Classic Sesame Street - James Taylor sings to Oscar

[Nohname1]

Sesame Street should be takin off the air. It's no longer Sesame Street! Show the kiddies the good stuff from back in the day. Before they started messing with the format.

[samsticka]

Yeah, now it's all about Elmo.  Bleccchh! They should get rid of that stupid Elmo's World segment and just make it its own series.

[IloveCharlixoxo]

I love this song so much. I love Oscar he is so funny, so cute and so grouchy. I love James Taylor too he is so amazing. I love his singing voice it's so heartwarming. He is a brilliant guitarist . I haven't seen this sence I was little in the 90's I remember James singing this , On The Roof and Jellyman Kelly on Sesame Street. I love soft rock it's amazing. I like Oscar at the end when he says hey that was rotten. Love you always and forever James Taylor, Oscar and SS. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Villaingirl101]

This song helped me realize how much I love Oscar. I already knew I loved James! :)

[NorthWriter]

Man...Sesame Street has lost a lot since I was a kid...

[1987OliverSmith]

So so cute! What year was this??

[dbastard1977]

SS made me love James Taylor, him and Stevie singing supersition were so wonderful

[dickmjavil]

Cool!

[videojakjak07]

dam i remember this episode... sesame street was epic

[zacandtaylorrule]

Fantastic!  I love James. Anyone else think he looked like Johnh Cleese from Monty Python in the seventies?

[wgb01001]

Yes. I do. I had the same exact thought 2 minutes ago.

[Banditoman57]

@zacandtaylorrule yes now that you mention it. just a little

[MaryMRevis]

I AGREE HOW sweet is sweet baby James in this?? LOL I love then the celebs come on and sing and interact with the muppets. Anyone seen the Garth Brooks one?. TOO CUTE!

[xtop23]

rofl awesome - JT's such a great talent

[kelzile]

wow i like it!

[NinaC300]

James Taylor - Vocals, Guitar

Waddy Wachtel - Guitar

Dan Dugmore - Guitar

Lee Sklar - Bass

Bill Payne - Keyboards

Rick Marotta - Drums

Oscar - Vocals

[Garrettk41]

@NinaC300 And Howard Johnson (I think that's his name) on pennywhistle.

[MMMuller]

wow what a band, rick moratta laying a fat groove

[MartialGandhi]

This guy's brilliant

[onefoot7]

The truth is that Oscar wrote Fire and Rain with JT, after a night partying....it's true, I'm not crazy, really...oh ya gotta believe me........

[orsetto81utube]

Hahaha, that's a great conspiracy theory... I'll pass it along : )

[chalitin11]

what year was this??

[dbrazz2]

That's just Classic!

[Nockster1]

I love this song and I love the way he sings it with Oscar! Awesome!!!!

[MucusandPus]

Wow. I haven't seen this since 1984. I taped the soundtrack in c. 1983 and played the heck out of the tape. This is better than the original song (it is impossible not to laugh, especially with the visuals).

[TrunkJunk15]

two of my favorites--JT and Oscar!

[jkerfeld]

Wow! What a fantastic song. Thanks for posting!

[MartialGandhi]

Amazing

[FaintHeartbeat]

I like this version better than the original! =)

[MrSteveUtah]

James Taylor AND Sesame St,

Gee,could it get any better

[TrunkJunk15]

JT and Oscar together on one stage... freaking awesome

[ImpecuniousMe571]

hahah that OG ass black dude with a little ass flute. hahahaha

[MrSteveUtah]

Seriously,Does it get any better than this.

[pauldavisfan]

I must be getting old - I actually remember when James Taylor appeared on Sesame Street doing that song years ago!

[BuckWilliams17]

Vintage Sesame Street.

Gotta love it!

[MomOfMonkeys]

Is the keyboard/piano player Brent Mydland of the Grateful Dead? Sure looks like him!

[Blonde4Beach]

James is a one of the most talented artists ever! He has a new albulm out check it out! Starbucks was selling it! LOL!

[PrettyBlackKitty007]

Sweeeeeet!

[thewish4]

with lee sklar on bass?exellent!!!!

[fuckgegg]

JT is awesome!

[SLP1994]

there's no other way to say it : JAMES ROCKS!

sesam street it's awesome, oscar is amaizing!

[magicalmelodygirl]

it's such a pretty song! i used to love sesame street. i sort've lost interest in it. i don't hate it. it's just too young for me.

[trublgrl]

This may be my favorite song ever now.

[TheRealMrsYork]

*smile*

[steveo41428]

this is fuckin awesome =D james taylor is just that much more bad ass to me now that i've seen him on sesame street! holy crap.. JT is the fuckin man

[danbettin]

I remeber watching this episode when I was a kid...damn time has flown.

[kingcrimson1983]

wow i love james taylor his music feels like a warm summer breeze on a saturday or a fresh cup of coffee in the morning or having the last cookie all to your self. ahhh i hope they have his music if i go to hell for shooting all those nuns lol

[clokverkorange]

Wow. Search for "no one can tell me that i'm doing wrong today" on google, and look at the first suggested result.

Just a few James Taylor fans out there I guess?

[CamButler]

Pretty much everyone on YouTube has the intelligence of a four year-old, don't take it personally.

[clokverkorange]

I love that Sesame Street always puts great musical artists on, and they put everyone from James Taylor to John Legend on. Nothing wrong with exposing kids to a wide range of styles and letting them discover what they like on their own.

[MrSteveUtah]

john who

[jranner]

james taylor is a straight up bad ass. freakin a.

[MrSteveUtah]

James Taylor

[fanofhhh]

I really enjoyed that.Thank you for uploading that.

[serialkixz]

Super sweet video! James Taylor is quite a performer and Oscar didnt do too bad himself.

[r34morris]

its not a flute, its a tin whistle

[mikeao54]

remember when musicians would really play there instruments on tv.I do (no lip sync there)

[oconnorcd]

Wouldn't see stuff like this on Sesame Street today- dam pc society.

[tontohurley]

It's Bob Ross on drums!

[tjrox]

Sure looks like Rick Marotta.

Sounds like him too.

[drocknelly]

ROFLOFLOFL everything about this video is BRILLIANT!!! especially 1:57

[lalalala779]

hey..does anyone know the name to the original version of this song

[phonographgirl]

It's called "Your Smiling Face"

[mattp1803]

"Smiling Face"

[sgtpepper1971]

Leave it to James Taylor to bring some class to the neighborhood... Amazingly talented fellow!!

[oliviagale]

What a great version of this song!

[WordWizard1]

i love oscars reaction at the very end..."hey that was rotten" lol

[kraas]

Possibly one of the greatest skits ever on SS!!! God bless Youtube for stuff like this.

[singer77]

I love OSCAR the GROUCH!!!

[bionicfuse88]

yo this vidd is great but the guy on that flute made me laugh so much just now

[djsilage1]

lol

[TheFunkdepuss]

It's a tin whistle I think.

[orangefrute88]

this. is. the. fucking. BEST

[FullofJoy410]

I love this song!!

[anonymous890]

da brother keepin it sexy with da flute (no homo)

[pixey63]

What more to love!! Sweet Baby James & Oscar the Grouch! Always makes my heart smile!

tlcrum

[mdbrile]

I didn't know that Oscar was a pretty good singer.

[nixonpup]

ok how much did they pay the black guy to play that thing.....

[hjbpnb]

Wow ! ! ! 

Great ! ! !

[JessiHunter9]

This is my FAVORITE part of Sesame Street!!

[lizarocs]

"hey! that was rotten!"

[bwl385]

i was kinda bored with this then i saw that huge black guy with the tiny recorder thing and i started laughing my ass off

[lizarocs]

hahahaha

[amarinesgirl709]

everytime i watch this video it makes me smile!

[dayvo46]

"somethin about you..OSCA!"

hehe

best guy ever

[registeredtosmith]

I Love Oscar, makes me crack up all the time, who doesn't love a grouch with an unibrow?

[fenderjbass19]

so hip.

[landyachtfan79]

I wonder if his kids have seen this?

[Kentuckybred]

The bassist's name is Leland Sklar. He was James' original bassist and is probably one of the top ten American bass players alive...He looks like the old man on the Smith Brothers Cough Drop Box.,...Love this video, you can't help but smile!!

[Kentuckybred]

This makes the worst day, just a little better..You can't help but smile

[Beautifull2385]

I LOVE THIS!!!

[frankthetank325]

LOVE it...i like the frizzy headed bassist

[coolbluelights]

I loved that black guy with the piccolo^^

[fayie79]

lovely !

[fayie79]

why didn"t he just leave oscar alone ?

[2KV6Stang]

LOL The big black man playing a piccolo at 1:57 cracks me up.

[eviljimmie]

actually that's a tin whistle

[abpearl]

Feels So YUCKY!

[samuraix73]

Sesame Street was my introduction, as a kid, to the music of James Taylor. I've loved his music ever since.

[ghish2000]

that's so awesome!

[stine129]

This video makes me happy. I cannot, however, for the life of me decipher what James says after Oscar says "You know James, you're so aggravating." Anyone?

[audie12]

"That's why we call it cooperating"

[nannyluvsus5]

I think he says,"That's why we call it cooperatin'"

[ntbosley]

"Now Oscar, we call it co-operating."

[nchaffee]

georgegruel is right, it's Rick Marotta.

[meliachild]

james you are a true genuis my friend!!!!love ya

[roseybrown]

holy shit this has 9 of my favorite things in it and such a positive message. who doesn't feel yucky sometimes? touch me puppets!!! on the insiiiiide

[ktbcsn]

I saw Leland Sklar, up close, and in concert with Lyle Lovette. I think he has that bass mastered!

[DiegoShine1]

wow 1:57 great penny whistle solo!

[jgroomob1]

ted nugent???? 1:44

[ilsetencate]

around 1:48 i really think it is steve gadd..

[MarshallSnare]

haha wow....that is great.

[wfrazerjr]

As great as this is, how the hell does the band sound that strong?!?

Lee Sklar is God!

[angieslindmusic]

Steve Gadd's groove is HUGE!!!! LOVE this.

Thanks for posting!!!

[georgegruel]

that's rick marotta

[astranine]

"The more I smile the more you'll pout, we'll help each other out" James knows how to charm even Oscar the Grouch!

[toysarefun1]

I watch this video about once a month, great mood lifter.

[MrSteveUtah]

where do you go from here ?

[mikeemerylevesque]

steve gadd on the drums is that klaus voorman on the bass?

[georgegruel]

rick marotta on drums and lee sklar on bass

[InuyashaPrincess14]

I love this video. I just can't get enough of it. HAHA. It's funny when Oscar goes back in his can when James gets to the line, "I love you." LOL. The best line ever was "no, no one can tell me I'm doing right today."

[Suzywriter]

OSCAR!!!! And James Taylor! My two favorite voices! I shall send this to everyone i know!

[starchase39]

This is pretty much amazing. Love JT!

[4Pequeno]

BRAVO!!! Just the antidote to too many love songs!!!  Whoopie!

[smurfbrat]

I love this! SStreet was my favorite show as a kid and JT is my fave singer as an adult...together it's just awesome! And the guy with the whistle rocks!

[WordWizard1]

i love this, cant believe it has so little views. " whenever i see you smiling face, i have to smile myself, because i love you" lol i love this

[WordWizard1]

oscar should have his own talk show on tv. giving celebrities grief, that would be good

[A1l2l2e2n4]

Oscar should go on "Ellen" sometime, and then invite Oprah to be his first guest.

[stalkher]

i'd like to see oscar on racheal ray

[towersje]

JT rocks!

[towersje]

That was a modded version of "Whenever I see your smiling face". Awesome track!

Oscar rocks! I think him and JT should tour together.

And the dude with the Tin Whistle is awesome!

[EpcotFan]

I fucking LOVE Oscar!! Ah classic sesame street..brings me back..

OH and Ovenbaked, try growing the hell up..

[progjunky]

man, i know that drummer, i can't think of from where, though

[GbOverAb]

It's Rick Marotta, Monster session cat! Also look out for Lee Sklar on the bass :D

[svyt]

And don't forget Waddy and Kootch - what a great lineup!

[glinns]

By the way, it is not Waddy and Kootch, it is Waddy and Dan Dugmore.  And the pianist is Billy Payne from Little Feat. Plus Lee Sklar and Rick Marotta. Peter Asher

[Sticks1967]

Look's like Rick Marotta, and you probably heard and saw him on the Classic Albums 'Steely Dan - Aja' DVD.

[RiccardoDistefano55]

what a great song, its stuck in my head

[WordWizard1]

this is brill. love sesame street and james taylor.. well what can i say the man is a legend. oscar is the king

[swizzlesticksnap]

Briliant! Check out Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street doing Superstition too! Thanks for posting!

[Fatacious]

Jt's most rockin song ever, Still not much of a fan though......

[ovenbaked]

what ugly men

[uboniuz]

not nice of you to comment that.please grow up.PEACE

[PraiseYeshua]

You're just jealous you couldn't think of anything at least 1/10th entertaining as this classic.

[JeffK1980]

I remember watching this scene on TV. This was taken in 1987. (Episode #2358)

[DixonKanyinda]

Thank you, I must have my facts mixed up. I remember watching this particular clip when I was young. I assumed it was in the late 70's since "your smiling face" was written around 73-75 (again, if I am not mistaking.)

[progjunky]

sorry, it came out in '77

[DixonKanyinda]

I am 42 and I remember seeing this particular episode when I was in grade school it feels like it was yesterday. Gosh, TV for kids was great back then. I still love this version and thank you very much.

[halfthefunhouse]

Oscar just slamming his trash can shut when James says "I love you." Hahahahaha.

Great show. I never realized how many guest stars appeared on this show and how many pop culture references there were (a "Casablanca" scene with the alphabet replacing "As Time Goes By" - check my favorites).

There really aren't enough good shows left out there.

[bananajord84]

I think Oscar and James should put out a duet album of show tunes!

[Mkpier20]

I remember when TV was great like this, but nowadays it just isn't the same, I really like this Episode

[moneen02]

I agree, its hard to watch this and not be depressed about current children's television.

[sminnian]

I'm 35, have artfully avoided creating children and disease, and will forward this to all of my long-gone friends.

[samsticka]

The penny whistle I could've done without.

[vilnius007]

How good is this clip? Thanks for posting, this has really cheered me up.

[shayneskie]

wat a away to relax and reminisce the past.seasme street,all of us grew wid dis.

[MuppetDude]

It's songs like this that make me hope there's a Sesame Street "Old School Volume Three" DVD coming next year.

[phillytalented]

Wow that dude was gettin it in wit that baby flute lol

[tigercubgurlie]

my friend plays the same thing, somebody correct me if i'm wrong, but it's....a pennywhistle???

[samsticka]

Yes, it is a pennywhistle. Frankly, I could've done without it.

[evslin]

Good thing nobody cares what you think about the pennywhistle, sport

[benjamindollar04]

i love how oscar goes back in to the garbage when jt starts singing, as if to say "i dont feel like hearing his *&#%" lmao

[andreuarias]

encantado me lleva a mi juventud

[locallixaddict]

hahaha love the original song - so funny!

[reydavid19]

I saw on TV in 1982 on a PBS special but I don´t know when the song was released , anyway THANKS A LOT it reminds me a lot of good musical stuff

[sawing14s]

What special was that?

[reydavid19]

I don´t know , I just remember that was broadcasted on saturday morning sometime in the summer of 1982, because I was that year studying in the USA

[kcro25]

It was originally on 1977's "JT".

[marsh75228]

I think the point of Oscar is to show children that sometimes its okay to be grouchy, and even if you are grouchy we still love you.

[kcro25]

What about abusive? Seriously, I am a die-hard old-school SS fan & I even LOVED Oscar as a kid bu I do not think that it is OK to teach kids that it is all right to be abusive even if you HAVE had a bad day.

[350kph]

It reminds me how live tends to be rushed so we overcompensate and slow down too much. Still, groovd pretty hard. Luv wotchin` 70s and 80s drummers.

[LarryBrown2]

I'm going to have to clock it and see if you're right or if you are just trying to rush it and therefore it sounds to you like they are dragging. You know, who really cares??? I'm a drummer, and people are constantly ragging on me about tempo slip during performance. I'M NOT A MACHINE! Even top cats like these guys let the tempo slip. Tempo is everyone's job, not just the drummer. If the drummer holds back while everyone else pushes, then the band, by definition, is not "tight."

[cholland31]

I never thought I'd be jealous of a muppet...

[ItsMeBrendaT]

Couldn't agree more!!! ;)

[FaintHeartbeat]

Omg! I been searching for this one for years! Thanks for posting. =)

[InuyashaPrincess14]

LOL! that was pretty amusing that James Taylor let Oscar change the words to "your smiling face" hahe so funny! I only remember one appearance James Taylor did on seasame street and that was "Jelly Man Kelly" I'm getting pretty sick of that song.

[Marbles471]

This looks like it was shot on the same day--he's wearing the same shirt.

I think it's from 1981.

[gugg15]

You're right. The tuba player from Jelly Man Kelly who is playing the pennywhistle in this song is also wearing the same outfit in both clips, with the same pin on his shirt and all.

[Permfam]

I'm glad that I'm so lucky to make you feel yucky every day... This is classic!

[Harvick3829]

This rocks! Thanks!

[intheairtonight]

there is lee sklar:)