Don Music

Template:Performer

Template:Am 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 (usually Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats) who would appear seemingly from out of nowhere.

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	Earliest Known Appearance	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.
	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.
	Whistle, Whistle, Little Bird	Episode 2164	Don Music tries to rewrite "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He succeeds and is joined by a country-western band. (YouTube)
	The Alphabet Song	Episode 2475	Don Music successfully "writes" the Alphabet Song, with help from his surroundings. (YouTube)
File:Philchicken-revolution.jpg	The American Revolution	Episode 3096	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.
	Mystery Guest	Episode 3194	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.
	Row, Row, Row Your Boat		"Life is but a... but a..." With Kermit's help, Don Music manages to rewrite the tune to "Drive, drive, drive your car."
	Yankee Doodle		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.
File:12213541556341477 0001.jpg	"Old MacDonald		Don successfully writes "Old MacDonald", with the help of Kermit and several barnyard animals.

Book Appearances

• I'm My Mommy - I'm My Daddy (1975)
• The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
• The New Who's Who on Sesame Street (1989)