Don Music

PERFORMER	Richard Hunt
DEBUT	1974
PATTERN	Orange Gold
DESIGN	Jim Henson

Don Music is an agonized composer who made recurring appearances on Sesame Street, starting in Season 6 (1974).

A typical sketch involved Kermit visiting Don in his studio while he tried to write a new song. To help alleviate Don's frustrations and stop him from banging his head against his piano, Kermit would make suggestions and correct Don's mistakes. The usual result was that Don would write a strange version of a nursery rhyme, such as "Mary Had a Bicycle" instead of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." When he finished, he would perform the song, and would normally be joined by back-up singers (often Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats), who would appear seemingly from out of nowhere, or come through the door to the room.

Don always kept a picture of Sesame Street songwriter and composer Joe Raposo on the wall, while on his piano he often kept a bust of either Ludwig van Beethoven or William Shakespeare.

He stopped appearing in new material after his performer, Richard Hunt, died in 1992, but his segments continued to air as part of new episodes until the end of Season 29 in 1998. According to Sesame Street Unpaved, which was published in 1998, "The character, played by Richard Hunt, was abandoned because of complaints about his alarming tendencies toward self-inflicted punishment. Apparently, kids were imitating his head-banging at home."

Sketches

Picture	Summary / EKA	Description
	Mary Had a Bicycle Episode 0698	Kermit helps Don Music write a remake of "Mary's Lamb," with some back-up vocals from the Monotones. Video: Sing Yourself Silly, Old School: Volume 2 Online: Template:SSvideo Template:Hulu (YouTube)
	Row, Row, Row Your Boat Episode 1063	"Life is but a... but a..." With Kermit's help, Don Music manages to rewrite the tune to "Drive, drive, drive your car." Online: Template:SSvideo
	Old MacDonald Episode 1076	Don successfully writes "Old MacDonald", with the help of Kermit and several barnyard animals.
	Yankee Doodle Episode 1152	Kermit helps Don Music finish the "Yankee Doodle" song, then because Don finds the idea of calling feathers macaroni ridiculous, they rewrite it to be a song in which Yankee Doodle stays at home cooking for his pony, puts "fat spaghetti" in a pot and calls it macaroni. Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats then come in and perform the song with Don. Video: Old School: Volume 2 Online: Template:SSvideo
	Whistle, Whistle, Little Bird Episode 1210	Don Music tries to rewrite "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He succeeds and is joined by a country-western band. Online: Template:SSvideo (YouTube)
	The Alphabet Song Episode 1227	Don Music successfully "writes" the Alphabet Song, with help from his surroundings.
	Mystery Guest Episode 1447	Don was a contestant along with Cookie Monster and Sherlock Hemlock in game show sketch hosted by Guy Smiley. The object of the game was to wear a blindfold and guess who the mystery guest is. The mystery guest was the letter X. Don Music guessed M.
	Can You Tell Me How To Get To Yellowstone Park Episode 1845	On a stormy night, Don Music tries to rewrite the "Sesame Street Theme". With a little help from Kermit and the outdoor atmosphere, he succeeds and is joined by Little Chrissy & The Alphabeats. Online: Template:SSvideo
	Flabbergasted Episode 2324	Buster the Horse gives Don Music the idea to write a song about the word "flabbergasted." Don plays the song for Luis and a couple of kids and titles it "Buster's Song."
	The American Revolution Episode 2345	Don Music plays Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson has trouble getting a replacement quill to finish the Declaration when Mr. Grover misinterprets what he needs bringing a drill, and a chicken named Phil. Online: Template:SSvideo Template:Hulu (YouTube)
File:DonMusicCookingChoir.jpg	The Cooking Choir Episode 2407	Don has heard that David would like some music at Hooper's Store. He brings his piano but David is unimpressed by the classic showtunes he plays. David wants music that makes people think about food. So Don brings in a group of kids as "The Cooking Choir" to sing "When David likes to cook." Online: Template:SSvideo
	Beginning, Middle, and End Episode 2415	Don pitches a new song to Meryl Sheep, hoping she will sing it in one of her productions. The song is directly about the beginning, middle, and end of itself. Once its finished, Meryl rejects using it; she doesn't do musicals.
	Re-opening of Hooper's Episode 2795	Gina and Mr. Handford are excited about all of the shirts and giveaways they have. Don Music pushes his piano into the store and plays the song he's written for the reopening, but he can't recall the last word. When Gina and Mr. Handford tell him that it's 'need' that rhymes with 'seed,' Don, with some Anything Muppet backup singers who pop up out of nowhere, performs a definitive version.

Book appearances

• I'm My Mommy - I'm My Daddy (1975)
• Who's Who on Sesame Street (1977)
• The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
• Fix It, Please (1989 reissue)

Gallery

In "Mary Had a Bicycle", a bronze bust of Beethoven sits atop Don's piano.

Sketch by Jim Henson.

Richard Hunt performing Don Music.