Sesame Street Theme The Sesame Street Theme ( registered with ASCAP as " Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street " ) is the familiar opening theme song of " Sesame Street " . It is normally sung by The Kids . The theme introduces the magical world of Sesame Street through its lyrics , stating that it is a place where " the air is sweet " and filled with " friendly neighbors , " and frequently asks the now - famous question " Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street ? " In an unpublished memoir , Jon Stone commented that he personally had come up with many of the ideas for the song : " An integral part of [ set designer ] Charlie Rosen ' s set was a wall of doors . . . I wanted to use these doors as transition gateways from the reality of the street to our puppet or animation pieces . I told Bruce [ Hart ] to include ' Every door will open wide ' " , which was also meant as a reference to the phrase " Open Sesame , " the inspiration for the show ' s title . " More important , I insisted that the recurring theme in the lyric be ' Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street ? ' The opening I envisioned was one of children . . . running happily , tumbling , playing along the way , but always intent on getting to Sesame Street . . . " Although Stone was pleased with Joe Raposo ' s music , which he said was " melodic and simple enough for a child to recognize " and link with the show , he believed the final product was " a lyrical disaster , " filled with " hackneyed phrases " and " astronaut slang " such as " A - OK " which he believed would " become obsolete . " Contrary to Stone ' s opinion , many of these " happy little clichés " ( such as " Sunny day , sweepin ' the clouds away " ) have arguably become as inexorably linked to the series as the melody . The song has been remade a number of times over the years not only for the show ' s opening and closing credits but also for inserts . Among the earliest , most distinctive versions of the theme feature solo harmonica performed by Toots Thielemans . provided the harmonica solo for the 30th Anniversary version of the theme ( used from seasons 30 to 32 ) . On " The Muppet Show " , when the " Sesame Street " cast made a cameo in , the cast of both " Sesame Street " and " The Muppet Show " sang a verse of the theme song ( this recording can be heard over a montage of " Sesame Street " clips in " " ) . Gladys Knight sang the theme in " The Sesame Street Special " . This recording was also included in the album " " . A remix was recorded by Ursula 2000 for " " . This remix also featured sound clips from various . This recording sometimes accompanied montages in episodes of " The Sesame Street Podcast " . Openings . The song has been a part of " Sesame Street " since the very beginning , as it was used to open the first pilot episode ; this version is longer than that used in the series proper . Sung by Bob McGrath , the rendition includes the complete lyrics , as heard on albums and elsewhere , but seldom included on the show itself . The more familiar opening theme , including a children ' s chorus ( the original chorus being Lois Winter and the " Wee Willie Winter Singers , " according to musical coordinator Danny Epstein ) , was used from the show ’ s debut until 1992 . Throughout this period , the opening theme was accompanied by clips of children playing on location in a park or city . Various sequences of footage were used and rotated from episode to episode . Big Bird was added to most versions of the sequence starting in season 4 and Barkley was added to the opening in season 10 ; the actual rotation of openings , meanwhile , was replaced outright with new footage in both 1972 and 1988 . For Season 24 , the theme was updated with a calypso - flavored beat . The opening sequence employed the use of numerous animated effects and featured many more Muppet characters , including Big Bird , Grover , Oscar the Grouch ( running in his trash can ) , Cookie Monster , Count von Count , Prairie Dawn , Ernie , Bert , Elmo and Telly Monster . The opening footage was generally standardized from episode to episode from this point on ; however , an alternate version of the opening , featuring Zoe and Baby Natasha in the places of Grover and Prairie Dawn respectively , was occasionally shown . In 1998 , the opening reverted to footage of Big Bird and various children , with a rerecorded version of the theme resembling the original opening . This lasted until 2002 , when yet another opening sequence was produced featuring Big Bird and various children following computer - animated bouncing blocks , highlighting clips from the show . Near the end , Super Grover appears flying and crashing to the bottom of the " Sesame Street " lamppost . He gets back up , holding a sign of the episode number . This opening was shortened on reruns , except for Season 37 , the last season to use this opening . Starting with Season 38 in 2007 to 2008 , another new opening was introduced , featuring a slightly - faster version of the theme with a minor hip - hop context to fit with the city setting . The sequence featured more Muppets , including Abby Cadabby , Oscar the Grouch , Elmo , Big Bird , Ernie , Bert , Cookie Monster , Super Grover , Zoe , Rosita , and a bird among a computer - animated New York City using " folding " effects ( this basis would also be used for the between - segment - bumpers and closing credits ) , and also had the episode number appearing on a sign next to the " Sesame Street " sign on the distinctive lightpole . . The graphics for this sequence were designed by Magnetic Dreams . A new intro was created for Season 40 in 2009 , featuring the Muppet characters in a chalk - drawn environment . Muppets who appear in this version of the opening include Big Bird , Oscar the Grouch , Elmo , Abby Cadabby , Ernie , Bert , Grover ( and his super - hero alter ego ) , Cookie Monster , Zoe , Count von Count , Rosita , Telly Monster , Baby Bear , Murray Monster , Ovejita , Chickens , and Birds . After Super Grover knocks over the lamppost , it falls and the episode number is written next to it . The theme music is a remixed version of the 2007 theme , this time using mostly live instruments ( i . e . acoustic drums , a horn section ) . This version was remixed again for Season 42 . For Season 46 , when the series began airing on HBO , another new opening sequence was introduced . For the first time in the series ' history , the sequence takes place on the actual street set . It features a new folk arrangement and only consists of the first verse . Animation . During the first 6 seasons of " Sesame Street " , each episode began with an animated sequence that ended with the show ' s episode number . The following is a listing of known animated sequences . International co - productions that premiered during the 70s ( with the exception of " Sesamstraat " in the Netherlands ) , including " Plaza Sésamo " , " Sesamstrasse " , and " Vila Sésamo " used these animated sequences during their early years . However " Sesamstrasse " continued to use these segments long into the 1990s , as well as creating their own opening animation sequences . The particular segments re - used from the original American version also had different soundtracks and redrawn colors . Those segments were phased out after 1995 , when " Sesamstrasse " stopped airing repeats of the 80s episodes , and the number sequences were eventually discontinued after 2000 . Closings . An instrumental version of the theme , featuring harmonica by Thielemans , regularly served as the outro for the first twenty three seasons of the show , and was only sporadically used afterwards . Like the opening , the closing has changed many times throughout the show ' s run . During the first season and for part of the third , the credits ( which until season 34 were generally included only on Friday episodes ) rolled as the action from episodes continued on . The season 2 closing featured still shots of childrens ' paintings . Sometime during Season 3 , the closing was changed to an illustrated sequence scrolling the length of a tall apartment building down into 123 Sesame Street . Various Muppet characters were depicted in this closing : Big Bird , Ernie , Bert , Cookie Monster , Oscar the Grouch , Kermit the Frog , Little Bird , Herbert Birdsfoot , Lefty the Salesman , Roosevelt Franklin , Roosevelt Franklin ' s Mother , Herry Monster , Sherlock Hemlock , Professor Hastings , and numerous Anything Muppets . Grover appeared in various areas throughout this closing . For the 1974 - 75 season , the closing was changed to a live - action drive through the countryside with the driver ' s hands being shown . This footage was combined with films of railroad tracks and a canyon in the 1978 - 79 season and this time , the driver ' s hands are not shown . New live action footage of The Kids playing with Barkley was introduced by the 1980 - 81 season and remained in use for twelve years up to 1992 . Alternate closings with filmed sequences of New York City and upstate New York recorded during the pre - dawn hours were also occasionally used during this period , usually coinciding with episodes taking place at night . A lullaby version of the theme featuring a celesta often accompanied these closings . During the late 1990s and early 2000s , a different arrangement was occasionally used to close out episodes taking place at night ( This version originally included a children ' s chorus repeating " How To Get To Sesame Street ? " which was later removed ) . A new , primarily - animated closing sequence was produced in 1992 to coincide with the new opening introduced in the same year , complete with a new upbeat version of the theme . Like the opening , this closing featured animated effects and appearances by various characters , including Elmo , a Muppet pigeon , Big Bird , and various kids dancing . Unlike the 1992 opening sequence , this closing remained in use for fifteen years until 2007 , making it the longest - running closing credit sequence used on the show , although it was progressively shortened in 2001 ( when references to " The Children ' s Television Workshop " were edited out ) , 2002 , and 2003 . Originally , the closing credits only appeared in every fifth episode . Starting in 1993 , the closing credits would also appear on the season premiere , and continued to until 2003 when the credits would appear at the end of each episode . This version of the theme was also used on NBC ' s broadcast of the Macy ' s Thanksgiving Day Parade whenever the Sesame Street float was introduced from 1995 to 2013 . During seasons 24 and 25 , a more " old - fashioned " alternate credit crawl appeared exclusively on repeats from preceding seasons . This closing featured Big Bird walking through Central Park and downtown with a group of children accompanied with the classic harmonica instrumental . To coincide with the new opening sequence of 2007 and the " folding - city " bumpers used in - between segments , a new closing sequence was introduced in Season 38 with the camera panning around the CGI city , with appearances by Super Grover , Elmo , Big Bird and Abby Cadabby , accompanied by an urban - jazz instrumental version of the theme . It also ends with a new Sesame Workshop logo instead of the animated one used since 2000 ( Season 38 utilized an in - credit variant featuring Abby Cadabby , and Season 39 debuted a newly - animated logo with an appearance by Elmo and other Sesame Workshop characters ) . In 2009 , a new credit sequence was created to go along with the new theme , and features Big Bird , Cookie Monster , Ernie , Bert , Zoe , Abby and Elmo dancing on and around the credits in a chalked background of each character . The closing music , like the opening , is remixed from the 2007 edition and was also re - recorded for season 42 . Thielemans ' harmonic version of the closing theme was used for the album " Sing - Along Travel Songs " , accompanied with Elmo and Zoe providing the vocals . When it was released on " The Best of Elmo " album , only Elmo ' s vocal is heard . For Season 46 , when the series began airing on HBO , the closing theme was replaced with an original closing song " Smarter , Stronger , Kinder , " as the credits play during the song . HBO edits of pre - 2003 episodes also used the Friday credit sequences at the end of every episode , including those that originally aired from Monday to Thursday . Other appearances . As the show ' s theme song , it has been featured in many productions related to " Sesame Street " , in both vocal and instrumental form . An instrumental version with a bit of Christmas - sounding music was included at the beginning of " Christmas Eve on Sesame Street " . Instrumental versions of the song also appeared in the first and last street scenes in " Follow That Bird " . The song , usually in instrumental form , has also been included in many video releases . The theme is briefly sampled in the score of " The Great Muppet Caper " during Oscar the Grouch ' s " very brief cameo . " It also appears during the ending portions of " The Lovable Monsters of Sesame Street " and " Keep Christmas with You ( All Through the Year ) " in " Elmo Saves Christmas " . In most countries , several of the international " Sesame Street " co - productions use their own theme song , while others use the original American version in their own style with slightly different lyrics ; one example being the Dutch co - production " Sesamstraat " ( see Sesamstraat Thema ) . Also , the Danish co - production " Sesamgade " uses the same theme ( with the same audio from 2002 ) , but with a altered text by Mariella Harpelunde Jensen , so that it fits into a show that focuses on Elmo . The theme song was performed at the " Jim Henson ' s Musical World " concert on April 14 , 2012 . Audio releases . All versions released are performed by The Kids , unless otherwise noted . References . The song has been referenced quite a few times on " Sesame Street " , or in related productions . Sources . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _