Old School Sesame Street fans--and readers of DT and The Onion AV Club--will recall that of the three classic songs he recorded in 1970, composer/performer Steve Zuckerman liked "Imagination Rain," the ode to mind expansion, even more than his working man's anthem, "I In The Sky."
"Imagination Rain" is the animated story of a kid who transforms his apartment into a jungle safari when he gets stuck inside by the rain. Trouble was, sometime in the early 1990's, The 'Street reworked the cartoon, replacing Zuckerman's own folk rock acoustic version of "Imagination Rain" with a funky soul arrangement performed by Richie Havens [below].
Now, finally, the original Zuckerman performance has showed up on YouTube [top]. The quality's not that great, but The Zuckerman is. For all you whippersnappers who only knew the funk version, prepare to be schooled; it's the Sesame Street equivalent of hearing Carl Perkins' recording of "Blue Suede Shoes" for the first time.
Imagination Rain -- Steven Zuckerman version [youtube via galaxigrl68]
Imagination Rain -- Richie Havens version
Previously: Steve Zuckerman's Awesome, Moody, Hippie Songs On Sesame Street
