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Sesame's Treet

{{Short description|1992 single by Smart E's}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Sesame's Treet

| cover = ST Smart E.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Smart E's

| album = Sesame's Treet

| B-side = Magnificent

| released = {{start date|1992|6|29|df=yes}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

  • Toytown techno{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/0df2089e-10eb-4f7a-a60f-3fe1f171c8ec|title=9 of the most 90s things that ever happened to music - BBC Music|date=27 April 2018|website=BBC.co.uk}}
  • rave-pop[http://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-rave-westwood-mw0000997213 Best of Rave [Westwood] – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic]

| length =

  • 5:09 (12-inch version)
  • 3:33 (edit)

| label = Pyrotech/Big Beat/Atlantic

| writer =

| producer =

| prev_title = Loo's Control

| prev_year = 1992

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|J7uVVImPhdY|"Sesame's Treet"}}}}

}}

"Sesame's Treet" is a 1992 single by the English rave group Smart E's. It is a remix of "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?", with the song's title being a pun on "Sesame Street". The song reached {{abbr|No.|Number}} 2 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1992 and peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. In the United States, it reached No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped the Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales ranking.

Background

At the time of its creation, dance music was not played on major radio stations. London radio station Kiss FM soon became legal but developed a slightly more commercial style. According to Luna-C of Smart E's, "It was good, because now our music was getting the recognition it deserved, but it was crap, because the money men forced it to be less than it was trying to be."{{cite web|url=http://kniteforce.i-tunes.co.uk/page.asp?PageRef%3D20|title=Kniteforce - Label History|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050910042716/http://kniteforce.i-tunes.co.uk/page.asp?PageRef=20|archive-date=10 September 2005|access-date=23 October 2007}}

Kiss FM DJ Steve Jackson obtained the record and played it on the radio. Its popularity dramatically increased, and Smart E's was signed to Atlantic Records.

"Sesame's Treet" followed a trend at the time of releasing tracks based on samples of children's TV themes. The first notable song that did this was "Summers Magic" by Mark Summers (January 1991), featuring the theme tune of the BBC's The Magic Roundabout. The Prodigy's "Charly" and Urban Hype's "A Trip to Trumpton" were two similar rave tunes of that era, also sampling from children's programmes (collectively known as "toytown techno").{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803105132952|title=Toytown Techno|publisher=Oxford Reference|access-date=30 June 2016}}

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Theme from classic kiddie TV show is the hook on which this contagious pop/techno jam hangs. The contrast between rigid synth riffs and the bouncy melody are jolting good fun. "Hardcore" mix of the track was a fave among rave jocks on Belgian import a while back, and lighter, less-confrontational remix is custom-made for crossover and top 40 radio's increasing interest in techno. Could be the novelty smash of the year".{{cite magazine|first= Larry |last= Flick |title= Single Reviews: New & Noteworthy |magazine= Billboard |date= 10 October 1992 |page= 78 |access-date= 24 October 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-10-10.pdf |author-link= Larry Flick}} Marisa Fox from Entertainment Weekly commented, "Thanks to sheer novelty value, this trio's hyper, adolescent rave version of the Sesame Street theme song skyrocketed to No. 2 on the U.K. pop charts. Over the course of Sesame's Treet, though, Smart E's seems a little behind the times, dishing out a few inspired dance flavors but mostly repetitious break beats."{{cite magazine|first= Marisa |last= Fox |title= Sesame's Treet |magazine= Entertainment Weekly |date= 22 January 1993 |access-date= 11 November 2020 |url= https://ew.com/article/1993/01/22/sesames-treet/}}

Music video

The music video for the song displayed an A-Z of the rave scene as follows (in the following order):

A is for 'Ardcore

B is for B.P.M.

C is 4 Chill Out

D is for Dance

F is for Flyerz

G is for Get Down

H is for Handz In The Air

I is for In The Mix

J is 4 Jack

K is for Kosmos

L is for Love (Summers Of)

M is 4 MC

N is for Nine-0-9

P is for Pumpin'

Q is for Q-Bass

R is for Rave

S is for Smart E's

T is for Techno

O is for Oops

U is for Ultra Violet

V is for Vinyl

W is for Warehouse

X is for X-press Yourself

Y is for Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Z is for Zero Gravity

Notable is the absence of the letter E. Presumably, this implied ecstasy, and its absence was either due to not wanting to promote drug use in a commercial music video, or it was deliberately left out to imply that whether or not a raver took ecstasy was their personal choice. The video was filmed in Victoria Park, London.{{citationneeded|date=January 2023}}

Track listings

  • Suburban Base Records (UK) and Possum Records (Australia)
  1. "Sesame's Treet" (edit) – 3:33
  2. "Sesame's Treet" (Krome & Time Remix) – 5:22
  3. "Magnificent" – 4:36
  4. "Sesame's Treet" (12-inch version) – 5:10
  • Pyrotech/Big Beat/Atlantic Records (US)
  1. "Sesame's Treet" (edit) – 3:33
  2. "Sesame's Treet" (12-inch version) – 5:10
  3. "Sesame's Treet" (Krome & Time Remix) – 5:22
  4. "Sesame's Treet" (Beltram Mix) – 5:04
  5. "Sesame's Treet" (Hardcore Mix) – 3:22
  6. "Magnificent" – 4:36
  • ZYX Records (Germany)
  1. "Sesame's Treet" (edit) – 3:33
  2. "Sesame's Treet" (Krome & Time Remix) – 5:22
  3. "Sesame's Treet" (12-inch version) – 5:10
  4. "Magnificent" – 4:36

Charts

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=Weekly charts=

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

!scope="col"|Chart (1992)

!scope="col"|Peak
position

{{single chart|Australia|6|artist=Smart E's|song=Sesame's Treet|rowheader=true|access-date=1 September 2020}}
scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1992/MM-1992-07-25.pdf|title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=9|issue=30|page=13|date=25 July 1992|access-date=1 September 2020}}

|12

{{single chart|Ireland2|4|song=Sesame's Treet|rowheader=true|access-date=1 September 2020}}
{{single chart|New Zealand|4|artist=Smart E's|song=Sesame's Treet|rowheader=true|access-date=1 September 2020}}
{{single chart|UK|2|date=19920718|rowheader=true|access-date=1 September 2020}}
scope="row"|UK Dance (Music Week){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1992/MW-1992-07-11.pdf|title=Top 60 Dance Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=20|date=11 July 1992|access-date=29 September 2020}}

|1

scope="row"|UK Indie (Music Week){{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1992/MW-1992-07-25.pdf|title= Indie Singles |magazine= Music Week |date= 25 July 1992 |page= 30 |access-date= 29 May 2025}}

| 1

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/279616/smart-es/chart?f=379|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019022437/http://www.billboard.com/artist/279616/smart-es/chart?f=379|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 October 2016|title=Billboard > Artists / Smart E's > Chart History > The Hot 100|magazine=Billboard|access-date=13 October 2016}}

|60

scope="row"|US Dance Club Play (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/dance-club-play-songs/1992-11-14/|title=Dance Club Songs|magazine=Billboard|date=14 November 1992|url-access=subscription|access-date=12 December 2023}}

|20

scope="row"|US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-dance-singles-sales/1992-11-14/|title=Dance Singles Sales|magazine=Billboard|date=14 November 1992|access-date=12 December 2023}}

|1

scope="row"|US Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/rhythmic-40/1992-10-03/|title=Rhythmic Airplay|magazine=Billboard|date=3 October 1992|url-access=subscription|access-date=12 December 2023}}

|39

scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/90s_files/19921205.html|title=Cashbox Top 100: December 5, 1992|website=cashboxmagazine.com|access-date=31 July 2022}}

|54

{{col-2}}

=Year-end charts=

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

!scope="col"|Chart (1992)

!scope="col"|Position

scope="row"|Australia (ARIA){{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/CZuarGp.png|title=The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1992 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 152)|publisher=ARIA|via=Imgur|access-date=13 October 2016}}

|74

scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC){{cite magazine|title=Year End Charts: Top Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=8|date=16 January 1993}}

|27

scope="row"|US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard){{cite magazine|title=The Year in Music: Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales|magazine=Billboard|volume=104|issue=52|page=YE-48|date=26 December 1992}}

|35

{{col-end}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7uVVImPhdY Sesame's Treet on YouTube]

{{Sesame Street}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1992 singles

Category:1992 songs

Category:Big Beat Records (American record label) singles

Category:Sesame Street songs

Category:Smart E's songs

Category:Songs about television

Category:Songs based on children's songs

Category:Songs written by Bruce Hart (songwriter)

Category:Songs written by Joe Raposo

Category:Music Week number-one dance singles

Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles