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"Bein' Green" by Kermit the Frog and Ray Charles

Designed by Grace Noble

On this season finale of “Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan,” two very special guests join the podcast to discuss “Bein' Green,” a song originally sung by the beloved Kermit the Frog in 1970.

Photo: CHERYL HENSON, Portrait; photographed: Tuesday, October 12, 2010; Noon at Bleecker St., New York, NY. Photograph: © 2010 Richard Termine PHOTO CREDIT - Richard Termine
Richard Termine/Photo by Richard Termine
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Photo: CHERYL HENSON, Portrait; photographed: Tuesday, October 12, 2010; Noon at Bleecker St., New York, NY. Photograph: © 2010 Richard Termine PHOTO CREDIT - Richard Termine

Legend has it that composer and songwriter Joe Raposo practically wrote the song overnight during the first season of Sesame Street, while Jim Henson, who created The Muppets and first brought Kermit the Frog to life, recorded it with Raposo in the early morning.

Joe Raposo’s son — Nick Raposo — and Jim Henson’s daughter — Cheryl Henson — both join Shonekan on this episode to discuss their connection to the song and confirm the legend — an overnight song became an American classic about loving who you are.

"It's very much at the core of the message of the show (Sesame Street) itself, which is about diversity and inclusion and celebrating differences and welcoming, and that everyone is together in this one neighborhood, and that it's different races and different species. Orange and green and blue and gray and brown and all—everyone belongs, and that that was deeply ingrained in the mission of the show itself." - Cheryl Henson

Nick Raposo

"Bein' Green" is now a universal ode to self-acceptance that’s been covered by several artists, including Ray Charles.

While Kermit’s perspective is that of literally embracing his green color, Charles infused his 1975 version of the song with its own meaning: the desire Black Americans had for equality and dignity.

"My father (Jim Raposo) did feel like an 'other' his entire life. So, I think that when he's writing that he's saying, 'I'm okay. This is— I want to be what I am, even though I'm not what I would like to be." - Nick Raposo


Stephanie Shonekan

Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan is produced by Katelynn McIlwain, Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay, Nat Kuhn, Mark Johnson and Stephanie Shonekan. This season was edited by Aaron Hay, Janet Saidi and Ryan Famuliner.

Special thanks to Kyle Therrien of Railroad Park Recording Co as well as Jesse Johnson and Carl Craft with NPR for providing recording assistance on this episode.

This podcast is a collaboration between KBIA and Vox Magazine, with funding from the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities, MU’s College of Arts & Science, and the Missouri School of Journalism.

You can follow the podcast and other special projects on Instagram @kbianews.


“Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” Season 1 was produced by Janet Saidi, Kristofor Husted, Fernando Narro, Rehman Tungekar, and Ryan Famuliner, with host and producer Stephanie Shonekan. Season 1 was edited by Rehman Tungekar and Ryan Famuliner.

“Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” Season 2 was produced by Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay, and Stephanie Shonekan. Season 2 was edited by Aaron Hay and Ryan Famuliner.

"Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan" Season 3 was produced by Katelynn McIlwain, Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay and Nat Kuhn, with host and producer Stephanie Shonekan. Season 3 was edited by Aaron Hay and Ryan Famuliner.

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Cover Story - Season 4 Music Historypodcast
Katelynn McIlwain, originally from Freeport, Illinois (go Pretzels!), is the managing editor for KBIA. She assists KBIA newsroom leaders in planning, supervising and producing news programming for radio broadcast, including daily news and in-depth reports, as well as public affairs programming.
Ryan served as the KBIA News Director from February 2011 to September 2023
Aaron worked as a full-time on-air host at KBIA from 2017 to 2022. He continues as the Managing Producer on High Turnout Wide Margins.
Janet Saidi is a producer and professor at KBIA and the Missouri School of Journalism.