The Country Trio

The Country Trio is a hillbilly band consisting of Muppet versions of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson. Named for their performers, Jim played banjo, Frank played bass, and Jerry played guitar.
They were created for a 1972 appearance on The Perry Como Winter Show where they sang "You Don't Mess Around with Jim."
They sang "Mama Don't Allow" on The Dick Cavett Show in 1973. After their performance, Cavett interviewed Henson, Oz, and Nelson with their puppet characters where the members of the Trio addressed each other by name.
In the 1970s, the Country Trio sang a song to the tune of "Sweet Betsy from Pike" in a promo for PBS, urging viewers to "keep our kids learning" through public television with programs like Sesame Street, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and The Electric Company.
The puppets appeared in the background of scenes from The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, and featured in their own musical number that was cut from the final edit of the pilot (as seen in an archival photo slide).
They also appeared on The Muppet Show, including episode 105 where they sang "I Want to Go to Morrow," episode 123 in a rendition of "In the Summertime", and sans Frank in episode 322 riding "A Four-Legged Friend". Additional songs proposed for the Trio to perform on The Muppet Show include "Johnny Be Good" [sic], "Another Saturday Night," "Good Old Mountain Dew," "Tiger By the Tail," and "You'll Never Get Away."Archival document displayed in The Jim Henson Exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image
==Sources==
==External links==
* Jim Henson's Red Book: 4/17/1973 – ‘Do Cavett show – Rock trio “Mama Don’t Low.”’ concept sketches
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Muppet Show Characters
Category:Muppet Bands