History SesameStreetCred / SesameStreet

* Even minimalist composer Philip Glass has Sesame Street Cred, as he composed a piece of music for Sesame Street back in 1979. Behold, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch-R1aIM-C0 the geometry of circles.]]

** '''Franchise/{{Batman}}''' '''''and''''' '''Franchise/{{Superman}}''' have Sesame Street Cred as far back as the very first test pilot for the series. Superman appearing in a skit where he stops a giant ape, and Batman settling an argument against prototypes of Ernie and Bert from their TV set.

* Among the legends who had ''recurring'' appearances on ''Sesame Street'' were Music/CeliaCruz and Music/BuffySainteMarie.

** ''Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark'' somehow managed to get negative Sesame Street Cred.

* Music/{{Feist}}. In an interview conducted after she won a Juno Award for the song she parodied on the show ("1234"), she said she'd done that song many times but not with monsters staring at her or chickens in bikinis.[[note]]zthe segment had just recently been filmed.[[/note]]

** Lin-Manuel Miranda [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q6HOwgFRY0&index=1&list=PLtrm7i3avjPU1htq7eRDisI3TRn2408Ev appeared]] all the way back in 2009. It's a rare example where the guest spot happened [[RetroactiveRecognition before the celebrity in question became popular]], as Miranda worked for Creator/SesameWorkshop at the time of his cameo, being on the staff team for both ''Sesame Street'' and the reboot of ''[[Series/TheElectricCompany2009 The Electric Company]]''.

* Perhaps the earliest ''Sesame'' example, [[http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player?p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_id=videoPlayer_WAR_sesameportlets4369&p_p_uid=f3ba6fa5-1558-11dd-a62f-919b98326687 Buffy Sainte-Marie]] was a regular on the show's first decade. This was after her ability to get gigs and radio play in the US was compromised due to her protest music.

** ''Seried/{{Mad|Men}} [[https://youtu.be/YgvKCfZqxrQ Men]]'' (the title being the same is intentional)

* In the recent decade, more came to the show, most notably Creator/KatDennings, Creator/LupitaNyongO (For both of them, they were with Elmo) and even ''Music/OneDirection''!

* Along the same lines: HarveyFierstein singing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6vEwp25cOM Everything's Coming Up Noses.]]

* Music/{{REM}} performed "Shiny Happy People" (their BlackSheepHit, which [[CreatorBacklash they hate and refuse to play live]]) as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXVvvRBBUn8 Furry Happy Monsters]]", complete with a Muppet Kate Pierson.
* Music/{{Feist}}. In an interview conducted after she won a Juno Award for the song she parodied on the show ("1234"), she said she'd done that song many times but not with monsters staring at her or chickens in bikinis[[note]]the segment had just recently been filmed[[/note]].

* The 'kid-friendly' bit was totally subverted by Music/StevieWonder, who performed "Superstition" not only straight (save for a NameDrop in the second verse), but as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE balls-to-the-wall seven-minute jam session]].

* Creator/IceCube [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV-WykC62LE teaches Elmo the meaning of "astounding"]]. In the GQ webseries ''Actually Me'', he mentioned to a Reddit user who asked about it that he was proud to be on a show he grew up with.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr9_5uZn6ds Ricky Gervais]]. He's said it was the coolest moment of his career.

* Music/HerbieHancock [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKoisNv1ftw during the 80s]]. He played an electro-jazz version of the theme song and showed what electronic sound equipment can do.

** And appears again [[http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player?p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_id=videoPlayer_WAR_sesameportlets4369&p_p_uid=315470b8-d613-4fea-afc1-8e42adbbe797 here]].

* Creator/NeilPatrickHarris as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaszN9ByxM the Sesame Street Shoe Fairy]].

* Along the same lines: HarveyFierstein singing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6vEwp25cOM Everything's Coming Up Noses]].
* Creator/JackBlack [[MemeticMutation shows children]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7jpz_55EdM what an octagon is]].

* Creator/JimParsons learns about [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-ZQyeuUd_k the word arachnid]].

* Music/AndreaBocelli sang Elmo a lullaby and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDVvB7Xx1w it's as beautiful as it sounds]].

* Creator/BenedictCumberbatch [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7jS7X-2ggA matches wits with "Murray-arty"]], with help from The Count.

* Wired.com has a series where cast members answer several Google Autocomplete questions about their roles. The Sesame Street Muppets did one, and one of the questions was about this phenomenon; watch the Muppets' answer starting at the timestamp [[https://youtu.be/fc2yFoq09ug?t=122 here]].

* ''Music/EnVogue'' performed the original song "Adventure" on the show at the height of their fame in the early 90's.

* Wired.com has a series where cast members answer several Google Autocomplete questions about the work they're part of. The Sesame Street Muppets did one, and one of the questions was about this phenomenon; watch the Muppets' answer starting at the timestamp [[https://youtu.be/fc2yFoq09ug?t=122 here]].

* The [[MultiNationalShows German version]] of the series, ''Series/{{Sesamstrasse}}'', had Lena Meyer-Landrut, winner of the ''Series/EurovisionSongContest'' 2010. Here she sings the song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFt3NEXcCY Bert, oh Bert!]]'', a parody of her winning song ''Satellite''.

* In the main page quote, Creator/FrancesMcDormand refers to [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Bird_Gets_Lost_(video) a video]] in which Big Bird gets lost at the department store, but finds Maria again with help from an employee portrayed by [=McDormand=].

* Music/GloriaEstefan, performing "Conga" and "Mambo I, I, I,", and "1-2-3".

* The German {{Retraux}} Jazz singer Max Raabe once appeared on ''[[TransatlanticEquivalent Sesamstrasse]]'' to sing a classy lullaby for the characters.

* As of January 2014, Music/{{Pentatonix}} got their Sesame Street Cred! Appropriately enough, they are singing and counting to five.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY He featured Sesame Street characters on his own show]]...

* Music/SmokeyRobinson sang "You Really Got a Hold on Me".

* Music/LilNasX [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4BS8BXEB_k appeared]] on the "Not Too Late Show" with Elmo and sang "Elmo's World".

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jack_black_sesame_street.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Creator/JackBlack and Elmo teach kids what an octagon is.]]

** Pixar's mascot Luxo Jr. and his father Luxo Sr. also appeared in a series of skits on the show in the early 90s.

** '''Batman''' '''''and''''' '''Superman''' have Sesame Street Cred as far back as the very first test pilot for the series. Superman appearing in a skit where he stops a giant ape, and Batman settling an argument against prototypes of Ernie and Bert from their TV set.

** A surprising example would be, of all people, '''the Simpsons,''' as they appear towards the end of the celebrity edition of "Monster in the Mirror".

* The [[MultiNationalShows German version]] of the series, Series/{{Sesamstrasse}}, had Lena Meyer-Landrut, winner of the ''Series/EurovisionSongContest'' 2010. Here she sings the song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFt3NEXcCY Bert, oh Bert!]]'', a parody of her winning song ''Satellite''.

* The [[MultiNationalShows German version]] of the series, Series/Sesamstrasse, had Lena Meyer-Landrut, winner of the ''Series/EurovisionSongContest'' 2010. Here she sings the song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFt3NEXcCY Bert, oh Bert!]]'', a parody of her winning song ''Satellite''.

* The 2010 ''Shalom Sesame'' miniseries features stars such as Anneliese van der Pol, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Christina Applegate.

* When president-elect UsefulNotes/JoeBiden named his long-time adviser Antony Blinken as his chosen Secretary of State in November 2020, the Internet was quick to find video evidence of Blinken’s appearance on the show, back when he was deputy Secretary of State under UsefulNotes/BarackObama.

* Creator/JeffGoldblum appeared twice as himself in 1990 for the all-star version of "Monster in the Mirror" and, with his then-wife Creator/GeenaDavis, the all-star version of "Sing" for a tribute special in the wake of songwriter Joe Raposo's passing. In a twist however, these were offshoots of his biggest appearance on the show, which ''wasn't'' this trope -- he played Bob's AdventurerArchaeologist brother Minneapolis in the RaidersOfTheLostParody "The Golden Cabbage of Snufertiti".