The Muppet Show reboot premiered Tuesday, and while it had its great moments, nothing can really compare to the original Muppet Show’s wild ‘70s/‘80s heyday. The new Muppet Show may be “edgy” and targeted at grown-ups, but does it have Diana Ross seductively singing about her “Love Hangover” while boogie-ing with psychedelic birds in a gold Studio 54 onesie, or a Dracula-caped Alice Cooper serenading a skullHamlet-style? No? Well, then, we rest our case.
By all means, keep watching and enjoying the 2015 Muppet Show so you can keep up with all that Kermit/Piggy/Denise love-triangle drama. But for felt-flying rock ‘n’ roll drama, make sure you check out our list of the best classic Muppet Show musical guests.
10. Johnny Cash (Feb. 14, 1981)
TV history was made when the Man in Black met the Frog in Green.
9. Shirley Bassey (Oct. 4, 1980)
If there was ever a solid argument for Kermit the Frog to be cast as the next James Bond, Bassey’s Muppet Show performance of “Goldfinger” would be it. This is pure gold.
8. Joan Baez (Dec. 6, 1980)
The songstress’s Muppet Show performances are less campy, dated, and over-the-top than most others. In fact, they’re just plain sweet. May the circle never be broken between Joan and her felt friends.
7. Loretta Lynn (Oct. 26, 1978)
Nope, there’s nothing creepy about the Coal Miner’s Daughter singing “One’s on the Way” with a brood of bawling, apple-headed Muppet babies. Nothing creepy at all. This was just normal family entertainment in the 1970s. (Side note: Doesn’t the baby in the playpen kind of look like Booji Boy in Devo’s “Satisfaction” music video? Or is it just us?)
6. Linda Ronstadt (May 16, 1981)
If you aren’t a weepy puddle by the end of this adorable, heartstring-tugging number, you clearly have no soul. Ronstadt herself has said this was her best-ever performance of “When I Grow Too Old to Dream,” and now that she has lost her singing ability to Parkinson’s disease, this clip and its lyrics have taken on poignant new significance.
5. Prince (Sept. 13, 1997)
Technically, this clip is not from The Muppet Show, but from an unsuccessful, short-lived ’90s remake called Muppets Tonight. But there’s no way we couldn’t include it on this list. Make sure you stick around to the end, when the Great Purple One starts singing “Raspberry Sorbet.”
4. Diana Ross (May 15, 1980)
Many people thought disco died in the 1980s, but five months into the new wave decade, the Muppets still hadn’t gotten the memo. This early-’80s disco hangover was sweet indeed. We’re still not over watching this surreal snippet.
3. Elton John (Feb. 6, 1978)
This is so ’70s, it almost seems like a parody. And yet it’s still so much cooler than almost anything you will see on television today. We kind of wish Elton had become a permanent member of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. He fit right in!
2. Debbie Harry (Feb. 21, 1981)
Along with a pair of Blondie classics (”One Way or Another” and “Call Me”) performed by the new wave goddess, this episode also featured a skit called “Muppet Punk.” But the show’s best moment was a tender and very un-punk one, when a blonde bombshell and a green frog crooned the Muppets’ Paul Williams-penned signature song.
1. Alice Cooper (Nov. 2, 1978)
Forget about “Welcome to My Nightmare.” The shock-rocker teaming with Kermit and the gang is a total TV dream come true! Alice recently formed the supergroup Hollywood Vampires with Joe Perry, Johnny Depp, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, but he never, ever had cooler collaborators than the Muppets.
Follow Lyndsey on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Amazon, Tumblr, Vine, Spotify
This article originally ran on Yahoo Music.
