The closing themes of Sesame Street

[mikebennidict]

There was also a closing theme in the 70's that featured hands holding a steering wheel while down a road.

Did we ever find out who was driving?

 

[TDY]

I had completely forgotten about the segment with Barkley....weren't they playing hide-and-seek or something? That just brought back a few memories for me.
I don't really like the new closing. I was upset when Sesame Street got so animated in their opening and closing themes. Maybe its just a personal preference.

I agree with you, Firey Princess. This one opening I'd seen a few weeks back (it was the newest one, I think.) It was so short - they only sang one verse of the song! I absolutely love the Barley closing. When I saw it on youtube, it brought back so many good memories . . .

 

[ISNorden]

I miss the old bells-and-horns ending theme, if only because it was so different from the typical ending themes on kids' shows. (Yes, I've watched Sesame Street since it first aired; however, I'm unlikely to remember any details from episodes earlier than 1971.)

I do remember the "scrolling building" and the "Barkley/kids" endings from the classic years. (Even as a teenager who'd learned about some TV tricks, I wondered how they hid such a huge Muppet dog behind such a skinny tree. ) I've also seen the "steering wheel" ending a few times; if I'm not confusing endings, I think Little Bird showed up in that one. The "sunset over NYC" ending must have been pretty rare, though, since I've never noticed it even in episodes whose story ended at night.

Like most of the old-timers here, I grew up seeing the closing credits only on Fridays; seeing them every day on the recent episodes still feels wrong somehow.

P.S. It's one heckuva shame that even the first verse of the opening theme has been shortened to make room for more commercials; will kids with no access to Noggin ever learn there was MUCH more to the Sesame Street theme? (Nowadays, the only hint of a longer version plays when characters on the street need to work the Things-of-the-Day into a closing conversation.)

 

[HansdsomeDoc]

I must find this tune!!

Hi, I heve never posted on this forum before but I am currently obsessed with finding a nugget of my childhood on the net and have been stumped at every turn!!! Here's what I am trying to find:

Like one of the other posters in this thread (superfan), I distinctly recall a SS closing credits that featured a mother and her child sliding down what can only be described as a "concrete luge" on a sac or something. The ride lasted the whole credits, but I do not know what music was playing. It may have been this "bells and horns" music I keep hearing about, but I can't find any closing themes anywhere either so I have nothing to base that claim off of.

It is my understanding that this ending (played during the 80s I'm thinking) was exclusive to the Canadian broadcast of Sesame Street, and therefore may be completely unknown to Americans.

At any rate, I am trying to find a clip of this end sequence, or even somewhere to get the ending music. Can anyone suggest anything?

Thanks!

 

[Gonzo14]

i liked the one in the late 80s, early 90s timeline, with animation, in the background, but at times had live action clips of the cast dancing in the animated background. I think there was a Jim Henson statue of liberty too.

 

[ssetta]

Hi, I heve never posted on this forum before but I am currently obsessed with finding a nugget of my childhood on the net and have been stumped at every turn!!! Here's what I am trying to find:

Like one of the other posters in this thread (superfan), I distinctly recall a SS closing credits that featured a mother and her child sliding down what can only be described as a "concrete luge" on a sac or something. The ride lasted the whole credits, but I do not know what music was playing. It may have been this "bells and horns" music I keep hearing about, but I can't find any closing themes anywhere either so I have nothing to base that claim off of.

It is my understanding that this ending (played during the 80s I'm thinking) was exclusive to the Canadian broadcast of Sesame Street, and therefore may be completely unknown to Americans.

At any rate, I am trying to find a clip of this end sequence, or even somewhere to get the ending music. Can anyone suggest anything?

Thanks!

Yes, I do know the one you're talking about. I'm not from Canada, but I've seen it on this incomplete Canadian episode from...I think it's from either '79 or '80 that I have on tape. It featured the normal harmonica music that was used on the Barkley and the Kids closing here in the U.S. But, get this, in 1992, when our version of SS dropped that closing, and the old harmonica music, they actually put the "new" closing music (the animated credits music) on the old slide ending, which looked REALLY wierd! And, get this, they still used the bells and horns music for the 1992-93 season in Canada! But after that, they did away with the slide ending, and they replaced the backers music with the calypso music that was used on the American version.

 

[JLG]

Hi folks,
I am new and watched SS from about 1977-1982 and have recently been completely obsessed with finding out more about that "bells and horns" theme music (artist, title, etc) and if anyone (oh please say YES) has it as an mp3.
I am afraid I have nothing new and exciting to trade except for the pinball video (Pointer Sisters song) I downloaded today.
Anyway, I'd love to hear what you all have to say.
Thanks.

Hey monkeymissile:

You'll be happy to know that that wacky "bells and horns" closing can be heard online at mythemes.tv (oddly enough, that's the entire URL) under "Sesame Street". It's the entire 1969-1992 Friday close complete with the 1972-1992 sponsers theme. It's apparantly taken from some '80s episode since it includes the sound of the 80s PBS bumper. The sound quality is a little muffled, but still.

A slightly truncated version of just the sponsers music (the bells and horns) can also be heard at this on-and-off address yucc.yorku.ca/~kram/multi. Right now that page is gone (again), but I've seen it come back from the dead before, so ya never know.

I too have a strange fascination for that 30-second-long piece of wailing soundtrack. I read somewhere online that it was written by an uncredited Herbie Hancock, but there was nothing to back it up, so I don't know for sure. (Besides, Sesame Street is to "uncredited" as the human body is to "water"; most of it has always been anonymous. )

I love that "nightime" version of the SS theme you guys are talking about. I have #1845---it's one of the ones that rather oddly plays it over the usual Barkley/kids ending. I don't think it really fits....

Also, regarding the sponsers segment switch from the black backround to the "blue marble"; don't forget the purple background that was used in between those two. That's the one I mostly grew up on---that's what it was changed to in 1984. Just flat purple, not textured like the blue one that followed it. I'm not exactly sure when they dropped it; #2820, which was from the 1990-91 season and broadcast in February '91, has it, but others with a 1990 date on them still have the purple backdrop---not sure if they're from the '89 or '90 season. Example: "The Knights of the Broken Table" episode at the MT&R. (I don't remember the number, which would answer the question, I guess.) It seems to me it must have been changed in the middle of the '90-'91 season.

Also, my memory seems to be in conflict with a consensus among some people here.... They did change the old opening and closing themesin 1992, but it seems to me that the "bells and horns" music held on for one more year.
Anybody....?

 

[JLG]

Sunday comic

Did anyone happen to see this? I don't remember the name of it, but some newspaper comic made a direct reference to the Barkely closing a couple months back. I forget its name---it's like a much milder "Far Side"; that kind of anything-goes weird humor with no continuing characters. It shows this cranky-looking businessman standing in a field surrounded by these kids running around, and he's saying "Look, seriously, I'm late for an appointment. Can you please tell me how to get to Sesame Street.....No, wait! Don't disappear behind the tree again!"

I wonder how many people out there got that. The cartoonist's editor apparantly thought the reference would fly with enough people.....

 

[gutchman]

weren't there other episodes on SS unpaved that had the nighttime version of the closing theme besides episodes 666 and 2404? What about episode 2059, where big bird falls asleep from maria's life story? Also, did episode 2124 have the nighttime closing theme since it ended at night?

 

[ssetta]

Episode 2059 actually had the normal closing music. It didn't actually take place at night, it took place during the day. I've noticed that occasionally in the 90s, sometimes they would use the sleepytime music if there was someone sleeping, and it was daytime. Both episodes 2123 and 2124 had the sleepytime music.