The Muppet Show. Rowlf - Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (ep.514)

[@colleenboye]

The puppetry is so amazing--playing the piano finger by finger.

[@margritkaminsky1470]

Rowlf, I admire your wonderful play!

[@emily_dupont_peterson]

Love his little humming homage to Glenn Gould.

[@Eisenmaus]

In a way it's weird: Always the same jokes with the Muppets. Somebody is doing something, somebody else interrupts. And yet it never got old. BTW: Love how Rowlf is humming to himself there. That's a true music lover. :-)

[@BenDanYt]

Glenn Gould used to humm while playing too

[@neilgerace355]

Sometimes, something is being eaten or blown up, too. Fair's fair :)

[@alextavalesthemuppetmaniac5607]

This sounds like a lullaby, every time I hear it, it makes me sleepy.

[@schubertuk]

Well it is certainly a very soothing chorale - although the third verse (which Rowlf didn't quite get to) is awe-inspiring.

[@visualgagging]

That's... Bach. Woof Woof.

[@LuppetCentral]

The only thing Rowlf needed the sheet music for was the name of the song. The rest he knew by heart.

[@ramenbo]

never misses a beat.

[@NellieKAdaba]

My fav song, I'd like to know how to play it on the piano, I also loved it, they used to play it at a church I used to go to in Belgium.

[@andy240190]

This is so funny the muppets were just the best

[@Martinroque77]

Aww, i love this piece =3

[@mollivonhabenichts3160]

I love it!

[@LuppetCentral]

At least the candles didn't set anything on fire!

[@thePianoMatt]

Ha, "Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen" by Johann Sebastien Batch--Bach. Woof, woof. ROFL.

[@TsWade2]

0:13 to 0:18 LOL! Rowlf is so cute.

[@keelyparker8466]

Oh...my god... I just laughed way too hard at this. Being a college musician, this is actually what it's like trying to practice sometimes!

[@LuppetCentral]

This is one of my favorite classical compositions, especially with the humorous intro. The funny thing is, when you play it from the point where you press 1, he mispronounces the name right away. To cheer myself up after having been ruined by the janitor once again, why is Gonzo now the owner of what used to be Mozart's chickens? When asked who their favorite composer was, they all said, "Bach, Bach!"

[@grendelum]

Remember, *Rowlf* was played by _both_ *Jim Henson* and *Frank Oz,* each controlling a single arm.

[@mahnoorfatima331]

:o

[@yosefdemby8792]

Actually, Frank Oz didn't do right hands at this point. He was too big for that. They had various rookie puppeteers start off by doing right hands. For Rowlf, if they wanted to make his piano playing look convincing, Henson would do the head and someone else would do both arms. Henson once praised Steve Whitmire a great pianist.

[@davidward7384]

One word: Hilarious.

[@Anyvalidname]

I think that, sometimes, they actually have someone in a suit. I think they primarily do that when they need one to perform with advanced or coreographed motor control, such as singing or playing an instrument. Of course, if you think that, then it's freakin' impressive that some guy can play the piano in a Rowlf costume, lol. =D

[@KittleKattle22]

They did have people in a suit for the large ones, ala Sweetums. But as d4m4s74 said, in this case, 2 people are controlling the puppet. More than likely, one person is controlling the head and one arm, and another person is controlling the second arm.

[@ddrusa]

yesssss

[@katebeirne1678]

How does he blow that candle out at the start?!

[@williamjameslehy1341]

Jim was awfully fond of throwing in stuff like that. Another such joke was when it showed Kermit drinking a glass of milk through a straw. He then waited a beat and looked right at the camera and said, 'Think about this, my friends'.

[@schubertuk]

It's Muppet Magic - and I love it. I don't either need nor want an explanation! ;-)

[@LuppetCentral]

Dusting or doing anything else to piano strings makes them sound like a combination of piano and guitar. Also, I've noticed that now guitar strings are sounding more like piano.

[@NaiTaiDai]

Yeah, George sort of was no longer used as the janitor as of the second season. By the third, George disappeared all together.

[@schubertuk]

RIP George. I missed him.

[@LuppetCentral]

Can Rowlf play Goldberg Variations?

[@schubertuk]

There is nothing that beloved mut cannot turn his paws to.

[@loveutoto]

Where did Beauregard say he was going at the end of the clip?

[@alextavalesthemuppetmaniac5607]

Was this taken from one of the Best Of the Muppet Show Videos (the one with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Kenny Rogers, and Mac Davis)?

[@neilgerace355]

Who did it first, Rowlf or The Beach Boys?

[@gregmowen1166]

Hi

[@canudeiro]

Who wrote this version ? I prefer this over Hess' arrangement.

[@schubertuk]

It sounds like the standard organ transcription - without the pedals.

[@d4m4s74]

Well, in case of rowlf and the swedish cheff (and some others) at least the arms have human, well, arms in them.

[@WalkerRileyMC]

In the case of the Swedish chef, his hands were actually human hands....Frank Oz's to be exact.

[@hhelpmaboab]

I'm pretty sure such an obviously Christian reference wouldn't have a place today