Lips Lips is the trumpet player from " The Muppet Show " . The character was created for performer Steve Whitmire , to give him his own member of the Electric Mayhem . He debuted in the fifth and final season of the series , and played trumpet for both the Electric Mayhem and the orchestra . Lips also appeared as part of the Electric Mayhem in " The Great Muppet Caper " , " A Muppet Family Christmas " , " The Muppet Christmas Carol " and " Christmas in Rockefeller Center " . Lips had a special mechanism that allowed his eyelids to turn inwards . It was usually used when he blew into his trumpet . Compared to the other Mayhem members , who participated in skits or the backstage action , Lips functioned primarily as a musician only ( with trumpeter Tommy McQuater doing the horn playing ) and seldom even spoke . He did have trumpet solos in several episodes , most notably duetting with Hal Linden on " When the Saints Go Marching In " in . Steve Whitmire once commented upon Lips ' silence : Two rare examples of Lips speaking include " Barnyard Boogie " , in which he sings a verse , and " The Great Muppet Caper " ( yelling " Ding ding ! " and " Let ' s hit the road ! How ' bout a little travelin ' music ? " before " Night Life " , and " And me ! " during the finale ) . In " A Muppet Family Christmas " , after Doc accidentally slams a door into Lips ' face , the latter can be heard shaking his mouth out due to the sudden shock . In " The Muppets , " when rehearsal for the telethon goes horribly wrong , Floyd tells Kermit that the orchestra can ' t keep time without Animal ' s drums ( at which point Lips shakes his head and mutters " uh - uh " ) and that they need their drummer , with Lips nodding and saying " yeah " in agreement . In a 2013 interview , Dave Goelz said of the character : " Steve Whitmire has been frustrated that for thirty years he hasn ’ t really found a character hook for Lips the trumpet player . Just last winter he had to say the line “ but we don ’ t have any instruments . ” In a gravelly voice , Steve came out with “ Buh we don ’ got no insuh - menz . ” And the character was born after 30 - odd years in labor . I love Lips , and am waiting raptly for his next line . " It is not currently known which project this was ( and the scene does not appear to have been released ) . Despite the character ' s obscurity , Palisades Toys released a Lips Action Figure in 2004 . A Lips costume was released as part of the Xbox Live Marketplace . In 2009 , Lips appeared with the rest of the Electric Mayhem in the NBC special " Christmas in Rockefeller Center " . This was his first appearance in over a decade . He appeared again in 2011 ' s " The Muppets " , where he is seen performing in the orchestra pit as he did on " The Muppet Show " . He would later be seen as part of The Electric Mayhem again in " Muppets Most Wanted " and as a part of the house band for " Up Late with Miss Piggy " on ABC ' s " The Muppets " . For the latter , the puppet was completely rebuilt , as the original puppet actually came apart during a YouTube video shoot earlier in the year . He spoke his first full line in over thirty years in the episode " " of " The Muppets " , declaring , " And we love us some gas station sushi ! " He would later get more dialogue in " " and " , " and " . " He also briefly spoke at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in 2016 , during Dr . Teeth ' s introduction for the song " Ophelia " , when talking about a women they ' ll be singing about , each member guesses a different name , with Lips guessing " Melissa ! " Lips performed with the band again in " The Muppets Take the Bowl " concert , performed here by Peter Linz . According to " The Muppets Character Encyclopedia " , Lips earned his nickname one cold day in elementary school when his lips got stuck to his trumpet while practicing outside . Behind - the - scenes , Lips was named after the imagery used to promote " The Rocky Horror Picture Show " , one of performer Steve Whitmire ' s favorite movies . Sources . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _