The Real Meaning Behind The Muppets' Rainbow Connection

"The Rainbow Connection" was written by Grammy and Oscar-winning songwriter Paul Williams (pictured above), who has composed music for the Carpenters, Barbara Streisand, and Three Dog Night, among other classic performers. But his greatest hit was undoubtedly the opening tune for The Muppet Movie. According to Vanity Fair, he and co-writer Kenny Ascher found their inspiration for the song in another classic tune from the silver screen. "The model we used was 'When You Wish Upon a Star,' which opened Disney's Pinocchio," said Williams. "This is Kermit's 'I am' song. This song will show that Kermit has an inner life, a spiritual life." They also pulled some inspiration from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," from The Wizard of Oz, but the main idea was to write a song as defining for the studio as "When You Wish Upon a Star" was for Disney.

Williams said that working for Jim Henson was basically a creative person's dream. The Muppets creator put all his trust in his songwriters, giving them complete artistic freedom to produce a truly heartfelt song that would touch people's lives, not just be a commercial success. "One of my treasured memories is walking to the car with Jim after the [initial] meeting," Williams said. "I said, 'Jim, as we're working on the songs, I'll make sure you hear them to make sure we're headed in the right direction.' He said, 'Paul, that's not necessary, I'll hear them in the studio.' I went, 'Wow...what trust.'"

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2FkmlpbWtfqbWmedGemKVlnZqur7XNoGSbnZieu6V506GcZqWlpb2mwNJmqZqhnpe8uHnCqKWnnZOptrC6jg%3D%3D