Hi everybody! I am a Quebecer fan back from 1970. Became crazed with the Beatles practically overnight, at 12 of age, some 3 or 4 months after they had split up! And in a way, I still am, today at 47! The thing happened on one of those lazy summer afternoons when you run out of fun things to do and you almost long for school to resume... I asked that good pal of mine if he had ever heard those pop radio melodies I was pretty sure were from the Beatles, I proceeded to hum these to him... Sure, he said, just come over to my place, my older brother HAS ALL THOSE RECORDS!!! Sure enough, he spent he rest of the day spinning those wonderful, cool looking Apple 45s he had - much all the Beatles Apple singles in fact - and full blast... The world was just never the same for me after that trip!

Anyway, here is my query. Did I DREAM seeing the Muppets on the Ed Sullivan Show back in '69 or '70, lip-synching Come Together, all dressed up and bearded like the Beatles?
From the moment I got Internet in '97, I have been looking for a link on this and just never found one! So either I don't know where to really look, or I have simply imagined all this...
If no one else here saw this skit, could anyone help me get to a good link, where I could try and settle this once and for all... or go back to sleep!?

Welcome and let's hope you'll enjoy the forums.

Just a question: were The Muppets already born in 1969?

Welcome. I KNOW you will enjoy the forums.

Lets see if we can help you with The Muppets thing.

Hi Bobber,
The Muppets had been appearing regularly on Ed's show since the Fifties I guess. The only character from those original old ones I can recall that made it in the actual Muppet Show of the 70s was Kermit the Frog , but then maybe I am wrong (+ Piggie?).

Some researching:

1966 Regular appearances begin on "The Ed Sullivan Show," which will last through 1971; Additional appearances on "The Mike Douglas Show" and "The Hollywood Palace."



     Ed Sullivan Show - Muppets Magic From
Ed Sullivan Show - Muppets Magic From - 1 DVD - 68 Minutes - 1 Episodes - DVD Street Release Date: March 1, 2005 - dvdtvshows.com status: Special Order, may be ordered now. Please allow an additional 3 days for delivery. - Before The Muppet Show, Jim Henson's puppeteering skills could be seen on the Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan apparently realized the potential of Henson's brand of creativity early on, and made the unique but vastly successful decision to allow Henson a special, puppet-dedicated segment. Before long, viewers could tune into see a monster eating a computer, singing cows, reindeers discussing life in the Christmas trade, and the fledgling appearances of the now legendary Kermit the Frog. In addition to a variety of Muppet footage, Muppets Magic: From The Ed Sullivan Show also discusses the appeal of puppets to children and adults alike, and provides insight into Henson's ability to break the traditional boundaries of puppetry. – Quote from Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
OUR PRICE: $9.98      

Reviews on Amazon mention a Muppets version of Octopus's Garden. The 'Instant Rock Band' is also mentioned.

There is a recording of Come Together from April 12th, 1970. It was not included on the dvd, due to copyrights. Found that here:

http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/reviews/merchandise/muppets_magic_dvd.shtml

I couldn't find a link or shot from the clip however.

I thought it was Sesame Street first and then later on they made the Muppets using characters from Sesame Street.

Oh and by the way, WELCOME OLD TOP!!!

Thanks for the welcome and...
Bobber... YOU ROCK MY PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and thousand thanks for the wonderful link: gotta have that DVD!!)
I was seriously beginning to doubt my sanity and/or memory about this... Thanks to Yoko Ono I imagine, this appearance of the Muppets as The Beatles had apparently been shunned all the while (and still is) by classic TV media.
But I can tell you this: even though I wasn't exactly into the Beatles yet in April '70 (come to think of it, perhaps this was Jim Henson's bow to the Beatles quitting the business as our beloved group, as CT was not at all a very recent hit then. so it wasn't any promo of some sort), I had heard CT on the radio before that, I knew what the Beatles started to look like in recent years, and I could tell that the Muppets' "impression" was a gas!!! I remember quite vividly that each time John sang his claking "Shoot me" on the chorus, his flat top hat (like the one he was wearing on the cover of The Ballad of J&Y) went up in the air springing a little bit, then landed back in its place... This was hysterical!!
And come to think of it even yet... Who knows if this specific appearance of the Fab Four as The Muppets isn't what actually turned me on in the first place! Because I was actually a bit obsessed with that song since its release (heard a lot on the radio, didn't buy records yet then), so this skit was for me sort of the first and only "clip" of the Beatles performing CT!

You're welcome, in many ways!  

The dvd is for sale at amazon (www.amazon.com), seems to be no problem there. A pity Come Together isn't on it, but there's Octopus's Garden for a start...

By the way, April 12th 1970, isn't that two days after Paul's announcement of leaving The Beatles? Come Together could be a message towards him and the other Beatles, coming from The Muppets in Ed Sullivan's show. Meaning they put this little show together in just two days. Could be!

Right, probably more than a coincidence there! Jim Henson, being this long-time regular guest of Ed Sullivan, must have been aware that Ed had always been a great champion of The Beatles, which you surely know, from their very beginnings in the USA right up to airing a "clip" from Let it Be (can't remember the song though, probably the title track) around the time the movie was released - or was it around the time it actually got recorded (perhaps even!)...
And the choice of CT by JH was a hip and daring one... double-entendre, risqué lyrics - wonder if it was edited at all, Sullivan must have cringed a bit! + it's a "weird" RnR production!

These Muppets and the Beatles surely have something in common.

Quoted from OldTop

gotta have that DVD!!

Well, did you get it?

Welcome Old Top...Some good reading there. I love The Muppets too.

Ringo Starr's "Octopus's Garden"
Original Airdate: March 1, 1970

Since nobody really understands what this song is about, it's only fitting that the Muppets would pick this bizarre Ringo Starr tune. This scene features a nice water background and a singing clam sitting on a log. Like "Java" the performers are hidden from view as the characters swim in the water. Jim sings the lead as a sea-diving Muppet while Frank Oz performs an Octopus. It wasn't until "Sesame Street” in 1969 that Frank began actively voicing characters. His performance here of a wisecracking Octopus clearly steals the show. Frank's performance is a foreshadowing of wonderful things to come.

"Octopus Garden" would also be performed on "Sesame Street" and on the James Coco, fifth season episode of the Muppet Show.