SifuPhil
R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
- Location
- Pennsylvania, USA
I'm often asked in my professional capacity as Keeper of the Silly Television Memories about the history of Mahna Mahna. This wondrous progeny of Children's Television Workshop, and especially the fertile mind of Jim Henson, inventor and Grand Pooh-Bah of Sesame Street, is known the world over as the single most addictive song ever created.
But the song did not originate on Sesame Street, oh, no, children. Originally titled "Mah-Na Mah-Na," it was written by composer Piero Umiliani for an Italian documentary about life in Sweden, titled Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell).
The song went on to appear in the 1969-1970 season of The Red Skelton Show, the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] episode of Sesame Street, the first episode of The Muppet Show and, of course, as the de rigueur comic sketch scene music for The Benny Hill Show.
Here is the song's original appearance on Sesame Street in 1969, performed by Bip Bippadotta and two "Anything Muppet" girls - simple, unadorned, pure genius ...
By the time the song reached the inaugural episode of The Muppet Show it had been the recipient of expensive staging and costuming as well as refined audio and video editing. The two little girls from the original version were replaced by The Snowths and the star turn was played by none other than Mahna Mahna himself ...
[video=youtube_share;RAhd6M-Ddzg]http://youtu.be/RAhd6M-Ddzg[/video]
The song went on to make starring appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (1969), The Dick Cavett Show (1971), This Is Tom Jones (1971), Pure Goldie (starring Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi and Johnny Carson) (1971) and countless other shows and specials, up to and including a wonderfully insane turn by Sandra Bullock in 1996, ably supported by evergreen star Kermit the Frog ...
[video=youtube_share;g4l1k4XLvo0]http://youtu.be/g4l1k4XLvo0[/video]
Regardless of who is singing, the basics of the performance remain the same: a central character starts out conforming to the structure of the song, but falls into improvisational scat passages whenever possible. Although the back-up singers attempt to bring order back to the number, their effort is ultimately futile. This is indicative of the hopelessness of Man and his place in the Universe.
Mahna Mahna is more than just a song, much more - it is a grand admission of lunacy, a comfortable veil of insanity and an opportunity to smile when all around you is darkness.
But the song did not originate on Sesame Street, oh, no, children. Originally titled "Mah-Na Mah-Na," it was written by composer Piero Umiliani for an Italian documentary about life in Sweden, titled Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell).
The song went on to appear in the 1969-1970 season of The Red Skelton Show, the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] episode of Sesame Street, the first episode of The Muppet Show and, of course, as the de rigueur comic sketch scene music for The Benny Hill Show.
Here is the song's original appearance on Sesame Street in 1969, performed by Bip Bippadotta and two "Anything Muppet" girls - simple, unadorned, pure genius ...
By the time the song reached the inaugural episode of The Muppet Show it had been the recipient of expensive staging and costuming as well as refined audio and video editing. The two little girls from the original version were replaced by The Snowths and the star turn was played by none other than Mahna Mahna himself ...
[video=youtube_share;RAhd6M-Ddzg]http://youtu.be/RAhd6M-Ddzg[/video]
The song went on to make starring appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (1969), The Dick Cavett Show (1971), This Is Tom Jones (1971), Pure Goldie (starring Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi and Johnny Carson) (1971) and countless other shows and specials, up to and including a wonderfully insane turn by Sandra Bullock in 1996, ably supported by evergreen star Kermit the Frog ...
[video=youtube_share;g4l1k4XLvo0]http://youtu.be/g4l1k4XLvo0[/video]
Regardless of who is singing, the basics of the performance remain the same: a central character starts out conforming to the structure of the song, but falls into improvisational scat passages whenever possible. Although the back-up singers attempt to bring order back to the number, their effort is ultimately futile. This is indicative of the hopelessness of Man and his place in the Universe.
Mahna Mahna is more than just a song, much more - it is a grand admission of lunacy, a comfortable veil of insanity and an opportunity to smile when all around you is darkness.