“Java” is one of the most recognizable classic Muppet segments, and certainly one of the best that doesn’t feature any recurring Muppet characters. Dating as far back as 1965, it was performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, and of course, The Muppet Show, and it’s still being performed at the live “Stuffed and Unstrung” shows.
As for the song itself, it was written by Allen Toussaint in 1958 and made popular by trumpeter Al Hirt in 1963. Between these two, Frank Oz (who developed the “Java” puppet routine) and Jim Henson, we got a pure classic that I think I can confidently say is etched into the brains of everyone reading this article now.
So with this incredible familiarity of the song and the Muppet version, you’d better believe my absolute astonishment to learn that “Java” has lyrics. Yes, it’s not just a silly instrumental of tootles and honks. The song has words and stuff.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an epic reveal without a little confusion. The lyrics appear on Marilyn Maye’s 1967 album “A Taste of ‘Sherry!'”, which means someone added lyrics within a few short years of the popular Al Hirt version. But who wrote the lyrics?
The album credits the song to “Friday, Toussaint, Tyler”. “Toussaint” is the aforementioned songwriter Allen Toussaint. But who are Friday and Tyler? Did Sgt. Joe Friday pop out of Dragnet to co-write this song? Should we be thanking John Tyler, the 10th President of the United States for this classic? The world may never know.
(But seriously, if anyone knows, please let us know!)
Whoever added these lyrics truly helped us to garner meaning to “Java”. We now know that “Java” is all about… coffee. Well, that’s anticlimactic.
Rather than just link to the Marilyn Maye version of “Java”, we went the extra mile and edited the song directly into the Muppet version so you can see what it would’ve looked like if this version made its way onto The Muppet Show. But really it was so I could play with my video editing software.
Enjoy!
Many thanks to longtime ToughPigs friend David Beukema for making this incredible discovery!
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by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
