Right now’s article was written by Robust Pigs pal Grant Harding. Thanks for sharing your exceptional analysis, Grant!
In a 2022 episode of Robust Pigs’ Fraggle Speak podcast, Muppet performer Dave Goelz and our personal Joe Hennes have been speaking, naturally, about Fraggle music.
As many Robust Pigs readers know, the songs for Fraggle Rock have been co-written by composer Philip Balsam (RIP) and lyricist Dennis Lee. On the podcast, Dave associated that every one Fraggle songs had first existed as “demo” variations sung by Phil, and recorded on cassette tapes that have been introduced to the remainder of the manufacturing crew. Even once they have been simply Phil along with his guitar, Dave mentioned, each tune sounded nice. This prompted Joe to marvel out loud: Do these audio cassettes nonetheless exist?
Nicely, they do, and I discovered them.
A few of them, anyway. Those I discovered are within the Dennis Lee Papers, that are archived on the Thomas Fisher Uncommon Ebook Library on the College of Toronto. Whereas chasing leads for Muppet Wiki, I had seen that the on-line catalogue for the archive comprises such tantalizing phrases as “tapes of songs by DL with music by P. Balsam,” and “Demos, for early exhibits.” This actually appeared promising! So the subsequent time I went to Toronto (a five-hour practice trip away), I organized to go to the library.
A uncommon e book library doesn’t work like your native public library. All the fabric in query is saved in numbered containers. A number of days earlier than you present up, it’s good to request the containers you wish to look by means of, and the librarians convey them to a studying room the place you possibly can, nicely, learn.
It was nonetheless the peak of Covid occasions, so the library was solely open two days every week, and I used to be solely allowed to be within the studying room for 2 hours (throughout which I used to be additionally speed-reading scripts for unproduced Fraggle Rock episodes and scanning storyboards from The Music of the Cloud Forest). The librarians had offered me with a Walkman (keep in mind these?), which I used to hearken to bits and items of the varied tapes, making notes as to their content material in order that I knew what to ask them to digitize for me later.
As a result of sure certainly, there have been tapes! I might hear Phil Balsam singing Fraggle songs, largely from season one, however together with two songs from season 4. (Demo variations had as soon as existed for each single Fraggle tune, however these have been the one ones that had discovered their strategy to the library’s assortment.)
A number of the tapes contained songs that had been written for Fraggle Rock however by no means used. One included a “scratch” model that Phil recorded when he’d written the tune’s melody however Dennis hadn’t but written the phrases. (Scratch variations existed for each tune too, however solely this one survived.) One of many tapes even broke after I tried to play it, as a result of it hadn’t been performed in forty years! I used to be very apologetic, however the librarians instructed me to not fear, and so they mounted it. A few the songs additionally featured a feminine vocalist whose identification is now not identified.
A number of the songs underwent modifications between the demo variations and the variations everyone knows as we speak. For instance, the demo model of “Workin’” – the primary tune that Phil and Dennis ever wrote for the present – had Purple working as a Pipebanger, Mokey harvesting “tremendous berries” (no matter these are) and feeding them to child Fraggles, and Boober dusting the caves.
Most notably, a beloved recurring character had a unique title. On the demo tape, the Fraggle whom Mokey recruits to steer everybody to cease consuming Doozer buildings is called Convincing Jones.
As a part of this complete course of, I ended up contacting Dennis Lee himself, and he defined the rationale for the title change. The episode was produced in 1982, just a few years after the infamous Jonestown Bloodbath, which was orchestrated by a extremely convincing chief named Jim Jones. The echo was unintentional, however as soon as the Fraggle crew noticed it, they mentioned, “Aaaa, we will’t name him that!” So Convincing Jones turned Convincing John, and Dennis tweaked the lyrics accordingly. (“And all of your troubles can be gone” sounds higher than “And also you’ll consider it in your bones” anyway.)
I even discovered one of many audition tapes that helped get Phil and Dennis the job. The 2 had written a lot of songs collectively, however none that have been geared toward kids. So to point out the Fraggle crew what they may do, Dennis gave Phil just a few of his books of kids’s poetry (very well-known right here in Canada), and Phil set a number of the poems to music. To my ear, “The Coming of Teddy Bears” is the monitor that sounds probably the most like Fraggle songs would finally sound.
The right audition would come later, when all of the shortlisted songwriting candidates got the script for the primary episode produced (“The Thirty-Minute Work Week”) and requested to jot down a tune (or presumably two) for it. The plan had been to make use of completely different songwriters for various episodes, however Dennis and Phil’s work was so good, they have been employed because the unique songwriters for the collection. (Opposite to rumors, “Observe Me” shouldn’t be on the audition tape.)
You’ve learn this far, so in the end:
Right here in your listening pleasure are all of the Fraggle Rock tune demos within the library’s assortment. Get pleasure from!
It’s very thrilling to search out one thing that nobody else on the earth has – after which to share it in order that everybody on the earth can have it.
My sincerest thanks go to Natalya Rattan (the Archivist who organized my go to), Dave Pascoe (the Media Specialist who digitized the tapes), Dennis Lee (the lyricist), Carol Corridor (Phil Balsam’s widow), and naturally Muppet Wiki for internet hosting the information.
Click on right here to consider it in your bones on the Robust Pigs Discord!
by Grant Harding
