SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
I am a big fan of The Muppets. I am also a fan of Seth MacFarlane, the creator of "Family Guy" and other shows. So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I heard MacFarlane, who is an accomplished singer, was releasing an album full of Muppets music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG")
SETH MACFARLANE: (Singing) Moving right along in search of good times and good news, with good friends and...
DETROW: That song is originally sung by Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear in "The Muppet Movie." MacFarlane says these are modern classics on par with the great American songbook.
MACFARLANE: You know, these are all songs that creatively, to my ear, fit very nicely in the same you know, list of songs that were recorded by Sinatra and Crosby and, you know, these vocalists of that era.
DETROW: The album is called "Seth MacFarlane Sings The Muppets." And it includes a lot of the hits like Kermit's ballad, "Bein' Green."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEIN' GREEN")
JIM HENSON: (As Kermit the Frog, singing) It's not that easy being green, having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
DETROW: Which we should note, a certain other classic crooner also covered.
MACFARLANE: Sinatra did do a version of "Bein' Green" in the '70s. It worked very well.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEIN' GREEN")
FRANK SINATRA: (Singing) It's not easy being green. It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.
MACFARLANE: And, you know, I can only imagine that if he had continued to, you know, record with that kind of output into the '80s, he probably would have touched on some of these other tunes, as well.
DETROW: Yeah. And that, of course, is on this album. How did you approach that arrangement? It didn't seem to me like you made that many changes from kind of the Sinatra style of "Bein' Green," compared to some of the other songs.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. I mean, it's - that song is - you know, no one really messes with that song too much.
DETROW: (Laughter).
MACFARLANE: We did a little bit more of, like, a slow swing.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEIN' GREEN")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) But green is the color of spring. And green can be cool and friendly-like.
When he recorded it, it was in the '70s, so it was a little bit - you can hear that era in that recording. And, you know, we wanted to go a little bit more, you know, late '50s, early '60s with our stylistic approach.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEIN' GREEN")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) When green is all there is to be.
DETROW: What's your relationship with The Muppets - just these movies, "The Muppet Show," things like that? Was that a big part of your life? Because I feel like - I love "Family Guy." I love "The Muppets." I don't know if there's necessarily a whole lot of overlap there. Like, how do you think about The Muppets as a whole?
MACFARLANE: I mean, I was - The Muppets were everywhere when I was a kid. That was sort of a heyday of The Muppet movies. I mean, Jim Henson was still around. You know, Joe Raposo and Paul Williams and these great songwriters were still around. And so you had this unbelievable talent pool all working together throughout that decade. And, you know, the artistry on every level was just undeniable. I mean, certainly the craftsmanship of Henson and his studio would have been enough, but they didn't treat it like it was enough. They then went and created these fantastic musical productions in their own right - and took it all very, very seriously. And so, you know, I think those first three movies, in particular, and I would even say, particularly the first two, really never get - probably because they're Muppet movies - never get the credit they deserve. They're some of the best film musicals of that decade.
DETROW: I want to talk about one of "The Muppet Movie" songs that you did, 'cause I laughed when I heard it on the album - "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along." Because I was like, oh, yeah, this is just like a standard song to begin with. It's two guys standing at a piano at a bar being sad.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MUPPET MOVIE")
FRANK OZ: (As Rowlf) Hey, can we have a grasshopper for the frog?
HENSON: (As Kermit the Frog) Oh, that's Kermit - Kermit the Frog.
OZ: (As Rowlf) Oh. Rowlf - Rowlf the dog here. Pleased to meet you.
DETROW: That's a perfect song setting right there.
MACFARLANE: No. It's a saloon song. I mean, that's a song that, you know, it's "One For My Baby," basically. It's really - in fact, we open with the solo piano very much like that chart does.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I HOPE THAT SOMETHING BETTER COMES ALONG")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) You can't live with them. You can't live without them. There's something...
But the lyrics for that song were so specifically tailored to a frog and a dog playing the piano that that was the only song we, you know, were given license to alter. So I rewrote some lyrics for that tune just to make it a little bit more of a traditional saloon song. Because I think it would have sounded strange to be singing about tadpoles and whatnot. And I think it works well.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I HOPE THAT SOMETHING BETTER COMES ALONG")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) She made a monkey out of old King Kong. I hope that something better comes along.
DETROW: The other song I want to specifically ask about was - I feel like "Rainbow Connection" is the be-all, end-all of Muppet music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RAINBOW CONNECTION")
HENSON: (As Kermit the Frog, singing) Rainbows are visions but only illusions. And rainbows have nothing to hide.
DETROW: Was there any sort of intimidation going on as you thought about that one.
MACFARLANE: No. No. The tricky thing with that chart was making it something that people hadn't heard before. That is a song that a lot of people have done. And so, you know, that's one of the few on the album that does stick pretty close to the original arrangement.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RAINBOW CONNECTION")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) Why are there so many songs about rainbows? And what's on the other side?
But, you know, it's interesting. Those are the songs, to me, that are as great as that song is. And it's, you know, one of the greatest songs ever. Those are the songs that, for me, personally, are always maybe the least exciting because they have been done so many times before, and they've been interpreted in so many ways. And it's - you know, you're not going to reinvent that wheel in 2026.
DETROW: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RAINBOW CONNECTION")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.
But other songs, you know, certainly - like "Right Where I Belong" or "Together Again" or, you know, "Happiness Hotel," - they're songs that just - I don't really think have been recorded as pop songs.
DETROW: Yeah.
MACFARLANE: So that's always where the fun lies for me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAPPINESS HOTEL")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) Oh, there's no fire in the fireplace. There's no carpet on the floor. Don't try to...
DETROW: Seth MacFarlane of "Family Guy" and "Ted" fame - his new album is "Seth MacFarlane Sings The Muppets." Thanks so much for talking to us.
MACFARLANE: Oh, thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAPPINESS HOTEL")
MACFARLANE: (Singing) And you need to rest a spell. Well, welcome home to Happiness Hotel. If you've got luggage, keep it handy. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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