Joe Raposo Joe Raposo ( February 8 , 1937 - February 5 , 1989 ) was a composer who wrote songs , score , background cues , and other music for " Sesame Street " and other Muppet projects . Raposo created some of the best known Muppet songs , notably " Bein ' Green " and " C Is for Cookie , " and helped establish the musical sound of " Sesame Street " . Many of his " Sesame Street " songs have since become popular standards covered by everyone from the Carpenters to Barbra Streisand , including " Bein ' Green , " " Sing , " and " Somebody Come and Play . " Background . Joseph Guilherme Raposo was born in Fall River , Massachusetts , of Brazilian Portuguese heritage . His father was a music teacher and conductor , but Raposo initially majored in law at Harvard College , where he graduated in 1958 . He soon began performing as a jazz piano accompanist and then studied at L ' Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris instead of going on to law school . While still at Harvard , he conducted an out of town tryout for a Broadway show , with his first scored musical " Sing Muse ! " opening in 1961 . Raposo subsequently moved from Boston to New York where he provided dramatic underscoring for Bertolt Brecht ' s " A Man ' s a Man " , served as musical director of Truman Capote ' s " House of Flowers " ( 1968 ) and wrote incidental music for Jackie Mason ' s Broadway comedy " A Teaspoon Every Four Hours " ( 1969 ) . It was " Sesame Street " that brought Raposo widespread fame , however . Work with Henson and Sesame . Raposo first worked with Jim Henson on the special " Hey Cinderella ! " ( 1969 ) , for which he scored and wrote all of the songs . Raposo subsequently worked on " Sesame Street " , though he was chosen independently of Henson on the recommendation of producer / " Hey Cinderella ! " writer Jon Stone . Serving as musical director for the first five seasons , Raposo initially wrote material for all aspects of the show , including the instrumental theme for the live action Buddy and Jim skits , and only occasionally collaborating with staff writers such as Stone , Jerry Juhl , Daniel Wilcox , and Jeff Moss ( who contributed heavily to the show ' s musical sound himself ) , among others . As Raposo recalled , " Sesame Street " " just came along . It didn ' t have a name . It was a bunch of people meandering around trying to do a show for Public Television . " Most of his best known songs , however , soon fell into two groups : those written for Muppet segments and those for live action films , often sung by Raposo himself . Of the Muppet tunes , some were jaunty , whimsical exercises in education , as with Cookie Monster ' s anthem " C Is for Cookie " or " Would You Like to Buy an O ? " Others were slower and more contemplative , expressing the innermost thoughts , fears and desires of the characters , as with " Imagination , " " Nobody , " and especially Kermit ' s classic lament " Bein ' Green . " Such introspection resulted from Raposo ' s songwriting methods , a process he called " psychological dress - up " : Raposo ' s sound , often dominated by the piano over other instruments , was also a fixture of film inserts , usually played over footage of people or animals and performed by Raposo himself . As with the Muppets , Raposo ' s style as composer and singer varied in moods , from the comedic and even brash ( adopting cartoonish voices for " What Do You Do With a Fruit ? " or as the titular animal in " I ' m an Aardvark " ) to the melancholy ( " Somebody Come and Play " ) or soothing mood pieces ( " Everybody Sleeps " ) . One of the few occasions when he lent his voice to songs written by others was " High , Middle , Low " ( as the Anything Muppet singing " middle " ) . One Raposo classic which fits in neither of the above two categories is " Sing , " performed in many different contexts on the show , and later covered by a variety of popular artists . In fact , through his work on " Sesame Street " , Raposo deliberately set out to cross the forced boundaries between pop music and children ' s songs . Raposo continued to work with Henson on " The Great Santa Claus Switch " and " The Frog Prince " ( both with lyrics by Juhl ) and went on to serve as musical director and song writer for CTW ' s follow - up to " Sesame Street " , " The Electric Company " . Raposo left " Sesame Street " after 1974 ( replaced by Sam Pottle as musical director ) contributing only occasional material ( such as new songs for " Sesame Street Fever " ) and would not return full - time until Season 15 in 1983 , working more often with other lyricists . During that interim , Raposo continued to collaborate with Henson , scoring the pilot " " ( originating the " At the Dance " theme used on " The Muppet Show " ) and both songs and score for " The Great Muppet Caper " , which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for " The First Time It Happens . " He also worked on " The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show " and composed and produced all songs for " Miss Piggy ' s Aerobique Exercise Workout Album " . Fame and Later Work . In 1970 , " Bein ' Green " was covered by Frank Sinatra , and as Raposo put it , " then I became famous . " " Sesame Street " took a backseat for a time to a wide range of projects in film , TV , and theater , as well as writing original songs for Sinatra and other singers . While still staff musical director for CTW , Raposo worked on " You ' re a Good Man , Charlie Brown " ( 1971 ) as musical arranger , supervisor , and composer of incidental music . Following his departure from " Sesame " in 1974 , producer Richard Horner tapped Raposo to write all songs and score for the animated film " Raggedy Ann and Andy " ( finally released in 1977 ) . One song from the film , " Blue , " was later used on " The Muppet Show " ( performed by Helen Reddy , who also covered the song on albums ) . " Blue " and " Rag Dolly " were later recycled by Raposo for the 1986 Broadway show " Raggedy Ann and Andy " ( with a substantially different plot and several new Raposo tunes ) . On a more adult level , Raposo scored Robert Altman ' s Academy Award - winning drama " Nashville " ( 1975 , with Lily Tomlin and Cloris Leachman ) and composed music ( sans lyrics ) for the " Three ' s Company " theme song as well as the instrumental theme for its spin - off " The Ropers " , among other projects . He returned to children ' s projects in the 1980s , collaborating with Theodor Geisel on three Dr . Seuss animated specials , composing music for a special based on the " Madeline " books ( which aired on HBO four months after his death ) , and writing the theme for " Shining Time Station " . In the theater world , Raposo collaborated with Sheldon Harnick ( lyricist of " Fiddler on the Roof " ) on the cantata " Sutter ' s Gold " ( 1980 ) , and " A Wonderful Life " ( 1986 ) , a musical adaptation of " It ' s a Wonderful Life " which was performed largely in colleges and made its Broadway debut as an Actor ' s Fund benefit in 2005 . Legacy . Raposo died from lymphoma on February 5 , 1989 , three days before his 52nd birthday . He was survived by his wife Pat Collins and three sons . The special " Sing ! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music " , hosted and directed by Jon Stone , aired in memoriam . Nearly three years later , a was released commemorating his work on " Sesame Street " . In 2004 , a short children ' s book about Raposo , " A Boy and His Music " , was written by Odete Amarelo and Gilda Arruda with illustrations by Josette Fernandes . Raposo ' s songs continue to be heard on " Sesame Street " , and his name appeared in the credits for original songs up to Season 40 .