Slog Out, is it weird that I, as a lifelong fan of all things Jim Henson and/or Muppets, somehow missed ever seeing, or even knowing about, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas? The hour-long special, based on the children's book Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (which I obviously haven't read), originally aired in 1977 on HBO, only once it seems, and then was rebroadcast on ABC in 1980 (Monday, December 15). In my defense, I didn't have HBO in 1977, and who knows what I was doing on a Monday in the run up to Christmas in 1980, so I kinda feel like the odds were against me at the time, but still I somehow I'd totally missed this, um, until this morning.

So I'm DECADES late to this, fine, but what I'm most bummed about was missing the stirring performance by the Nightmare aka the Riverbottom Nightmare Band. Considering the show was meant for children, I'm stoked the song really nails a ridiculous and sweaty Deep Purple-ish vibe.

I'm not surprised this song kinda rates because all the songs for this special were written by one of the (slightly creepy) grandmasters of the late '70s, Paul Williams. The musical performances are otherwise mostly rural-flecked vocal songs along with a couple jug-band-ish good timers. Funny thing tho' about the book's title, after the '60s I always equated "jug band" as slang for dirty amphetamine-addled hippies who had no idea how to play or were, in fact, the Holy Modal Rounders.