Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem (sometimes known simply as 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.
The band consists of Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, and Zoot on saxophone. In season five of The Muppet Show, Lips joined the band on trumpet.
They drive around in a brightly-painted bus (and later a van) with psychedelic swirls and colors.
In 2023, the Electric Mayhem feature in their own TV series streaming on Disney+, The Muppets Mayhem.
Members[]
Songs[]
Gigs and Appearances[]
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Show
The Great Muppet Caper
As the house band for Up Late with Miss Piggy.
The Muppets Take the Bowl
The band performed as the house band on The Muppet Show, playing their own rock tunes or providing back-up to various guest stars. All of the band's members, aside from Dr. Teeth himself, also played in the orchestra pit, performing the opening and closing themes and underscoring other performances.
The band's first film role was performing the song "Can You Picture That?" in The Muppet Movie. Shown inhabiting an abandoned Presbyterian church, the band (along with acting road manager Scooter) hoped to turn the building into a "mellow and profitable" coffee house. The goal was shunted aside when they join Kermit the Frog on the way to Hollywood.
The band appeared as residents of The Happiness Hotel in The Great Muppet Caper where they performed "Night Life" and participated in the "Happiness Hotel" number.
Acting as the orchestra for Manhattan Melodies, the Electric Mayhem appeared in The Muppets Take Manhattan where Dr. Teeth also performed the song "You Can't Take No for an Answer" (with Zoot on sax). When the group falls on hard times, they relocate to Pennsylvania and adapt to playing polka music.
The band, presenting themselves as "Ye Ole Acoustic Mayhem," performed a classical waltz at Fozziwig's Party in "The Muppet Christmas Carol". They later appeared playing for the pirates on Treasure Island (although they stay out of the politics of picking a side and just play the gig) in Muppet Treasure Island.
In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz the band served as the entertainment at Poppyfields performing "Nap Time" and later (arriving slightly late due to their old bus) serving as backup for The Wicked Witch of the West on "The Witch Is in the House."
In Muppets from Space, the band is briefly seen heading out to a gig at a bar mitzvah. They appeared in The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted, returning to their role as house band for The Muppet Show (or remountings thereof).
The band served as the house band for Miss Piggy's late night talk show, Up Late with Miss Piggy in the 2015 sitcom The Muppets.
The band performed "Jingle Bell Rock" in A Muppet Family Christmas, "Rockin' All Around the World" in The Muppets at Walt Disney World, "Dancing in the Moonlight" for Muppets Haunted Mansion, provided several tracks to the Muppets' A Green and Red Christmas Christmas album, and sang "No Room for Boring" in a Super Bowl commercial for the 2014 Toyota Highlander.
In 2016 the band performed a full live set at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival; and later performed live with the Muppets at The Hollywood Bowl in 2017 and The O2 in 2018.
The Muppets Mayhem[]
The band is given focus in their own TV series, The Muppets Mayhem. In the 1970s, they were given a $420,000 advance from Waxtown Records to record an album. Their subsequent 40+ year tour never ended, meaning they never got around to recording an album. When Nora Singh finds out that they signed with the studio and still hadn't done an album, she meets up with the band to finally get the album recorded.
The episode "Eight Days a Week" reveals that "Dr. Teeth" was included in the name of the band by the head of the studio (and Dr. Teeth's romantic interest), Penny Waxman, "because I said so!" However, Dr. Teeth considers every member of the band as equal, establishing from that moment on, that they would simply go by "The Electric Mayhem." The episode also reveals that prior to Penny's involvement, the band was originally called "The Good Times Happy Trails Super Smiles Fun Band" (or TGTHTSSFB for short).
Development and Origins[]
The band made their debut in 1975's The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. Members of the band were designed and built by Jim Henson, Bonnie Erickson, Michael K. Frith, Dave Goelz and Don Sahlin.
In an edition of Ask Henson.com, Karen Falk responded to a question about the origins of the Mayhem band:
Guest Musicians[]
With guest member Clifford.
- See also: songs where the Electric Mayhem played back-up for other musicians
- Beaker on vocals (episode 424, Studio DC Hosted by Selena Gomez)
- A Bongo Player (episode 413)
- A brass section consisting of a clarinet player and two trumpet players (one of whom was Bobby Benson) (The Muppet Show season 2)
- Clifford on percussion (The Muppets at Walt Disney World)
- Don Knotts on stand up bass (episode 201)
- Whatnot drummer (episode 505)
- Hal Linden on clarinet (episode 517)
- Jim on banjo (The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence)
- Ninja Rogers on drums (The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson)
- Rizzo the Rat on cymbals (episode 511)
- Rowlf on piano (episode 121 (German version), episode 424, episode 513, The Muppet Christmas Carol)
- Scooter on percussion (The Muppet Movie)
- Three frog backup singers (episode 406)
- Trombone player (episode 517)
- Trumpet Girl on trumpet (episode 123) and trombone (episode 505, episode 513)
- Zeke on banjo (episode 424) and marimba (episode 523)
See also[]
- Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem songs
- The Muppets Mayhem (series)
- The Electric Mayhem Bus
- The Electric Mayhem Van
- The Electric Mayhem Tour