[ Singing ]
>> Carla Hayden: Kermit,
star of stage and screen,
multi-platform celebrity.
Welcome to the National
Recording Registry Class of 2020
at the Library of Congress.
>> Kermit the Frog: Well,
thank you, Dr. Hayden.
You know, it's wonderful to
be here as part of the class
of 2020, and, you know, it
seems like it was only yesterday
that I was sitting in a swamp
playing the banjo and singing
"Rainbow Connection", and now
here we are joining the National
Recording Registry.
Time sure is fun when
you're having flies
or something like that.
>> Carla Hayden: Well, you
know the Registry is an annual
selection of 25 of the nation's
most important recordings
by some of the most
important people in history,
and we preserve them
forever, and today, Kermit,
you'll join that list.
How does it feel to be
a figure in history?
>> Kermit the Frog:
Well, gee, you know,
it's an amazing feeling
to officially become part
of our nation's history.
It's a great honor,
and I am thrilled.
I am thrilled to be the
first frog on the list.
>> Carla Hayden:
Well, your performance
of "The Rainbow Connection"
has sold millions
of copies worldwide, and
it's beloved by everyone,
and your fellow inductees this
year include Thomas Edison,
Louis Armstrong, Janet Jackson,
Jackson Browne, Jimmy Cliff,
Patti LaBelle, and Nas.
So I have to ask, is it
hard for you to stay humble?
>> Kermit the Frog: Whoosh, wow,
well, what a list, Dr. Hayden.
Louis Armstrong, Janet
Jackson, Jimmy, Patti.
You know, who knew that Thomas
Edison could sing, you know?
I am just so happy to be a
part of the group, and as for,
you know, staying humble,
it's easy, you know?
With Miss Piggy around, my ego
always come in a distant second.
>> Carla Hayden: Oh
boy, I can imagine.
>> Kermit the Frog: Yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: You recorded
"The Rainbow Connection"
as the opening of the
very first Muppet Movie,
and you were sitting
on a log in a swamp.
Could you tell us a
little bit about the shoot?
Were mosquitoes a problem?
>> Kermit the Frog:
Mosquitoes a problem?
No, no, no.
No, no, Dr. Hayden.
They were delicious.
Yeah, it was a great shoot.
Yeah, you know, here's
a little-known fact.
Most folks think that we
used the helicopter to get
that first, you know,
that first panoramic view
of the whole swamp, but it
was actually Sam Eagle soaring
over the swamp with a
camera in his talons.
>> Carla Hayden: Wow.
>> Kermit the Frog: Yeah, if
Sam knew that that would lead
to the Muppets making
more movies,
he probably would have
dropped the camera.
>> Carla Hayden: He might have.
>> Kermit the Frog:
He would have, yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: And
I don't think any
of us knew you could
play the banjo so well,
so here's what we want to know.
>> Kermit the Frog: Yeah.
>> Carla Hayden: Did you
take lessons at some point?
>> Kermit the Frog: Oh,
well, you know, I was lucky.
Yeah, somebody dropped
that banjo in the water,
and I grabbed it when it floated
downstream, and, you know,
I wanted to take lessons,
but no banjo teachers
floated downstream,
so I kind of had
to teach myself.
>> Carla Hayden: You did great.
>> Kermit the Frog: Thank you.
>> Carla Hayden: And Paul
Williams and Kenneth Ascher,
they're fabulous songwriter and
composer, they wrote "Rainbow",
and Paul says the model
was Jiminy Cricket singing
"When You Wish Upon a Star"
at the beginning of Pinocchio,
and that's one of the
biggest songs of all time.
So was there any pressure
with that to try to match it?
>> Kermit the Frog:
Oh, well, first of all,
Paul and Ken are
brilliant, and the moment
that they played
the song for us,
I just knew that it was
something special, and,
you know, I'm really
not surprised
that they took inspiration from
"When You Wish Upon a Star".
I think that the two songs,
they complement each other
really nicely, and they're both
about that need to follow
your dream no matter what.
>> Carla Hayden: Do
you think crickets
and frogs could harmonize
on a song?
I mean, their styles
seem to be similar.
>> Kermit the Frog: Well,
yeah, yeah, I would be thrilled
to harmonize with
Jiminy Cricket.
Jiminy, such a beautiful voice.
You know, I love the
sounds of crickets.
They remind me of back home.
>> Carla Hayden: Aww.
Well, Paul says the heart
of the song is the line:
Who said that every wish
would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that,
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
Let's listen to Paul.
>> Paul Williams:
Hi, Dr. Hayden.
Hi, Kermit.
Well, that's a line that's
basically my philosophy of life,
and I believe it's
Kermit's as well.
It's a line about the
immense power of faith,
of faith in someone, or
something, or a big idea.
Faith is powerful, and it works.
We don't know why, and
maybe we don't need to know.
Sometimes the questions are
more beautiful than the answers.
>> Carla Hayden: So
is that right, Kermit,
that there's more beauty in
the questions than the answers?
>> Kermit the Frog:
Yeah, that's perfect.
I mean, Paul is right.
The yearning for beauty, the
quest for what happens next,
and the hope for
a better tomorrow.
You know, that's what makes
life worth living, you know,
and that's what "Rainbow
Connection" captures,
and I think that's why so
many people love that song.
>> Carla Hayden: And I know
you're a big fan of libraries
and reading, and you might
know that the Library
of Congress is the biggest
library in the world,
and we have all sorts of answers
here, but more importantly,
we get readers to ask
their own questions
and discover their own answers.
What would -- what do you
like to explore at libraries?
>> Kermit the Frog: Well, it's
a good question, and I will say
that I love books about nature.
Yeah, I love learning about
all my amphibian relatives
around the world and
learning how many things
in this world are green like me.
And -- But, you know, sometimes
when I go to a library,
I just walk down a random
aisle, and I pick out a book,
and I just start reading.
You know, you never know
what wonders you'll discover,
you know?
>> Carla Hayden: Well, I
hope you'll be my guest
at the Library of
Congress someday soon,
and we'd be delighted to get
you your own library card
and show you some
of the wonders here.
>> Kermit the Frog: Really?
Well, I cannot wait, but I
might need help reaching some
of the upper shelves.
You know, a frog can only
reach and hop so high.
>> Carla Hayden: Well, when
you come, I do want you
to promise me that
you'll bring your banjo
and sing "The Rainbow
Connection" for us.
>> Kermit the Frog: Oh,
really, I can do that?
>> Carla Hayden: Yes.
>> Kermit the Frog: I would love
to, Dr. Hayden, just as long
as you promise that I
don't get in trouble
with the librarian
for not whispering.
>> Carla Hayden: I think
I can arrange that.
>> Kermit the Frog: Okay,
thank you very much.
>> Carla Hayden: So, Kermit,
again, congratulations
on joining the 2020
National Recording Registry.
It's been more than a
pleasure chatting with you.
>> Kermit the Frog: Oh,
well, thank you, Dr. Hayden,
and on behalf of myself,
Paul Williams, Kenny Asher,
and all of the Muppets
thank you so much,
and I hope to see you
around the shelves.
Bye-bye.
[ Singing ]