Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are the house band on The Muppet Show. They mostly stick to rock music, but they're capable of playing other styles, including jazz and (unwillingly) classical.

They drive around in a brightly-painted bus with psychedelic swirls and colors.

In an edition of Ask Henson.com, Karen Falk responded to the origins of the Mayhem band, "Music was always an important part of Jim Henson's work. He had a strong interest in all types and had an eclectic record library. When he began writing proposals and creating concepts for The Muppet Show in the late 1960s, they always included a house band that was to appear in each episode. At that time, Jim had a strong interest in the counter-culture movement (as evidenced by his experimental film Youth '68) and sought to reflect that in the composition of the band. One proposal from about 1970 says that the band would, "...do songs like "Sunshine" from Hair. In fact, they are all dressed to out-hair the Hair cast." The Electric Mayhem as we know it first appeared in 1975 on The Muppet Show pilot Sex and Violence. A page of ideas for the show written by Jim describes the band this way: "Rock act - far-out, elaborate weird equipment, big amps..."."

Core Members

 * Dr. Teeth on keyboards and vocals
 * Floyd Pepper on bass guitar and vocals
 * Zoot on saxophone
 * Janice on lead guitar, tambourine, and vocals
 * Animal on drums

Additional Members

 * Lips on trumpet (The Muppet Show Season 5, 1980; The Great Muppet Caper, 1981; A Muppet Family Christmas, 1987; The Muppets at Walt Disney World, 1990; The Muppet Christmas Carol, 1992)

Guest Members

 * Clifford on percussion (The Muppets at Walt Disney World, 1990)
 * Rowlf on piano (episode 424, episode 513)
 * Jim on banjo (The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence pilot)
 * Trumpet Girl (episode 123 of The Muppet Show, and the trombone player during the fifth season)
 * A brass section consisting of a clarinet player and two trumpet players (one of whom was Bobby Benson) (season 2 of The Muppet Show)
 * Three frog backup singers (episode 406)
 * A bongo player (episode 413)
 * Zeke on banjo (episode 424) and marimba (episode 523) (seasons 4 and 5)
 * Trombone player (episode 517)
 * Scooter on percussion (The Muppet Movie)
 * Rizzo the Rat on cymbals (episode 511)

The Muppet Show Season 1

 * Episode 102: Connie Stevens - "Ain't Misbehavin'" (UK Spot)
 * Episode 104: Ruth Buzzi - "Sunny"
 * Episode 106: Jim Nabors - "Money"
 * Episode 110: Harvey Korman - "Love Ya to Death"
 * Episode 110: Harvey Korman - "Sweet Tooth Jam" (UK Spot)
 * Episode 116: Avery Schreiber - "Tenderly"
 * Episode 118: Phyllis Diller - "Lazybones" (UK spot)
 * Episode 120: Valerie Harper - "Searching"
 * Episode 124: Mummenschanz - "Mr. Bassman" (with Scooter)

The Muppet Show Season 2

 * Episode 202: Zero Mostel - "Chopin's Polonaise in A Flat"
 * Episode 209: Madeline Kahn - "New York State of Mind" (UK spot)
 * Episode 211: Dom DeLuise - "Don't Blame the Dynamite"
 * Episode 213: Rudolf Nureyev - Boccherini's "Minuet in A Major"
 * Episode 222: Teresa Brewer - "Cheese Cake" (UK Spot)

The Muppet Show Season 3

 * Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge - "New York State of Mind"
 * Episode 314: Harry Belafonte - "Honeysuckle Rose" (UK Spot)
 * Episode 315: Lesley Ann Warren - "Mack the Knife" (UK Spot)
 * Episode 317: Spike Milligan - "America"
 * Episode 320: Sylvester Stallone - "Lady Be Good" (UK Spot)

The Muppet Show Season 4

 * Episode 418: Christopher Reeve - "Sam's Song" (UK Spot)
 * Episode 419: Lynda Carter - "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends"
 * Episode 419: Lynda Carter - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

The Muppet Show Season 5

 * Episode 503: Joan Baez - "Blackbird"
 * Episode 504: Shirley Bassey - "Barnyard Boogie"
 * Episode 504: Shirley Bassey - "After You've Gone" (UK Spot - performed by Orchestra)
 * Episode 510: Jean-Pierre Rampal - "Rockin' Robin"
 * Episode 511: Paul Simon - "Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover"
 * Episode 513: Tony Randall - "Poison Ivy"
 * Episode 524: Roger Moore - "How High the Moon" (UK Spot - performed by Orchestra)

Specials

 * Julie Andrews: My Favorite Things - "Your Mamma Won't Like Me"
 * Sex and Violence - "For the Birds"
 * Sex and Violence - "Love Ya to Death"
 * The Muppets Go Hollywood - "Can You Picture That?"
 * The Muppets Go to the Movies - "Act Naturally"
 * A Muppet Family Christmas - "Jingle Bell Rock"
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World - "Rockin' All Around the World"

Movies

 * The Muppet Movie - "Can You Picture That?"
 * The Great Muppet Caper - "Night Life"
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan - "You Can't Take No for an Answer"
 * The Muppet Christmas Carol - Fozziwig's Party Waltz
 * The Muppets' Wizard of Oz - "Nap Time"

Albums

 * A Christmas Together - "Little Saint Nick"
 * A Green and Red Christmas - "'Zat You, Santa Claus?"
 * A Green and Red Christmas - "The Man with the Bag"
 * A Green and Red Christmas - "Run, Run Rudolph"

The Muppet Show

 * Episode 201: Don Knotts - "Lullaby of Birdland"
 * Episode 214: Elton John - "Crocodile Rock"
 * Episode 214: Elton John - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
 * Episode 214: Elton John - "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
 * Episode 215: Lou Rawls - "Bye Bye Blackbird"
 * Episode 215: Lou Rawls - "You're the One"
 * Episode 216: Cleo Laine - "It Don't Mean a Thing"
 * Episode 218: Jaye P. Morgan - "That Old Black Magic"
 * Episode 222: Teresa Brewer - "Old Cotton Fields Back Home"
 * Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge - "Make It Through the Night"
 * Episode 302: Leo Sayer - "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"
 * Episode 313: Helen Reddy - "Blue"
 * Episode 406: Linda Lavin - "The More I See You"
 * Episode 407: Dudley Moore - "How High the Moon"
 * Episode 413: Dizzy Gillespie - "St. Louis Blues"
 * Episode 414: Liza Minnelli - "Pass That Peace Pipe" (UK Spot)
 * Episode 415: Anne Murray - "Walk Right Back"
 * Episode 417: Star Wars - "Six String Orchestra"
 * Episode 420: Alan Arkin - "Pig"
 * Episode 424: Diana Ross - "Feelings" (UK Spot)
 * Episode 424: Diana Ross - "Last Time I Saw Him"
 * Episode 505: James Coburn - "The Varsity Drag"
 * Episode 505: James Coburn - "Alexander's Ragtime Band"
 * Episode 511: Paul Simon - "She Loves Me Like a Rock"
 * Episode 513: Tony Randall - "Tippy Tippy Tim"
 * Episode 517: Hal Linden - "When the Saints Go Marching In"
 * Episode 523: Linda Ronstadt - "Blue Bayou"

Movies

 * The Great Muppet Caper - "Happiness Hotel"
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan - "Together Again"
 * The Muppets' Wizard of Oz - "The Witch is in the House"