Bob McGrath -- Good Morning, Starshine

 

It just seems like in the last several days, I've been sadly reading or hearing of famous people I've known in my childhood and adolescence leaving this mortal coil. And yesterday, I heard that Bob McGrath, who was famous as one of the friendly residents of children's favourite avenue, "Sesame Street", passed away yesterday at the age of 90.

As a very young kid, it was always the thing for me to watch Bob, Gordon, Susan and the Muppets including Kermit the Frog, Oscar the Grouch and Ernie & Bert yuk it up on the screen while also providing lessons in the basics and laughs and music. I knew that everyone sang on "Sesame Street", but if anyone asked me to name a singer on the show, Bob's face would immediately come to mind.

Bob and the rest of the gang were such mainstays that I couldn't quite believe it when I heard from Scott of "Holly Jolly X'masu" that he had been big in Japan in the mid-1960s before "Sesame Street", singing some songs in Japanese including "Jingle Bells". Yup, McGrath already has a presence on KKP.

There are a number of songs that I remember McGrath performing splendidly on "Sesame Street" such as "Sing" and "Who are the People in Your Neighbourhood?". But there was also "Good Morning, Starshine". As would be the case for a "Sesame Street" song, it is a happy and uplifting number but as I look back at it now, it's also just about the most hippiest tune, too. I mean, part of the lyrics is:

Gliddy glub gloopy, nibby nabby noopy la, la, la, lo, lo

Sabba sibby sabba, nooby abba nabba, le, le, lo, lo

Tooby ooby walla, nooby abba naba

Early morning singing song

I couldn't understand hippie then and I still don't now. But as I've mentioned time and time again, I have always been more of a melody guy rather than a lyrics person. And as such, I remember enjoying hearing this at home and in the car.

Even though I did hear the above version on the radio many times, I'd always thought of "Good Morning, Starshine" as Bob's song throughout my life. It was only this morning that I realized that the song had actually come from the famous 1967 musical "Hair" after which it was covered by the singer Oliver as a successful single released in May 1969.

"Good Morning, Starshine" has been covered by numerous other singers in the decades to come with one of the most recent versions being by Serena Ryder in 2006.

All I can finish up here is that I hope that Bob is enjoying meeting his old buddies from Sesame Street right now such as Mr. Hooper, David, Luis and (first) Gordon. Sing, sing a song!

Well, who won the big prizes at the 1969 Japan Record Awards?

Grand Prize: Naomi Sagara -- Ii Janai no Shiawase Naraba（いいじゃないの幸せならば）

Best Performance: Shinichi Mori -- Minato Machi Blues （港町ブルース）

Best New Artist: Hiroshi Uchiyamada and The Cool Five -- Nagasaki wa Kyou mo Ame Datta （長崎は今日も雨だった）