Rainbow Connection

{{short description|1979 song originally appearing in the Muppet Movie}}

{{about|the song from The Muppet Movie|the 2001 Willie Nelson album|Rainbow Connection (album){{!}}Rainbow Connection (album)|the concept in graph theory|Rainbow coloring}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Rainbow Connection

| cover = Rainbow Connection.jpg

| alt =

| caption = International single cover

| type = single

| artist = Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog

| album = The Muppet Movie: Original Soundtrack Recording

| B-side = I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along

| released = {{Start date|1979|06}}

| format =

| recorded = 1978

| studio = A&M Studios

| venue =

| genre =

| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=15}}

| label =

Atlantic (US/Canada)
CBS (international)

| writer =

| producer =

Paul Williams
Jim Henson

}}

"Rainbow Connection" is a song from the 1979 film The Muppet Movie, with music and lyrics written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-muppets-sing-rainbow-connection-at-hollywood-bowl-w502125|title=Watch Muppets Sing 'Rainbow Connection' at Hollywood Bowl Concert|magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=2017-11-27}} The song was performed by Jim Henson – as Kermit the Frog – in the film. "Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1979, with the song remaining in the Top 40 for seven weeks in total.{{cite web|title=Casey Kasem American Top 40 – 10/11/79 | quote=(and see also 102779.html, 110379.html, 111079.html, 111779.html, 112479.html, 120179.html, on the same site)|url=http://www.oldradioshows.com/at40/102079.html|website=www.oldradioshows.com|access-date=September 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055742/http://www.oldradioshows.com/at40/102079.html|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=dead}} Williams and Ascher received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 52nd Academy Awards.{{Cite news|url=http://www.vulture.com/2017/02/ryan-murphy-haunted-by-rainbow-connections-oscar-loss.html|title=Ryan Murphy Is Still Haunted by The Muppet Movie's Best Song Oscar Loss|last=Kiefer|first=Halle|work=Vulture |access-date=2017-11-27}}

In 2020, "Rainbow Connection" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.{{cite news|last=Schuessler|first=Jennifer|date=March 24, 2021|title=Janet Jackson and Kermit the Frog Added to National Recording Registry|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/arts/music/national-recording-registry-janet-jackson.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324040556/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/arts/music/national-recording-registry-janet-jackson.html |archive-date=2021-03-24 |access-date=June 26, 2022}}

Production

Williams and Ascher, who had previously collaborated on several songs for the 1976 film A Star Is Born, were tasked with writing the songs for The Muppet Movie. For the song that became "Rainbow Connection", Jim Henson told them that the opening scene should feature Kermit the Frog by himself, singing and playing the banjo. Williams and Ascher wrote most of the song fairly quickly at Williams's house but got stuck trying to think of appropriate words for the part in the chorus that eventually became the phrase "the rainbow connection"; they were looking for a way to tie in the chorus to the song's theme of rainbows. As they sat down for dinner with Williams's then-wife, Kate Clinton, they explained to her their predicament of looking for a phrase that would provide "a rainbow connection", then realized, in the course of explaining the problem to her, that the phrase "the rainbow connection" would itself be a good fit.[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/paul-williams Paul Williams interview], NAMM Oral History Program, June 12, 2013. Williams and Ascher used "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio as inspiration for the song.{{cite magazine|last=Liebenson|first=Donald|date=June 21, 2019|title=A Frog, a Banjo, and an Indelible Message: Making "The Rainbow Connection"|magazine=Vanity Fair|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/06/rainbow-connection-muppet-movie-kermit-the-frog-making-of|access-date=August 4, 2020}}

Williams has said that his favorite lyrics in the song are in the second verse, which begins with "Who said that every wish / Would be heard and answered / When wished on the morning star?", because they imply that "there's power in your thoughts". He also noted that the lyrical phrasing was written weirdly with Kermit's speech patterns in mind.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka2DTKjrknc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/ka2DTKjrknc |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Story Behind the Song: 'The Rainbow Connection' |publisher=The Tennessean |access-date=April 26, 2020}}{{cbignore}}

Critical reception and awards

Allmusic described "Rainbow Connection" as an "unlikely radio hit ... which Kermit the Frog sings with all the dreamy wistfulness of a short, green Judy Garland"{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r183384|pure_url=yes}} |title=Muppet Movie Original Soundtrack Review |access-date=May 9, 2007 |last=Cater |first=Darryl |work=Allmusic}} and went on to add that {{" '}}Rainbow Connection' serves the same purpose in The Muppet Movie that 'Over the Rainbow' served in The Wizard of Oz, with nearly equal effectiveness: an opening establishment of the characters' driving urge for something more in life." Others have similarly referred to "Rainbow Connection" as the film's "I Want" song.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/25/744832650/rainbows-frogs-dogs-and-the-muppet-movie-soundtrack-at-40|title=Rainbows, Frogs, Dogs And 'The Muppet Movie' Soundtrack At 40|last=Holmes|first=Linda|date=July 25, 2019|website=Npr.org}}

Ascher and Williams received Oscar nominations at the 52nd Academy Awards for the score of The Muppet Movie and for "Rainbow Connection", which was nominated for Best Original Song.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1980|title=The 52nd Academy Awards | 1980|website=Oscars.org|access-date=April 23, 2021}} The score lost to Bob Fosse's All That Jazz.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROitnydOx60 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/ROitnydOx60 |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title="All That Jazz" and "A Little Romance" winning Music Oscars®|date=February 12, 2014 |access-date=April 23, 2021|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} The song lost to "It Goes Like It Goes" from Norma Rae, a win that some critics denounced.Tom Shales. "Kramer vs. Everybody," The Washington Post (DC), April 15, 1980, page B1: "The already forgotten ballad 'It Goes Like It Goes,' from 'Norma Rae,' won the Oscar as best song over competitions that included 'The Rainbow Connection' ..."Rich Copley. "'The 75th annual Academy Awards' – trophy date on your night with unpredictable Oscar. Will he be a dream—or a dud?", Lexington Herald-Leader (KY), March 21, 2003, Weekender section, page 18: "Sometimes, old baldy leaves us scratching our skulls: ... the 1979 Oscar for best original song goes to It Goes Like It Goes from Norma Rae instead of Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie ..."

Legacy and other Muppet renditions

The song's name has been used by a number of charitable organizations wishing to evoke its message, including a children's charity similar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation,{{cite web|url=http://www.rainbowwishconnection.org/ |title=Rainbow Wish Connection |publisher=Rainbow Wish Connection |date=September 11, 2010 |access-date=March 21, 2013}} a summer camp for seriously ill children,{{cite web|url=http://www.rccamp.org/ |title=Rainbow Connection Camp |publisher=Childhood Cancer Connection, Inc |access-date=March 21, 2013}} and a horseriding camp for people with disabilities.{{cite web |url=http://www.therainbowconnection.org/ |title=Welcome to The Rainbow Connection |publisher=Rainbow Connection Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center |date=November 3, 2012 |access-date=March 21, 2013 |archive-date=September 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902065554/http://www.therainbowconnection.org/ |url-status=dead }} The name's influence can also be seen from business names{{cite web |url=http://www.rainbowconnection.com/aboutus.php |title=The Rainbow Connection – Suspenders & Ties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050312234305/http://www.rainbowconnection.com/aboutus.php |archive-date=2005-03-12 |access-date=November 5, 2013}} to artificial Christmas tree products.{{cite web|url=http://www.treetopia.com/artificial-christmas-wreaths-and-garlands-p/rainbow-wedding-arch.htm |url-status=dead |title=The Rainbow Connection Arch |publisher=Treetopia.com |access-date=March 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315060503/http://www.treetopia.com/artificial-christmas-wreaths-and-garlands-p/rainbow-wedding-arch.htm |archive-date=2012-03-15}}

The American Film Institute named "Rainbow Connection" the 74th greatest movie song of all time in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/tvevents/pdf/songs100.pdf |title=The Top Movie Songs of All Time |year=2004 |access-date=November 5, 2013}}

Kermit the Frog reprised the song on The Muppet Show in 1981 as a duet with Debbie Harry when she was a guest star. Jeff Moss and Ralph Burns also quoted the song's intro as the intro to the instrumental, "carriage ride" rendition of "Together Again" that segued into the Muppet Babies song sequence, "I'm Gonna Always Love You" in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). The song is also reprised by a large group of Muppets as the closing number in the 1985 special The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years.

Kermit reprises the song in the 2011 film The Muppets, this time as a duet with Miss Piggy that leads into the entire Muppet group singing together. A shorter version of the song performed by tribute band "The Moopets", along with Fozzie Bear, is also used in the film. The iTunes release of The Muppets soundtrack included a new version of the song as an exclusive bonus track, recorded by Steve Whitmire, the then-current performer of Kermit. The song was also reprised in the TV series The Muppets, in the 2015 episode "Pig's in a Blackout".

In 1996 in Whanganui, New Zealand, a 21-year-old man burst into the radio station Star FM and took the manager hostage, demanding that Kermit the Frog's rendition of the song be played.{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/fringe/9603/03-27/index.html |title=CNN, 1996 |publisher=CNN.com |date=March 27, 1996 |access-date=March 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221010741/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/fringe/9603/03-27/index.html |archive-date=February 21, 2009 |url-status=dead}}

On September 24, 2011, the town of Leland, Mississippi, changed the name of a local bridge to "The Rainbow Connection" in honor of Henson on what would have been his 75th birthday. Henson had lived in Leland and played near the bridge as a child.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/muppets-creator-jim-henson-honored-239873|title=Muppets Creator Jim Henson Honored on 75th Birthday|date=September 24, 2011|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=September 17, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012031846/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/muppets-creator-jim-henson-honored-239873|archive-date=October 12, 2016}}

On April 25, 2020, Kermit the Frog released a new performance of the song (performed by Matt Vogel) on social media to lift spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/kermit-singing-the-rainbow-connection-might-be-the-be-1843071567 |title=Kermit singing "The Rainbow Connection" might be the best celebrity singalong yet |last=Hughes |first=William |date=April 25, 2020 |website=The A.V. Club |access-date=April 25, 2020}}

On January 14, 2022, during Epcot's Festival of the Arts, "Rainbow Connection" was featured in a lighting display on Spaceship Earth.{{Cite web |last=Francis |first=Katie |date=January 14, 2022 |title=Photos, Video: The Muppets "Rainbow Connection" Points of Light Show Debuts on Spaceship Earth – Epcot Festival of the Arts 2022 |url=https://wdwnt.com/2022/01/photos-video-the-muppets-rainbow-connection-points-of-light-show-debuts-on-spaceship-earth-epcot-festival-of-the-arts-2022/ |access-date=2022-01-15 |website=WDW News Today |language=en-US}}

Boys II Men will be recording a new rendition for the brand new show World Of Color Happiness debuting at Disney California Adventure as a part of the Disneyland Resort 70th Anniversary Celebration

Charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+Weekly chart performance for "Rainbow Connection" ! Chart (1979–1980) ! Peak position
scope="row"\| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book\|last=Kent\|first=David\|author-link=David Kent (historian)\|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992\|edition=illustrated\|publisher=Australian Chart Book\|location=St Ives, N.S.W.\|year=1993\|isbn=0-646-11917-6\|page=165}} \| 14
scope="row"\| US Billboard Hot 100 \|25
scope="row"\| US Billboard Adult Contemporary{{cite book \|title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001\|last=Whitburn \|first=Joel \|year=2002 \|publisher=Record Research \|page=114}} \| 18

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Weekly chart performance for "Rainbow Connection"

! Chart (1979–1980)

! Peak
position

scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=165}}

| 14

scope="row"| US Billboard Hot 100

|25

scope="row"| US Billboard Adult Contemporary{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=114}}

| 18

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" \|+Year-end chart performance for "Rainbow Connection" ! Chart (1980) ! Position
scope="row"\| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web\|url=https://imgur.com/a/kTGdGUZ\|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1980\|publisher= Kent Music Report \|issue= 341 \|via= Imgur \|date= January 5, 1981 \|access-date= January 17, 2022 }} \| 98

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Year-end chart performance for "Rainbow Connection"

! Chart (1980)

! Position

scope="row"| Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|url=https://imgur.com/a/kTGdGUZ|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1980|publisher= Kent Music Report |issue= 341 |via= Imgur |date= January 5, 1981 |access-date= January 17, 2022 }}

| 98

Certifications

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Gold|type=single|certyear=2025|title=Rainbow Connection|relyear=2012|artist=Jim Henson|access-date= March 21, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true | nosales=true | noshipments=true}}

Carpenters version

{{Infobox song

| name = The Rainbow Connection

| type = single

| artist = Carpenters

| album = As Time Goes By

| language = English

| B-side = "Leave Yesterday Behind"

| released = {{Start date|2001|7|25}}

| recorded = 1981

| genre = Pop

| length = 4:34

| label = A&M

| writer = Ken Ascher
Paul Williams

| producer = Richard Carpenter

| chronology = Carpenters

| prev_title = Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again

| prev_year = 1994

| title = The Rainbow Connection

| year = 2001

| next_title = Catch My Breath

| next_year = 2010

}}

=Tracklist=

CD single UICY-5006

"The Rainbow Connection"
"Leave Yesterday Behind"
"Medley (Superstar/Rainy Days and Mondays)"

JP CD promo (2001) SIC-1039

"The Rainbow Connection"
"Leave Yesterday Behind"

Other versions

The following artists have also recorded the song:

scope="col" \| Artist ! scope="col" \| Year ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
{{sortname\|Judy\|Collins}}	1980	album Running for My Life
{{sortname\|Mary\|O'Hara}}	1980	album The Scent of the Roses
{{sortname\|The\|Brothers Cazimero\|The Brothers Cazimero}}	1980	album Waikiki, My Castle by the Sea (sung primarily in Hawaiian)
{{sortname\|The\|Carpenters}}	1981	2001 album As Time Goes By; an outtake from the 1981 album Made in America
{{sortname\|Michael\|Kwan}}	1980	Cantonese version 明日再明日 from album 人在江湖
{{sortname\|Lea\|Salonga}}	1981	album Small Voice
{{sortname\|Susie\|Burke}}	1993	album Sweet PotatoesMadrina Music MM#102 CD
{{sortname\|Kenny\|Loggins}}	1994	album Return to Pooh Corner
Less Than Jake	1997	EP Muppets
{{sortname\|Vonda\|Shepard}}	1999	TV Ally McBeal (season 2, episode 13 – "Angels and Blimps")
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes	1999	album Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Are a Drag
Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand	2001	album Live
{{sortname\|Willie\|Nelson}}	2001	album Rainbow Connection
{{sortname\|Sarah\|McLachlan}}	2002	album For the Kids
{{sortname\|Peter\|Cincotti}}	2003	album Peter Cincotti
{{sortname\|Jason\|Mraz}}	2004	album For the Kids Too!
{{sortname\|The\|Dixie Chicks}}	2004	album Mary Had a Little Amp
{{sortname\|Johnny\|Mathis}}	2005	album Isn't It Romantic: The Standards Album
{{sortname\|Jane\|Monheit}}	2009	album The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me
{{sortname\|Trespassers\|William}}	2010	album Sing Me to Sleep: Indie Lullabies{{Cite web\|url=https://open.spotify.com/track/4QF9pqkiRHrXbajvbr6Vdv?si=92bf1be329d2413d&nd=1\|title=Rainbow Connection\|access-date=August 27, 2021\|publisher=Spotify}}
Weezer and Hayley Williams	2011	album Muppets: The Green Album
{{sortname\|Jim\|Brickman}}	2012	album Piano Lullabies
{{sortname\|Andrew\|Horowitz}}	2012	album sketches
Yale Whiffenpoofs	2013	released as "Rainbow Connection (Glee Cast Version) – Single" and credited as the Glee Cast{{Cite web\|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msvs8U1MYU4 \|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/Msvs8U1MYU4 \|archive-date=2021-12-13 \|url-status=live\|title=Rainbow Connection (Glee Cast Version)\|date=February 8, 2017 \|access-date=April 23, 2021\|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}
{{sortname\|Zee\|Avi}}	2014	album Nightlight
{{sortname\|Gwen\|Stefani}}	2015	album We Love Disney
{{sortname\|Todd\|Smith\|Todd Smith (musician)}}	2016	album Bellissimo!, as "El-Creepo!"
Sleeping at Last	2016	album Covers, Vol. 2
{{sortname\|Julian\|Velard}}	2017	album Fancy Words for Failure{{Cite web\|url=https://julianvelard.bandcamp.com/album/fancy-words-for-failure\|title=Fancy Words For Failure, by Julian Velard\|website=Julian Velard \|access-date=2017-07-13}}
{{sortname\|Lisa\|Loeb}}	2017	album Lullaby Girl
{{sortname\|Dan\|Stevens}}	2017	official soundtrack of the Legion TV series{{cite web \|last1=Ryan \|first1=Mike \|title=Dan Stevens On His Creepy 'Legion' Rendition Of 'The Rainbow Connection' \|url=https://uproxx.com/tv/dan-stevens-legion-chapter-5-rainbow-connection/ \|website=Uproxx \|access-date=August 28, 2020 \|date=March 8, 2017}}
{{sortname\|Maddie\|Poppe}}	2018	American Idol audition (solo) and finale performance (duet with Kermit the Frog)
{{sortname\|Jim\|James}}	2019	Performance at Newport Folk Festival (duet with Kermit the Frog)
{{sortname\|Kacey\|Musgraves}} and {{sortname\|Willie\|Nelson}}	2019	Performance on 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards
{{sortname\|Barbra\|Streisand}}	2021	album Release Me 2 (duet with Kermit the Frog)
Kermit the Frog, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Nick Cannon, and Jenny McCarthy-Walhberg{{Citation \|title=The Judges Perform "Rainbow Connection" {{!}} Season Ep. 5 {{!}} THE MASKED SINGER (MUPPETS NIGHT) \| date=October 24, 2022 \|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdRGfZTEgf0 \|access-date=2024-02-25 \|language=en}}	2022	Performance from season 8 of The Masked Singer for Muppet Night

Appearances in other media

The song was featured in the 1994 episode "Cold Spell" of the TV show Picket Fences.
The Carpenters cover of "Rainbow Connection" was used as the opening theme for the 2001 TBS Japanese TV drama Koi ga shitai Koi ga shitai Koi ga shitai.
In the 2006 episode "The Convict" of the television show The Office, Ed Helms sings "Rainbow Connection".
Paul Williams performed the song on the preschool show Yo Gabba Gabba! in the 2008 episode "Weather".
The television show Legion featured the song in the 2017 episode "Chapter 5".
In the 2021 episode "Juice Box" (season two episode 8) of Mythic Quest, the Willie Nelson version of the song was played at the end, alongside Charlotte Nicdao singing.
The 2022 episode "Walk of Faith" (season two episode 4) of the Netflix show Sweet Magnolias features a duet of "Rainbow Connection" with both Katie and Ty on guitar.
On October 26, 2022, on season 8 of The Masked Singer, Kermit was joined by Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Nick Cannon, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg for Muppet Night.

References

External links

{{muppets|The Rainbow Connection}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130727130509/http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/movies/rainbowmp3.htm "Rainbow Connection" lyrics]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvAZJ1qVTlE Kermit the Frog Joins National Recording Registry]
{{IMDb title|qid=Q130342704|id=tt0653245}} Muppet Show – season 5, episode 9
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka2DTKjrknc Story behind the song: Rainbow connection]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdRGfZTEgf0 The Judges Perform "Rainbow Connection"] The Masked Singer – season 8, episode 5

Category:1979 singles

Category:1979 songs

Category:1970s ballads

Category:The Muppets songs

Category:Me First and the Gimme Gimmes songs

Category:Pop ballads

Category:Songs with music by Kenneth Ascher

Category:Songs written by Paul Williams (songwriter)

Category:Film theme songs

Category:Kermit the Frog

Category:Atlantic Records singles

Category:CBS Records singles

Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings

Category:Rainbows in culture