Put Down The Duckie: Our Favorite Sesame Street Musical Guests

Word that Jason Mraz will spoof his mega-hit “I’m Yours” on Sesame Street this season, by re-writing it as “Outdoors,” has us at NPT thinking about all the other musicians who have stopped by the show, to either parody one of their own songs, sing one straight, or join the gang in a singalong celebration of letters and learning. We quickly started sharing our favorites. The beauty of You Tube, of course, is that we can then share them with you. Below are some of our favorites, or at least the ones we could find online (where’s REM doing “Furry Happy Monsters?”) Let us know in the comments if you agree, and then share your own. I don’t want to influence you, but we saved what might be the best, for last. If you watch only one of these, make it the All-Star jam of “Put Down The Duckie.” Kudos also to Elmo, for coining the word “snorey” in the Bocelli clip. The 40th season of Sesame Street begins on NPT and PBS Stations nationwide on November 10.

If you’re on the blog home page, click “read more” below to access clips. If not, they’re right here:

James Taylor

Feist

Andrea Bocelli

Sheryl Crow

Aaron Neville

Johnny Cash

Linda Ronstadt

Bela Fleck

Stevie Wonder

Cab Calloway

Pete Seeger, Celia Cruz, Paul Simon, Itzhak Perlman, Wynton Marsalis and more: “Put Down The Duckie”