Samuel H. Pottle (May 8, 1934 – July 4, 1978) was an American composer, conductor, and musical director involved in many theatrical and television productions. Born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, he is perhaps best remembered for his work on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' and ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

'', having co-written the iconic

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

by using the music from the song ''Musik, Musik, Musik'' which is used originally in the movie ''Hello Janine!'' with music composed by

Peter Kreuder Peter Paul Kreuder (18 August 1905 – 28 June 1981) was a German- Austrian pianist, composer and conductor. Life Kreuder was born in Aachen, the son of a ''Kammersänger''. He enrolled as a piano student at the Cologne Conservatory in 1910, whe ...

. However, Pottle was also involved with many theatrical productions in the 1960s and 1970s. His principal collaborators were David Axelrod and Tom Whedon, although he also worked with other lyricists. Pottle graduated from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

in 1955. At Yale he was president of the Yale Dramatic Association, and in 1954 he wrote the music for the Dramat's successful original musical, "Stover at Yale." His father was Frederick Pottle, Sterling Professor of English at Yale. He died on July 4, 1978 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while on holiday in Great Barrington,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. His partner, writer Charles Choset, dedicated the 1982 plays ''Letters to Ben'' and ''

The Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a salvation, saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''Messiah in Judaism, mashiach'', Messianism#Judaism, messianism, and of a Messianic Age#Judaism, Messianic Age ...

'' to him. His remains were donated to medical science.

Credits

Theatre

*All Kinds of Giants (off Broadway) (1961) book and lyrics by Tom Whedon *Money a Musical Play for Cabaret (1963) with book and lyrics by David Axlerod and Tom Whedon *The Mad Show (1966) Broadway theatre - conductor *''Keep Tightly Closed in a Cool Dry Place'' (

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

, 1968) - composer *Cry for Us All (Broadway, 1970) - musical supervisor *''The Meehans'' (1977) - composer

Television

''Sesame Street''

*Musical director *Composer **"What's the Name of That Song?" (with David Axlerod) - 1974 **"City-Country Song" (with

Emily Kingsley Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

) - 1974 **"Mary Had a Bicycle" (with David Korr) - 1974 **"I Just Adore Four" (with Joseph A. Bailey) - 1974 **"Numerical Correspondence Song" (with David Korr and David Axlerod) - 1974 **"The Subway" (with Grace Hawthorne) - 1974 **"Swamp Mushy Muddy" (with

Norman Stiles Norman Stiles (born December 4, 1942) is a television writer best known for his work on the show ''Sesame Street''. Stiles worked on the show from 1971 until 1997. Stiles is perhaps best known for writing the episode segments about the death of t ...

and David Axlerod) - 1974 **"Beep" (with

) - 1974 **"Happy / Sad" (with Gene Moss) - 1974 **"Women Can Be" (with

Carol Hall Carol Hall (April 3, 1936 – October 11, 2018) was an American composer and lyricist. She was best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway stage musical ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1978, adapted as a film in 1982). ...

) - 1974 **"Wonder Child" (with David Axlerod) - 1974 **"A Very Simple Dance" (with

) - 1974 **"Counting Is Wonderful" (with

and David Axlerod) - 1975 **"I Want a Monster to Be My Friend" (with

Robert Pierce Robert Pierce (1914–1978) was an American Baptist minister and relief worker. He is best known as the founder of the international charity organizations World Vision International in 1950 and Samaritan's Purse in 1970. Early life and educati ...

) - 1975 **"Frazzle" (with David Axlerod) - 1975 **"Fur" (with David Axlerod) - 1975 **"Monster Lullaby" (with David Axlerod) - 1975 **"Keep Christmas With You (All Through the Year)" (with David Axlerod) - 1975 **"Elevator Song" (with Ray Sipherd) - 1976 **"It's Funny" (with David Korr) - 1976 **"The Transylvania Polka" (with

Tony Geiss Nicholas Anthony "Tony" Geiss (November 16, 1924 – January 21, 2011) was an American producer, screenwriter, songwriter and author, known principally for his children's work. Biography Geiss was born in The Bronx to Alexander Geiss and Ma ...

) - 1976 **"Madame Schwartzhead Blending" (with David Axlerod) - 1976 **"This Frog" (with David Axlerod) - 1976 **"One Way" (with Christopher Cerf) - 1976 **"Bus Stop" (with David Axlerod) - 1976 **"A Song from Kermit" (with David Axlerod) - 1976 **"I Love a March" (with

) - 1976 **"Ah, For the Joys of the Countryside" (with David Axlerod) - 1976 **"Proud of Me" (with

) - 1976 **"Just Around the Corner" (with David Axlerod and Ray Sipherd) - 1976 **"Furry Blue Mommy of Mine" (with David Axlerod) - 1977 **"Cookie Disco" (with Christopher Cerf) - 1977 **"Feelin' Good/Feelin' Bad" (with David Axlerod) - 1977 **"I Got a Song" (with David Axlerod) - 1977 **"Sound It Out" (with Sara Compton) - 1977 **"Sing After Me" (with

) - 1977 **"Count Up To Nine" (with David Axlerod) - 1977 **"This is my J" (with David Axlerod) - 1977 **"Three Waltzing Chickens" (with David Axlerod) - 1977 **"Disco D" (with

) - 1978 **"I Hate Christmas" (with David Axlerod) - for '' Christmas Eve on Sesame Street'', 1978

''The Muppet Show''

*Composer **" ''The Muppet Show'' Theme" (with

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

) - 1976

Other works

*Composer **"Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" (text by John Greenleaf Whittier) for SATB choir and piano, publ. Trigon Music, 1972 **"Jabberwocky" (text from

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's poem of the same name) for SATB choir, piano, harpsichord and small instruments, publ. Trigon Music, 1972 **"We'll Find America" (with David Axlerod) - 1975

External links

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pottle, Sam American male composers American male conductors (music) Yale University alumni 1934 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians Sesame Street crew