Willie Nelson’s Rainbow Connection is one of the Willie Nelson songs that will definitely comfort and soothe your heart. In 2001, the country music legend put a taste of his style into the classic 1979 song from the film The Muppet Movie. The song was originally penned by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher and performed by Jim Henson, who was the voice actor of Kermit the Frog. In the film, Kermit the Frog opened with him singing and playing the song on the banjo.
The song received a warm recognition from viewers reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a total of seven weeks on the Top 40. Not only that, but it also received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 52nd Academy Awards. And just this year, Rainbow Connection was inducted into the Library of Congress and one of the few preserved songs in the National Recording Registry.
According to the songwriters, most of the song was fairly done quickly, but they got stuck in the chorus looking for a word to tie up the whole song. It was during a dinner that they were explaining their problem to Williams’ then-wife Kate Clinton that they realized that rainbow connection was a good fit. They also mentioned that they used Pinocchio’s When You Wish Upon a Star as inspiration.
Since then, this song has been covered by various artists, and Willie Nelson‘s 2001 rendition truly touched many lives. The song, which was the lead single in his forty-ninth studio album of the same name, helped propel the album to be nominated for the 2001 Country Album of the Year in the prestigious Grammy Award.
Sometimes, all we just need is that pump of calm in this world full of chaos. And if you’re badly needing that, one thing you could do is listen to Willie Nelson’s Rainbow Connection. It will not change things, but it will definitely help you face the challenges ahead of you. Watch his rendition in the video below.
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Willie Nelson