use during that era.
I have also heard some sound effects from Elektra's "Authentic Sound Effects" series of LP records from the 1960s used on the show, such as that fire engine sound with multiple sirens and the doppler bell clanging (like when Ernie tried counting fire engines at night), or that sketch when the Two-Headed Monster tries driving a car with disastrous results; the car crash sound effect in that one came from the "Authentic Sound Effects" library as well, and it was also used a lot by Hanna-Barbera and on "The Price is Right" for the Cliffhangers game.
Just thought this information would be rather useful. And of course, the animated segments' sound effects are a whole other ballpark, since they came from SO MANY sources.
