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| Music by | Joe Raposo |
| Lyrics by | Jon Stone and Joe Raposo |
| Date | 1970 |
| Publisher | Instructional Children's Music Inc. Jonico Music Inc. |
| EKA | Episode 0096 |
Big Bird sings "ABC-DEF-GHI," from the first season of Sesame Street.
1972 version
1980's version
"ABC-DEF-GHI" is a Sesame Street song performed by Big Bird from the show's first season. In skits featuring this song, Big Bird sees the alphabet (often, written on a board in the courtyard) and interprets it as a long word that he doesn't understand. He sings it aloud, pronouncing it "ab-ca-def-gi-jeckle-mi-nop-kwer-stoov-wix-iz," attempting to decipher whatever meaning this word may have. He is eventually reassured by the adults that "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ" is not a word but the alphabet.
In 1972, the sketch was retaped (EKA: Episode 0535), using the soundtrack from The Sesame Street Book & Record, and in the 1980s, the original song was shown as a flashback in a sketch where Big Bird and some kids found a scroll of the alphabet in a trunk. (EKA: Episode 2453) Big Bird also sang it on the Season 12 premiere, while visiting a kindergarten classroom where he sees the alphabet scrolled across one of the walls. During the scene, he lipsynced to the original soundtrack from the first season. He last performed "ABC-DEF-GHI" on Sesame Street on the Season 34 premiere, at a karaoke night that Alan hosted at Hooper's Store.
Outside of Sesame Street, Big Bird has performed "ABC-DEF-GHI" on several occasions, including with Flip Wilson on the premiere episode of The Flip Wilson Show, in Big Bird and the ABCs (a Sesame Street Live stage show), and on Evening at Pops: 2001. He also sang a verse of the song during the ending "Songs" medley in Elmopalooza.
Elmo sang his own version of "ABC-DEF-GHI" in a 1989 episode, which later appeared on the album Sing the Alphabet. Big Bird's Mexican cousin, Abelardo, sang the song in an episode of Plaza Sésamo after seeing Manuel and Daniela make some letters. Even Stinky the Stinkweed sang a version of that song along with Big Bird in an episode from 2000.
Releases
- Audio (sung by Big Bird)
- The Sesame Street Book & Record (1970)
- ABC-DEF-GHI/J-Jump (single, 1970)
- Big Bird Sings! (1974)
- Sing the Hit Songs of Sesame Street (1974)
- 60 Favorite Songs from Sesame Street (1975)
- 25 Greatest Hits (1975)
- ABC-DEF-GHI/I Just Adore 4 (single, 1976)
- Muppet Masquerade (1978)
- The Best of Big Bird (1983)
- Favorite Songs From Jim Henson's Muppets (1986, new recording)
- The Best of Sesame Street (1987)
- Sing: Songs of Joe Raposo (1992)
- The Bird is the Word! (1995)
- Platinum All-Time Favorites (1995)
- Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music (2003)
- Just Me! Music
- Elmo's Rainbow and Other Springtime Stories exclusive bonus CD (2010)
- Audio (sung by Elmo)
- Sing the Alphabet (1996)
- Audio (performed by The Boston Pops)
- Video (original version)
- Video (1972 version)
- A&E Biography: Sesame Street (excerpt)
- Video (1980s version)
- Getting Ready for School (1987)
- The World of Jim Henson (1994, excerpt)
- Big Bird Sings! (1995)
- What's the Name of That Song? (2004)
- Best of Friends (2012)
- Online (original version)
Publications
- Sesame Street Songbook Vol. 1
- The Sesame Street Song Book (1971, 1992 and 2007 editions)
- Favorite Songs from Jim Henson's Muppets (1986)