Favorite Fictional Character --- Don Music

March of 2011 was the month I decided to revisit some of my favorite puppet/muppet characters from my childhood.  I highlighted some of those characters that never failed to bring a smile to my face or illicit a laugh at the slightest bit of hilarity.  One of those characters was Don Music from Sesame Street.  He was an early victim of parental overreaction that resulted in him not staying around very long.  But when he did light up the screen, this little boy was in awe of him.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Don Music, I'll give you a few introductory details about him.  Don was a struggling music writer who came close to writing some very familiar songs.  He almost finished "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", came close to completing "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and was almost done with "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" that the royalty money was inches away.  Instead those songs were completed by other, not so gifted song writers.  Don Music went on to write such classics as "Whistle, Whistle, Little Bird", "Mary Had a Bicycle", and the fantastic "Drive, Drive, Drive Your Car".  You may also know his version of "Old MacDonald" which he wrote with a barnyard full of animals.

Don's part time collaborator was the intrepid reporter, Kermit the Frog.  It seems that Kermit was so enthused by Don's creative talent that he would often times do a news story featuring Don as he wrote his newest hit.  Now like any creative soul, Don would occasionally hit a mental block and start feeling sorry for himself.  He occasional banged his head on the keyboard in fits of despair that would leave poor Kermit perplexed and eager to help. 

Where Don normally found himself blocked was in the rhyming of it all.  He often times could not figure out what to rhyme with words like "snow".  Kermit, the eager beaver that he was, would offer suggestions that, though rhyming, would not make sense in the context of the song.  This would cause Don to constantly change one word after another until his creative genius shown through and a new song would be born.

Sadly, due to his younger fans copying his headbanging moves, Kermit's visits grew further and further apart and Don slipped into music obscurity.  It's only with the invention of YouTube that Don's popularity recently started a comeback and I expect that it won't be long until he is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.