Changes: Jeff Moss

Revision as of 04:29, 10 February 2020

Jeff Moss (June 19, 1942 - September 24, 1998) was a writer, composer, and lyricist for Sesame Street. His most notable songs include "The People in Your Neighborhood", "I Love Trash", and "Rubber Duckie", the latter of which achieved widespread fame when it was released as a single reaching number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970. Moss also served as head writer for a few seasons during the early 1970s. Moss is credited for helping establish the characters Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch.

Moss' work for Henson and the Muppets outside of Sesame Street include composing songs and score for The Muppets Take Manhattan and writing music and lyrics for the television special The Christmas Toy.

Early years

Jeffrey Arnold Moss was born in New York City. His father, Arnold Moss, was a Shakespearen actor, college drama teacher, and creator of crossword puzzles for the New York Times, and his mother, Stella Reynolds, had given up acting to become a soap opera writer. Moss displayed an appreciation for music and literacy at a young age. His parents kept recordings of classical music and Broadway show tunes around their house. He loved reading, and remembered discovering crossword puzzles for the first time while on a road trip. On his love for words: "I have always loved them and I still love them. When I'm sitting around, I play with them in my head, the way other people think about - I don't know - cars. I think a certain amount of that is just born into you. I think I would love words no matter what I did for a living - if I were a factory worker, or a doctor, or whatever."^[1]

Moss studied at the prestigious Browning High School, where he was number 1 in his class. He then transitioned to Princeton University, where he joined the Triangle Club, a student-run musical comedy group that toured major theaters across the country. Moss wrote the book and lyrics, and appeared in two of the Triangle Club revues.

After graduating from Princeton, Moss was offered two jobs at CBS as a writer for its news department or as production assistant on Captain Kangaroo. Moss chose the latter, the reason of which he explained in hindsight, "I've seen the news". Moss' stint on Kangaroo was cut short when he was called to serve in the army. While on a bus ride to a training session, he met future Sesame Street colleague Christopher Cerf. Moss returned to Kangaroo six months later as a staff writer, scripting sketches and songs until 1968. Among his contributions to the show is the song "When Ping Pong Balls Are Falling".

Sesame Street

Mossrapososmirk — Jeff Moss and Joe Raposo.

Soniajeffmoss — Jeff Moss with Sonia Manzano.

In 1969, Moss joined the writing staff of Sesame Street, where he reunited with several Captain Kangaroo alumni, including executive producer David Connell, producer Sam Gibbon, and producer/head writer Jon Stone. Initially hired as a staff writer, Moss' notable contribution came in writing songs, often collaborating with music director Joe Raposo. The first song Moss composed for Sesame Street, written to fulfill a script assignment to teach the number 5, was "Five People in My Family," performed by the Anything Muppets.^[2] Other songs Moss wrote for the show like "The People in Your Neighborhood" and "I Love Trash" became long-standing classics, but it was "Rubber Duckie", Ernie's ode to his favorite bath time toy, that received mainstream pop status. Moss also played a key role in the development of two major Muppet characters: he helped establish the psychological conundrum of Oscar the Grouch and gave a previously unnamed voracious blue monster an obsession for cookies.

Moss became head writer of Sesame Street for the next few seasons, succeeding Jon Stone. Moss explains his approach to writing for children: "I don't look at writing for children as that different than writing for anybody else. The emotions that you write about are for the most part the same as you would write about for anybody. You just do it with a vocabulary of experience that children will understand."^[1] Moss was originally going to resign as head writer after season 3, using the extra time to work on his own theatrical projects.^[3] Ultimately, none of his plans got past development stage. In the next two seasons of Sesame Street (both of which would also be his final), Moss slowly shifted away from supervising the writing staff, concentrating on writing individual pieces; the role of head writer was eventually turned over to Stone once again.

Moss left Sesame Street completely in 1974 (after season 5), although he continued to write songs as well as linking material for record albums. Some of the songs recorded for these albums would be performed on the show itself. Moss returned to Sesame Street as a staff writer and composer in 1982, contributing on an on-and-off basis until 1998.

In addition to writing and composing, Moss occasionally lent his voice to several Muppet characters, including namesakes Big Jeffy of Little Jerry and the Monotones (for whom Moss has written most of their songs) and Jeffy, who sang "I'm Going to Get My Hair Cut" with Cookie Monster. He also voiced a Lavender back-up singer for Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats.

Later years

Over the years since his departure from and return to Sesame Street, Moss kept himself busy with numerous side projects, branching out into areas beyond television. He wrote the musical Double Feature with Mike Nichols and Tommy Tune.

For Henson and the Muppets, Moss composed songs and score for The Muppets Take Manhattan, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Original Song Score; he lost the award to Prince for Purple Rain. He wrote music and lyrics for the television special The Christmas Toy. Moss also wrote the songs "One Little Star" and "Upside Down World" for the first Sesame Street feature film Follow that Bird.

Moss collaborated with composer Stanley Silverman on a one-act musical theater piece based on Igor Stravinsky's "A Soldier's Tale" for the Kennedy Center's "Imagination Celebration" children's arts festival in 1986.^[4] His television credits include the song "My Star" for the 1985 telefilm Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and songs for the stop-motion animated series Bump in the Night.

Moss wrote several children's books with illustrator Chris Demarest. The Butterfly Jar, a collection of poems, includes three of Moss' Sesame Street songs: "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon", "Lonesome Joan", and "Nasty Dan". The poem "Not the Best Feeling" is a reworked version of "Mad". His other book of poems, Bone Poems, inspired by dinosaurs and early mammals on display at the American Museum of Natural History, includes illustrations by Sesame illustrator Tom Leigh.

At one point, Moss had been working on a screenplay for an unproduced children's film entitled Zoo Fantasy^[5]with Francis Ford Coppola's production company American Zoetrope.^[6]^[7]

In 1991, Moss married Annie Boylan, sister of Sesame Street writer Molly Boylan. Later that year, they gave birth to son Alex. Moss was previously married to actress Marian Hailey (1973-85).

Moss died on September 24, 1998 at the age of 56 following complications from colon cancer. On the same day of his death, he had been working on the song "You and You and Me", making it the last song he ever wrote.^[8]^[9]

Legacy

Jeff Moss plaque Hayden Planetarium — Hayden Planetarium plaque.

In 2007, Princeton University ranked Moss as one of its 25 most influential alumni, citing the effect of his songs and characters on the Sesame Street audience.

A chair at New York City's Hayden Planetarium is dedicated to Moss, immortalized with his name, dates of birth and death and the caption "Beloved Star".

Recollections

According to Michael Davis, author of the book Street Gang: “In his prime, Moss was a force of nature, a wiry, strong, wild-haired, sometimes combustible, not always loveable, but dependably brilliant television writer, playwright, poet, composer, and onetime actor.”^[10]

Joan Ganz Cooney describes Moss as "a sort of child himself, and I don’t mean he had a way with children. I mean he, himself, was a kind of a child. He could be very difficult, very prickly. He could write anything, he could imagine anything. He himself was a very sober guy, not funny at all ... I loved him.”^[11]

Esther Newberg, Moss' friend and literary agent, remembers Moss as "a world-class perfectionist ... never compromising his sense of the way a character should act or feel or talk just for the sake of a convenient rhyme. And right to the end, he always found time to share his insights and his flawless editor's touch with his colleagues."

Composer credits

Sesame Street

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Other Productions

Credits

Episodes

Sesame Street episodes written by Moss include:^[12]

Books

Sesame team — Big Bird and Oscar with (clockwise from top) Dulcy Singer, Lisa Simon, Norman Stiles, Jeff Moss and Jon Stone.

People in My Family (1971)
People in Your Neighborhood (1971)
The Sesame Street Storybook (1971)
Cookie Monster's Circle Book (1972)
The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook (1973)
The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)
Oscar's Book (1975)
The Sesame Street Book of Fairy Tales (1975)
Oscar-the-Grouch's Alphabet of Trash (1977)
The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook (1978)
The Sesame Street Library (1978-1979)
People in My Family (1983)
The Sesame Street Treasury (1983)
The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures (1983)
The Sesame Street Book of Poetry (1992)

Albums

Moss is credited as a writer on all albums, unless noted otherwise.

The Sesame Street Book & Record
The Official Sesame Street 2 Book-and-Record Album
The Muppet Alphabet Album
Sesame Street LIVE! - also directed
¡Sesame Mucho!
Aren't You Glad You're You? - Musical Arrangements
Numbers!
Happy Birthday from Sesame Street
What Time Is It on Sesame Street?
Fair Is Fair - Executive Producer
Every Body's Record
The People in Your Neighborhood
Exercise! - Project Consultant
For the First Time
Sesame Street Sing-Along!
Jim Henson: A Sesame Street Celebration - Music Consultant

Sources

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Something About the Author Volume 73
↑ Moss, Jeff, The Sesame Street Songbook introduction
↑ Alumni Adventurers: "The Rubber Duckie Man" Princeton Alumni Weekly Volume 72, March 7, 1972
↑ "Sesame Street to Kennedy Center" Ocala Star-Banner, October 30, 1985
↑ Festival Attractions.com - Jeff Moss biography (archived)
↑ "ON SESAME STREET WITH: Jeff Moss; Making a Splash With Children From Morning Till Bathtime" New York Times, January 6, 1993
↑ "Sesame Street Storyteller" Washington Post, October 24, 1992
↑ Davis, Michael. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, Viking, 2008, p. 334
↑ Martin, Douglas. "Jeffrey Moss, 56, Writer and Father of Cookie Monster, Dies." The New York Times. September 26, 1998
↑ Davis, Michael. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, Viking, 2008, p. 332
↑ Princeton Alumni Weekly's 25 Most Influential - #12: Jeffrey Moss
↑ episode scripts via a trusted source

External links

[sata73-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Something About the Author Volume 73

[2] Moss, Jeff, The Sesame Street Songbook introduction

[3] Alumni Adventurers: "The Rubber Duckie Man" Princeton Alumni Weekly Volume 72, March 7, 1972

[4] "Sesame Street to Kennedy Center" Ocala Star-Banner, October 30, 1985

[5] Festival Attractions.com - Jeff Moss biography (archived)

[6] "ON SESAME STREET WITH: Jeff Moss; Making a Splash With Children From Morning Till Bathtime" New York Times, January 6, 1993

[7] "Sesame Street Storyteller" Washington Post, October 24, 1992

[8] Davis, Michael. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, Viking, 2008, p. 334

[9] Martin, Douglas. "Jeffrey Moss, 56, Writer and Father of Cookie Monster, Dies." The New York Times. September 26, 1998

[10] Davis, Michael. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, Viking, 2008, p. 332

[11] Princeton Alumni Weekly's 25 Most Influential - #12: Jeffrey Moss

[12] sode scripts via a trusted source

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

Muppet Wiki

Changes: Jeff Moss

Revision as of 04:29, 10 February 2020

Contents

Early years

Sesame Street

Later years

Legacy

Composer credits

Sesame Street

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Other Productions

Credits

Episodes

Books

Albums

Sources

External links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Image:JeffMoss.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+'''Jeff Moss''' (June 19, 1942 - September 24, 1998) was a writer, composer, and lyricist for ''[[Sesame Street]]''. His most notable songs include "[[The People in Your Neighborhood]]", "[[I Love Trash]]", and "[[Rubber Duckie (song)|Rubber Duckie]]", the latter of which achieved widespread fame when it was released as a single reaching number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970. Moss also served as head writer for a few seasons during the early 1970s. Moss is credited for helping establish the characters [[Cookie Monster]] and [[Oscar the Grouch]].
+Moss' work for Henson and the Muppets outside of ''Sesame Street'' include composing songs and score for ''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]'' and writing music and lyrics for the television special ''[[The Christmas Toy]]''.
+===Early years===
+[[File:Jeffmossmarch772.png|thumb|300px]]
+Jeffrey Arnold Moss was born in [[New York]] City. His father, Arnold Moss, was a [[Shakespeare|Shakespearen]] actor, college drama teacher, and creator of crossword puzzles for the [[New York Times]], and his mother, Stella Reynolds, had given up acting to become a soap opera writer. Moss displayed an appreciation for music and literacy at a young age. His parents kept recordings of classical music and [[Broadway]] show tunes around their house. He loved reading, and remembered discovering crossword puzzles for the first time while on a road trip. On his love for words: "I have always loved them and I still love them. When I'm sitting around, I play with them in my head, the way other people think about - I don't know - cars. I think a certain amount of that is just born into you. I think I would love words no matter what I did for a living - if I were a factory worker, or a doctor, or whatever."<ref name="sata73">''Something About the Author'' Volume 73</ref>
+Moss studied at the prestigious Browning High School, where he was number 1 in his class. He then transitioned to Princeton University, where he joined the Triangle Club, a student-run musical comedy group that toured major theaters across the country. Moss wrote the book and lyrics, and appeared in two of the Triangle Club revues.
+After graduating from Princeton, Moss was offered two jobs at [[CBS]] as a writer for its news department or as production assistant on ''[[Captain Kangaroo]]''. Moss chose the latter, the reason of which he explained in hindsight, "I've seen the news". Moss' stint on ''Kangaroo'' was cut short when he was called to serve in the army. While on a bus ride to a training session, he met future ''Sesame Street'' colleague [[Christopher Cerf]]. Moss returned to ''Kangaroo'' six months later as a staff writer, scripting sketches and songs until 1968. Among his contributions to the show is the song "When Ping Pong Balls Are Falling".
+===''Sesame Street''===
+[[Image:Mossrapososmirk.jpg|thumb|300px|Jeff Moss and Joe Raposo.]]
+[[Image:Soniajeffmoss.png|thumb|300px|Jeff Moss with [[Sonia Manzano]].]]
+In 1969, Moss joined the writing staff of ''[[Sesame Street]]'', where he reunited with several ''Captain Kangaroo'' alumni, including executive producer [[David Connell]], producer [[Sam Gibbon]], and producer/head writer [[Jon Stone]]. Initially hired as a staff writer, Moss' notable contribution came in writing songs, often collaborating with music director [[Joe Raposo]]. The first song Moss composed for ''Sesame Street'', written to fulfill a script assignment to teach the number 5, was "[[Five People in My Family]]," performed by the [[Anything Muppets]].<ref>Moss, Jeff, ''[[The Sesame Street Songbook]]'' introduction</ref> Other songs Moss wrote for the show like "[[The People in Your Neighborhood]]" and "[[I Love Trash]]" became long-standing classics, but it was "[[Rubber Duckie (song)|Rubber Duckie]]", [[Ernie]]'s ode to his favorite bath time toy, that received mainstream pop status. Moss also played a key role in the development of two major Muppet characters: he helped establish the psychological conundrum of [[Oscar the Grouch]] and gave a previously unnamed [[Cookie Monster|voracious blue monster]] an obsession for cookies.
+Moss became head writer of ''Sesame Street'' for the next few seasons, succeeding Jon Stone. Moss explains his approach to writing for children: "I don't look at writing for children as that different than writing for anybody else. The emotions that you write about are for the most part the same as you would write about for anybody. You just do it with a vocabulary of experience that children will understand."<ref name="sata73" /> Moss was originally going to resign as head writer after season 3, using the extra time to work on his own theatrical projects.<ref>Alumni Adventurers: "The Rubber Duckie Man" Princeton Alumni Weekly Volume 72, March 7, 1972</ref> Ultimately, none of his plans got past development stage. In the next two seasons of ''Sesame Street'' (both of which would also be his final), Moss slowly shifted away from supervising the writing staff, concentrating on writing individual pieces; the role of head writer was eventually turned over to Stone once again.
+Moss left ''Sesame Street'' completely in 1974 (after season 5), although he continued to write songs as well as linking material for record albums. Some of the songs recorded for these albums would be performed on the show itself. Moss returned to ''Sesame Street'' as a staff writer and composer in 1982, contributing on an on-and-off basis until 1998.
+In addition to writing and composing, Moss occasionally lent his voice to several Muppet characters, including namesakes [[Big Jeffy]] of [[Little Jerry and the Monotones]] (for whom Moss has written most of their songs) and [[Jeffy]], who sang "[[I'm Going to Get My Hair Cut]]" with Cookie Monster. He also voiced a [[Lavender]] back-up singer for [[Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats]].
+===Later years===
 [[Image:Composer.jeffmoss.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+Over the years since his departure from and return to ''Sesame Street'', Moss kept himself busy with numerous side projects, branching out into areas beyond television. He wrote the musical ''Double Feature'' with [[Wikipedia:Mike Nichols|Mike Nichols]] and [[Wikipedia: Tommy Tune|Tommy Tune]].
+For Henson and the Muppets, Moss composed songs and score for ''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]'', for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Original Song Score; he lost the award to [[Prince]] for ''[[Purple Rain]]''. He wrote music and lyrics for the television special ''[[The Christmas Toy]]''. Moss also wrote the songs "[[One Little Star]]" and "[[Upside Down World]]" for the first ''Sesame Street'' feature film ''[[Follow that Bird]]''.
+Moss collaborated with composer Stanley Silverman on a one-act musical theater piece based on Igor Stravinsky's "A Soldier's Tale" for the Kennedy Center's "Imagination Celebration" children's arts festival in 1986.<ref>"Sesame Street to Kennedy Center" Ocala Star-Banner, October 30, 1985</ref> His television credits include the song "My Star" for the 1985 telefilm ''[[Star Wars|Ewoks]]: The Battle for Endor'' and songs for the stop-motion animated series ''Bump in the Night''.
+Moss wrote several children's books with illustrator Chris Demarest. ''The Butterfly Jar'', a collection of poems, includes three of Moss' ''Sesame Street'' songs: "[[I Don't Want to Live on the Moon]]", "[[Lonesome Joan]]", and "[[Nasty Dan]]". The poem "Not the Best Feeling" is a reworked version of "[[Mad (song)|Mad]]". His other book of poems, ''Bone Poems'', inspired by dinosaurs and early mammals on display at the American Museum of Natural History, includes illustrations by ''Sesame'' illustrator [[Tom Leigh]].
+At one point, Moss had been working on a screenplay for an unproduced children's film entitled ''Zoo Fantasy''<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050322165650/http://www.festivalattractions.com/jeff_moss_biography.htm Festival Attractions.com - Jeff Moss biography (archived)]</ref>with [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s production company American Zoetrope.<ref>"ON SESAME STREET WITH: Jeff Moss; Making a Splash With Children From Morning Till Bathtime" [[New York Times]], January 6, 1993</ref><ref>"Sesame Street Storyteller" Washington Post, October 24, 1992</ref>
+In 1991, Moss married Annie Boylan, sister of ''Sesame Street'' writer [[Molly Boylan]]. Later that year, they gave birth to son Alex. Moss was previously married to actress [[Marian Hailey-Moss|Marian Hailey]] (1973-85).
+Moss died on September 24, 1998 at the age of 56 following complications from colon cancer. On the same day of his death, he had been working on the song "[[You and You and Me]]", making it the last song he ever wrote.<ref>Davis, Michael. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, Viking, 2008, p. 334</ref><ref>Martin, Douglas. "Jeffrey Moss, 56, Writer and Father of Cookie Monster, Dies." The New York Times. September 26, 1998</ref>
+===Legacy===
+[[Image:Jeffcookie.png|thumb|300px]]
+[[File:Jeff Moss plaque Hayden Planetarium.jpg|thumb|300px|Hayden Planetarium plaque.]]
+In 2007, Princeton University ranked Moss as one of its 25 most influential alumni, citing the effect of his songs and characters on the ''Sesame Street'' audience.
+A chair at New York City's Hayden Planetarium is dedicated to Moss, immortalized with his name, dates of birth and death and the caption "Beloved Star".
-'''Jeff Moss''' (June 19, 1942 - September 24, 1998) was a writer, composer and lyricist on ''[[Sesame Street]]''. He served as head writer from seasons [[Season 2 (1970-1971)|2]] to [[Season 5 (1973-1974)|5]] and wrote some of the show's best-known songs including "[[Rubber Duckie (song)|Rubber Duckie]]," "[[I Love Trash]]," "[[The People in Your Neighborhood (song)|The People in Your Neighborhood]]," "[[I Don't Want to Live on the Moon]]," and "[[Nasty Dan]]." Moss also helped in the creation and development of characters such as [[Cookie Monster]], [[Oscar the Grouch]], and [[Guy Smiley]].
+'''Recollections'''
-Moss won 15 [[Emmy Awards|Emmys]] for his work and wrote the songs for four [[Grammy Awards|Grammy Award]]-winning records. When released as a single in 1970, "Rubber Duckie" sold more than a million copies. Moss' songs were known internationally as well; Claude François' recording of "Nasty Dan" went to #1 on the pop chart in [[France]].
+According to Michael Davis, author of the book ''[[Street Gang]]'': “In his prime, Moss was a force of nature, a wiry, strong, wild-haired, sometimes combustible, not always loveable, but dependably brilliant television writer, playwright, poet, composer, and onetime actor.”<ref>Davis, Michael. ''[[Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street]]'', Viking, 2008, p. 332</ref>
-He also composed the songs and score for ''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]'', for which he received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination for Best Music, Original Song Score. The Oscar went to [[Prince]] for "[[Purple Rain Man|Purple Rain]]."
+[[Joan Ganz Cooney]] describes Moss as "a sort of child himself, and I don’t mean he had a way with children. I mean he, himself, was a kind of a child. He could be very difficult, very prickly. He could write anything, he could imagine anything. He himself was a very sober guy, not funny at all ... I loved him.”<ref>[https://paw.princeton.edu/article/12-jeffrey-moss-63 Princeton Alumni Weekly's 25 Most Influential - #12: Jeffrey Moss]</ref>
-Moss wrote over a dozen best-selling books under the ''Sesame Street'' label, including ''[[The Sesame Street Book of Poetry]]''. Several of his songs have been illustrated and published as well. He also wrote three collections of children's poetry and several short stories.
+Esther Newberg, Moss' friend and literary agent, remembers Moss as "a world-class perfectionist ... never compromising his sense of the way a character should act or feel or talk just for the sake of a convenient rhyme. And right to the end, he always found time to share his insights and his flawless editor's touch with his colleagues."
-Moss died of cancer on September 24, 1998. One of his last writing credits was the script for the ''[[Elmo's World]]'' segment "[[Elmo's World: Music|Music]]."
 ==Composer credits==
@@ Line 17: / Line 60: @@
 Image:3513.jpg|[[Adding]]
 Image:3982o.jpg|[[Adding, Adding, Adding]]
+Image:Folge2412-11.jpg|[[Afraid]]
+Image:Dreamytime songs.jpeg|[[Afraid of the Dark]]
 Image:AllByMyself02.jpg|[[All By Myself]]
 Image:AllDressedUpBert.JPG‎|[[All Dressed Up]]
@@ Line 23: / Line 68: @@
 FirstTimeLP.jpg|[[Baby Brother]]
 File:Bedoodledeedum.jpg|[[Be Doodle Dee Dum]]
-File:AMSong-BeforeAfter.jpg|[[Before and After]]
+File:AMSong-BeforeAfter.jpg|[[Before and After (Moss)|Before and After]]
 Image:Listentothebells.jpg‎|[[Bells]]
 Image:Bigroundnose.jpg|[[Big Round Nose]]
@@ Line 38: / Line 83: @@
 CookieRockSong.jpg|[[Cookie (song)|Cookie]]
 File:Song.countingtoes.jpg|[[Counting Toes]]
+FirstTimeLP.jpg|[[Crossing the Street]]
 Image:Deedeedee.jpg|[[Dee Dee Dee]]
 File:DipDipShang.jpg|[[Dip Dip Shangalanga]]
 Image:1708m.jpg|[[Eight Beautiful Notes]]
 File:3333h.jpg|[[Everybody Laugh]]
+Image:Everybodys.jpg|[[Everybody's Got a Brain]]
 Image:EverybodysSong1978.jpg|[[Everybody's Song]]
 BBFrankie.jpg|[[Everyone in My Family]]
@@ Line 49: / Line 96: @@
 File:FatherSongMotherSongChildrenSong.jpg|[[Father (Mother and Children) Song]]
 Image:Mahnasesame2.jpg|[[Fat Cat]]
+File:2643streetstory1.jpg|[[Finish My Rhyme]]
 Image:Youngcount.jpg|[[The First Day of School]]
 Image:MonstersLP.jpg‎|[[Five Monsters in My Family]]
@@ Line 70: / Line 118: @@
 Image:HiFriend.jpg|[[Hi Friend]]
 Image:1396d.jpg|[[High, Middle, Low]]
-File:Song.DescribeYourPet.jpg|[[Homer (song)]]
+File:Song.DescribeYourPet.jpg|[[Homer (song)|Homer]]
 Image:3085l.jpg|[[Honk, Bang, Whistle and Crash]]
 File:Folge2564-6.jpg|[[How Did I Feel?]]
@@ Line 76: / Line 124: @@
 Image:ICanSingAnything.jpg|[[I Can Sing]]
 Image:Ernieonthemoon.jpg|[[I Don't Want to Live on the Moon]]
+File:1808f.jpg|[[I Got Me a Rooster]]
 Image:Everybodys.jpg|[[I Have Feet]]
 File:IHeardMyDogBark.jpg|[[I Heard My Dog Bark]]
@@ Line 94: / Line 143: @@
 File:LetHim_Play.jpg|[[Let Him Play]]
 Image:Letsgodriving.jpg|[[Let's Go Driving]]
-Image:Album.singalong-lp.jpg|[[Let's Sing A Song That Everybody Knows]]
+Image:3622a.jpg|[[Let's Sing A Song That Everybody Knows]]
 File:Librarysong.jpg|[[Library]]
+Image:Everybodys.jpg|[[Listen]]
 File:2965a.jpg|[[Little Red Fire Truck]]
 Image:FirstTimeLP.jpg|[[Lonesome Joan]]
@@ Line 104: / Line 154: @@
 Image:Molove.jpg|[[Mountain of Love]]
 File:Pollydarton-musicsong.jpg|[[Music (song)]]
-Image:3789ad.jpg|[[My Name]]
+File:2608a.jpg|[[My Baby]]
+File:My_Name_0244.jpg|[[My Name]]
 Image:Song.naptime.jpg|[[Naptime (song)|Naptime]]
 Image:NastyDan.jpg|[[Nasty Dan]]
-File:2485m.jpg|[[Near to You (Moss)]]
+File:2485m.jpg|[[Near to You (Moss)|Near to You]]
 Image:Song.NoMatterHowYouCountThem.jpg|[[No Matter How You Count Them]]
 File:3140j.jpg|[[No Matter What]]
 Image:SSSingle.NoMatterLanguageCanta.jpg|[[No Matter What Your Language]]
-File:NoNoNo.jpg|[[The No-No-No!]]
+File:NoNoNo.JPG|[[The No-No-No!]]
 Image:SomeOfUsAreHere.jpg|[[None Some All]]
 File:Nothingtocount.jpg|[[Nothing to Count]]
@@ Line 125: / Line 176: @@
 Image:Song.OppositeStuff.jpg‎|[[Opposite Stuff]]
 Image:Myfavoriteletter.jpg|[[P Is My Favorite Letter]]
-Image:Peopleinyrnbhood.jpg|[[The People in Your Neighborhood (song)|The People in Your Neighborhood]]
+Image:Peopleinyrnbhood.jpg|[[The People in Your Neighborhood]]
 Image:2754f.jpg‎|[[The Perfect Thing]]
 Image:Pct2.jpg|[[Pigeons and Cookies and Trash]]
 File:Elmo.PlanetsMoon.jpg|[[Planets, Moon and Stars]]
-File:2867-03.jpg|[[Practice (Cerf/Moss)]]
+File:2867-03.jpg|[[Practice (Cerf/Moss)|Practice]]
 Image:SSProud.jpg|[[Proud (Moss)|Proud]]
 Image:SesameQuestionSong.jpg|[[The Question Song]]
@@ Line 144: / Line 195: @@
 File:2954d.jpg|[[See You Tomorrow]]
 File:3577e.jpg|[[Shake Your Head One Time]]
+Image:Everybodys.jpg|[[Shake Your Wrist]]
 Image:Song.sharing.jpg|[[Sharing]]
 Image:EBSix.jpg|[[Six (My Favorite Number Is)]]
 Image:Skin.jpg|[[Skin]]
+Image:CTWLullaby45.jpg|[[The Snufflelullaby]]
 Image:SS2BookandRecord.jpg|[[Someday, Little Children]]
 Song.Somethingsarelittle.jpg|[[Some Things are Big]]
 Image:Songofthecount.jpg|[[The Song of the Count]]
 Image:simonsoundmansong.jpg|[[Sound Song]]
-Image:The Sound of the Letter A.jpg|[[The Sound of the Letter A]]
+Image:0524 Sound of the Letter A.jpg|[[The Sound of the Letter A]]
 Image:YouLP.jpg|[[Special]]
 Image:Song.stillwelike.jpg|[[Still, We Like Each Other]]
+File:0295_04.jpg|[[Stop!]]
 Image:SSSurpriseSong.jpg|[[Surprise! (Moss)|Surprise!]]
 Image:Song.tadpole.jpg|[[Tadpole]]
@@ Line 163: / Line 217: @@
 Song.three.jpg|[[Three (song)|Three]]
 File:3587b.jpg|[[Tickle Song (I'm Gonna Tickle You)]]
+File:1808g.jpg|[[Tongue Twister]]
 Image:ELY08.jpg|[[Tu Me Gustas]]
+Image:Everybodys.jpg|[[Tummy Song]]
 Image:TwoGSounds.jpg|[[Two G Sounds]]
 Image:UpandDownMonsters.jpg|[[Up and Down]]
@@ Line 178: / Line 234: @@
 Image:Grover.jpg|[[What Do I Do When I'm Alone?]]
 File:WhatDoTheyDo.jpg|[[What Do They Do When They Go Wherever They Go?]]
+Image:2230a.jpg|[[When It's Cold Out]]
+Rocky-WigglyTooth.jpg|[[Wiggly Tooth]]
 Image:Everybodys.jpg|[[With Every Beat of My Heart]]
 Image:WonderfulMeSingle.jpg|[[Wonderful Me (Oscar song)|Wonderful Me]]
@@ Line 202: / Line 260: @@
 <gallery orientation=square spacing=small widths=200>
 Image:Onelittlestar.JPG|[[One Little Star]]<br>(from ''[[Follow That Bird]]'')
-Image:Upsidedownworld.JPG|[[Upside Down World]]<br>(from ''[[Follow That Bird]]'')
+Image:Upsidedownworld.JPG|[[Upside Down World]]<br>(from ''Follow That Bird'')
-File:"The Christmas Toy"-0|[[Toys Love to Play]]<br>(from ''[[The Christmas Toy]]'')
+File:ToysLoveToPlay.jpg|[[Toys Love to Play]]<br>(from ''[[The Christmas Toy]]'')
-Image:RugbysSong.jpg|[[Rugby's Song|The Greatest Christmas Toy of All]]<br>(from ''[[The Christmas Toy]]'')
+Image:RugbysSong.jpg|[[Rugby's Song|The Greatest Christmas Toy of All]]<br>(from ''The Christmas Toy'')
-Image:TryTheImpossible.jpg|[[Try the Impossible]]<br>(from ''[[The Christmas Toy]]'')
+Image:TryTheImpossible.jpg|[[Try the Impossible]]<br>(from ''The Christmas Toy'')
-Image:Meteora (song).jpg|[[Meteora (song)|Meteora]]<br>(from ''[[The Christmas Toy]]'')
+Image:Meteora (song).jpg|[[Meteora (song)|Meteora]]<br>(from ''The Christmas Toy'')
-Image:ChristmasToy.jpg|[[Together at Christmas]]<br>(from ''[[The Christmas Toy]]'')
+Image:ChristmasToy.jpg|[[Together at Christmas]]<br>(from ''The Christmas Toy'')
 </gallery>
-==Trivia==
+==Credits==
+===Episodes===
-[[File:Sesame_team.JPG|thumb|300px|[[Big Bird]] and Oscar with (clockwise from top) [[Dulcy Singer]], [[Lisa Simon]], [[Norman Stiles]], Jeff Moss and [[Jon Stone]].]]
+''Sesame Street'' episodes written by Moss include:<ref name>episode scripts via a trusted source</ref>
-[[File:Jeff Moss plaque Hayden Planetarium.jpg|thumb|300px|Hayden Planetarium plaque.]]
+{|width=100%
-* Moss gave voice to several [[Anything Muppets|Anything Muppet]] singers on ''Sesame Street'', including namesakes [[Big Jeffy]] (of [[Little Jerry and the Monotones]]), and [[Jeffy]] (who sang "[[I'm Going to Get My Hair Cut]]," with [[Cookie Monster]]). He also voiced a [[Lavender]] back-up singer for [[Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats]].
+|width=25% valign="top"|
+* [[Episode 1714]]
+* [[Episode 1732]]
+* [[Episode 1808]]
+* [[Episode 1858]]
+* [[Episode 1911]]
+* [[Episode 1929]]
+* [[Episode 1931]]
+* [[Episode 1952]]
+* [[Episode 1976]] (R)
+* [[Episode 1981]] (R)
+* [[Episode 1991]] (R)
+* [[Episode 2007]]
+* [[Episode 2064]]
+* [[Episode 2073]]
+* [[Episode 2131]]
+* [[Episode 2201]]
+* [[Episode 2203]]
+* [[Episode 2230]]
+* [[Episode 2257]]
+* [[Episode 2279]]
+* [[Episode 2313]]
+* [[Episode 2327]]
+|width=25% valign="top"|
+* [[Episode 2371]] (R)
+* [[Episode 2383]]
+* [[Episode 2384]]
+* [[Episode 2396]]
+* [[Episode 2450]]
+* [[Episode 2452]]
+* [[Episode 2485]]
+* [[Episode 2533]]
+* [[Episode 2552]]
+* [[Episode 2557]]
+* [[Episode 2583]]
+* [[Episode 2587]]
+* [[Episode 2598]]
+* [[Episode 2604]]
+* [[Episode 2608]]
+* [[Episode 2621]]
+* [[Episode 2629]]
+* [[Episode 2637]]
+* [[Episode 2643]]
+* [[Episode 2708]]
+* [[Episode 2715]]
+* [[Episode 2740]]
+|width=25% valign="top"|
+* [[Episode 2742]]
+* [[Episode 2754]]
+* [[Episode 2760]]
+* [[Episode 2785]]
+* [[Episode 2800]]
+* [[Episode 2803]]
+* [[Episode 2806]]
+* [[Episode 2817]]
+* [[Episode 2867]]
+* [[Episode 2900]] (R)
+* [[Episode 2935]]
+* [[Episode 2954]]
+* [[Episode 2955]]
+* [[Episode 2965]]
+* [[Episode 2972]]
+* [[Episode 3019]]
+* [[Episode 3037]]
+* [[Episode 3085]]
+* [[Episode 3088]]
+* [[Episode 3092]]
+* [[Episode 3098]]
+* [[Episode 3111]]
+|width=25% valign="top"|
+* [[Episode 3272]]
+* [[Episode 3292]]
+* [[Episode 3333]]
+* [[Episode 3347]]
+* [[Episode 3363]]
+* [[Episode 3449]]
+* [[Episode 3495]]
+* [[Episode 3577]]
+* [[Episode 3587]]
+* [[Episode 3595]]
+* [[Episode 3622]]
+* [[Episode 3626]]
+* [[Episode 3627]]
+* [[Episode 3631]]
+* [[Episode 3676]] (R)
+* [[Episode 3690]]
+* [[Episode 3728]]
+* [[Episode 3745]]
+* [[Episode 3767]]
+* [[Episode 3772]]
+* [[Episode 3799]]
+* [[Episode 3937]] (R)
+|}
+===Books===
-* A chair at [[New York City]]'s Hayden Planetarium is dedicated to Moss, immortalized by a plaque with his name, dates of birth and death, and the caption "Beloved Star".
+[[Image:Sesame_team.JPG|thumb|300px|[[Big Bird]] and Oscar with (clockwise from top) [[Dulcy Singer]], [[Lisa Simon]], [[Norman Stiles]], Jeff Moss and [[Jon Stone]].]]
+* ''[[People in My Family (1971)|People in My Family]]'' (1971)
+* ''[[People in Your Neighborhood (1971 book)|People in Your Neighborhood]]'' (1971)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street Storybook]]'' (1971)
+* ''[[Cookie Monster's Circle Book]]'' (1972)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook]]'' (1973)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street ABC Storybook]]'' (1974)
+* ''[[Oscar's Book]]'' (1975)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street Book of Fairy Tales]]'' (1975)
+* ''[[Oscar-the-Grouch's Alphabet of Trash]]'' (1977)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook]]'' (1978)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street Library]]'' (1978-1979)
+* ''[[People in My Family (1983)|People in My Family]]'' (1983)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street Treasury]]'' (1983)
+* ''[[The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures]]'' (1983)
+* ''[[The Sesame Street Book of Poetry]]'' (1992)
-==Author Credits==
+===Albums===
+Moss is credited as a writer on all albums, unless noted otherwise.
-*Sesame Street Books
+* ''[[The Sesame Street Book & Record]]''
-:*''[[People in My Family (1971)|People in My Family]]'' (1971)
+* ''[[The Official Sesame Street 2 Book-and-Record Album]]''
-:*''[[People in Your Neighborhood (book)|People in Your Neighborhood]]'' (1971)
-:*''[[The Sesame Street Storybook]]'' (1971)
+* ''[[The Muppet Alphabet Album]]''
-:*''[[Cookie Monster's Circle Book]]'' (1972)
+* ''[[Sesame Street LIVE!]]'' - also directed
-:*''[[The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook]]'' (1973)
+* ''[[¡Sesame Mucho!]]''
+* ''[[Aren't You Glad You're You? (album)|Aren't You Glad You're You?]]'' - Musical Arrangements
-:*''[[The Sesame Street ABC Storybook]]'' (1974)
-:*''[[Oscar's Book]]'' (1975)
+* ''[[Numbers!]]''
-:*''[[The Sesame Street Book of Fairy Tales]]'' (1975)
+* ''[[Happy Birthday from Sesame Street (album)|Happy Birthday from Sesame Street]]''
+* ''[[What Time Is It on Sesame Street?]]''
-:*''[[Oscar-the-Grouch's Alphabet of Trash]]'' (1977)
+* ''[[Fair Is Fair (album)|Fair Is Fair]]'' - Executive Producer
-:*''[[The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook]]'' (1978)
-:*''[[The Sesame Street Library]]'' (1978-1979)
+* ''[[Every Body's Record]]''
-:*''[[People in My Family (1983)|People in My Family]]'' (1983)
+* ''[[The People in Your Neighborhood (album)|The People in Your Neighborhood]]''
+* ''[[Exercise!]]'' - Project Consultant
-:*''[[The Sesame Street Treasury]]'' (1983)
-:*''[[The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures]]'' (1983)
+*''[[For the First Time (album)|For the First Time]]''
-:*''[[The Sesame Street Book of Poetry]]'' (1992)
+* ''[[Sesame Street Sing-Along!]]''
+* ''[[Jim Henson: A Sesame Street Celebration]]'' - Music Consultant
-*Other Poetry Collections
-:*''The Butterfly Jar''
+==Sources==
-:*''The Other Side of the Door''
+<references />
-:*''Bone Poems''
-*Other Short Stories
-:*''Bob and Jack: A Boy and His Yak''
-:*''Hieronymus White''
-:*''Dad of the Dad of the Dad of Your Dad''
 ==External links==
-*[http://web.archive.org/web/20050323235150/http://festivalattractions.com/ Festival Attractions, Inc. on Internet Archive]
+*[http://web.archive.org/web/20050323235150/http://festivalattractions.com/ Festival Attractions, Inc., Jeff Moss's publisher, on Internet Archive]
 *[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608994/ IMDb]
+*[http://www.meyersonstrategy.com/2016/08/17-minutes-with-sesame-street-co.html 17 minutes with 'Sesame Street' co-creator and 'Rubber Ducky' writer Jeff Moss]
+__NOWYSIWYG__
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Jeff}}
-[[Category:Composers]]
 [[Category:Writers]]
+[[Category:Composers]]
+[[Category:Lyricists]]
 [[Category:Authors]]
 [[Category:Muppet Voice Actors]]
-__NOWYSIWYG__