Reason 1387 to love The Muppets

I have a theory about The Muppets. Actually, I have several theories about The Muppets, but one of the most important is that their appeal lies partly in how obvious it is that they really, really love songs. All kinds of songs. They're like a big old mp3 player on shuffle: you don't know what's going to come out next. Music-hall, vaudeville, the Beatles, the Great American Songbook, Broadway, disco, soul, rock - they really have such a generous musical spirit. I credit them as a big part of my early musical education: who else would teach me about songs like 'Lydia the Tattooed Lady', or 'Lady of Spain'? And although they can make a song ridiculous like no one ever has (the Viking warship version of 'In the Navy' springs to mind), there is often a kind of beauty to that ridiculousness. Which brings me to this clip of Linda Ronstadt singing 'Blue Bayou' with Floyd, Janis, Animal, that hairy dude on the xylophone... and a delightful chorus of percussive frogs. I honestly think this is one of the prettiest versions of this song I've ever heard - and also the silliest, by some considerable margin. Kudos, Muppet Band!