This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street, which premiered on PBS in 1969. Since then, several generations of children have grown up learning just about everything there is to know by watching this show. In celebration of five decades of the series, the folks at NPR invited several characters from the Sesame Street gang to their headquarters in Washington, D.C. for a chance to perform on one of their famous “Tiny Desk” concerts. Big Bird, Grover, Bert, Ernie and several other iconic characters got to join in the fun. Yup, even that grouchy Oscar shows up.
Of course, the concert begins with the iconic “Sesame Street Theme (Sunny Days).” Elmo and Rosita start things off, followed by Bert and Ernie, with Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster all joining in for this Sesame Street All-Stars rendition of the classic theme song. The fifteen-minute concert also included several other beloved songs from the show like “People In Your Neighborhood,” “What I Am,” and “Sing After Me. ” There is also a medley which includes songs that we all grew up with like Ernie’s “Rubber Ducky” and Cookie Monster’s signature “C is for Cookie.” Even the Carpenters’ classic “Sing A Song” gets a moment.
How important is Sesame Street to our culture? I’d say I speak for almost every generation of kids out there who watched it in their childhood, and confirm that we learned how to count from Count Von Count, and how not to be selfish thanks to Cookie Monster and Elmo emphasizing the importance of sharing. Although Sesame Street now needs HBO to stay afloat, here’s hoping several more generations of kids continue to have this series as one of their first touchstones in life.
Images: HBO / PBS / Children’s Television Workshop
