A New Way to Walk

Music by	Joe Raposo
Lyrics by	Mark Saltzman
Date	1985
Publisher	Instructional Children's Music Inc., Jonico Music Inc., Sesame Street Inc.
First	Episode 2268

Sesame Street A New Way to Walk

The Oinker Sisters sing "A New Way to Walk."

Destiny's Child A New Way to Walk

The song, performed by Destiny's Child, featuring Elmo, Grover, and Zoe.

"A New Way to Walk" is a Sesame Street song celebrating the joy of pedestrianism and the individual, as performed by The Oinker Sisters, with Ivy Austin singing the lead vocal.

The original 1980s version was spoofed in the style of an MTV music video (filmed in front of a black background), with MacTV VJ Old MacDonald introducing the song ("for fans of good music and pork bellies"). It also features MTV-style captions that refer to "Deutsche Hamaphone Records" at the beginning of the video.

A new version was filmed in 1993, intercutting the Oinker Sisters with shots of children in the park, and prominently featured tap dancing by Savion. As with early all-star epics like "Put Down the Duckie" and "Monster in the Mirror", a raft of celebrities also appeared, including Bill Irwin and David Shiner (interacting with Savion), Maya Angelou, Garth Brooks, Ruth Buzzi (as Gladys Ormphby), Michael Chang, John Goodman, Kevin Kline, Cheech Marin, the Neville Brothers, Rosie O'Donnell, Bert (footage from "Doin' the Pigeon"), Marisa Tomei and Sally Jessy Raphael. (First: Episode 3233) When this version was used in the special Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration, Raphael was omitted and some alternate shots of the Neville Brothers are used to compensate.

The song was later covered in 2002 by Destiny's Child with Elmo, Zoe and Grover. (First: Episode 3984)

Other versions

• The Sesame Street cast performed it in the 1997 Sesame Street Live show Elmo's Coloring Book.
• Baby Bear sings the song to himself in Episode 3822.
• Miles and Gabi sang this song in Episode 3983. The two also performed the song at a karaoke night in Episode 4031.
• On Plaza Sésamo, Ha*Ash performed this song with Lola.

Notes

• The original version was directed by Emily Squires and was taped during the production of season 17 on January 20, 1986. The Oinker Sisters were puppeteered here by Richard Hunt, Kevin Clash, and Martin P. Robinson, with assistance by Noel MacNeal, Pam Arciero, and David Rudman.

• In the 1993 remake, the Oinker Sisters are puppeteered by David Rudman, Joey Mazzarino, and Jim Kroupa. Savion Glover choreographed the on-location dancing scenes.

• The 2002 version, adapted by Belinda Ward, was directed by Ted May and was taped on November 29, 2001. John Tartaglia choreographed the section involving the characters dancing in full-body.

Releases

Audio

• Original:
  • Sing: Songs of Joe Raposo (1992, edited)
• 1993 remake:
  • Sesame Street Celebrates! (1994)
  • Hot! Hot! Hot! Dance Songs (1997)
  • Elmo's Dance Party (2012)
• Sesame Street Live:
  • Elmo's Coloring Book (1997)
• Destiny's Child:
  • Songs from the Street (2003)

Video

• Original:
  • Dance Along! (1990, introduction removed, intercut with framing material)
• Celebrity version:
  • Get Up and Dance (1997)
• Destiny's Child version:
  • Sesame Sings Karaoke (2003, intercut with Episode 4031 story)
  • 40 Years of Sunny Days (2009)
  • The Best of Elmo 2 (2010)
  • Singing with the Stars (2011)

Publications

• The Sesame Street Songbook (1992 edition only)

Specials

• Original:
  • Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting (1989, clip)
• Celebrity version:
  • Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1994)
  • Stars and Street Forever (1994, clip)