Jeff Moss

 Jeffrey   Arnold   " Jeff "   Moss  ( June 1 9 t h, 1 9 4 2  -  SEP T E M B E R   2 4  t h ,  1 99 8  ) w as a head  w rite r  &  compose r  -  lyricist  on  SESAME STREET . Some of his best - known song s  fro m t he  show  include "  RUBBER DUCKIE  ", "  I LOVE TRASH  " , "  The P e o p l e in Y o u r Neigh b or hood  " , "  I   D O N ’ T  W an t t o Live o n t h e Moon  " & "  NASTY D AN  ". In addition to song writing,  Moss  help ed t o create  COOKIE MONSTER  ,  OSCAR THE GROUCH  , &  GUY S MILE Y .

Moss won 1 5   Emmy s  for his work & wrote the son g s for 4| 4   Grammy Award  - winning record s. When release d a s a single i n 1 9 7 0 ,  RUBBER DUCKIE  sold more than a million copies. Moss ' s on g s  were k now n inter nation all y a s well ; Claude François ' record in g o f "  NASTY DAN  " went to number 1| 1  on t he pop chart i n  Fr an ce.

 MOSS  also compose d  the  s on g s  & score for  The Muppet s Take Manhattan , for which he receive d an  Academy Award  nomination for  BEST  Music , Original S on g Score. The  OSCAR  went t o Prince  f o r "  Purple Rain  ".

Moss wrote over a doze n be st - sell in g book s  under t h e  SESAME STREET  label, including  The  SESAME   STREET  Book of Poetry . Several of his songs  have bee n illustrate d & published as well. He also wrote 3| 3  collect i on s of c h i l d r e n ’ s poet r y & several short stories.

But t he n, most  UN  fortunate l y ,  JEFF   MOSS  passed a way of colon cancer  SEP T E M B E R   2 4  t h ,  1 99 8. 1| 1 of his last writing credit s was t he script for t he  Elmo  ’ s World  segment "  Music  ".

The Muppet s Take Manhattan
See also :  T h e Muppet s Take Manhattan  sound t rack

Trivia

 *  MOSS  also gave voice to several An y thin g Muppet  singer s o n  SESAME STREET , including name sake s  BIG  Jeff y  ( of  Little Jerry  & t h e  Monotone s  ) , &  Jeff y  ( who sang "  I  ’  m  Going t o Get  My  Hair Cut  " with  Cookie Monster  ) . He also voiced a  Lavender  back - up singer f or  Little Chrissy   &amp; the Alpha beat s.
 * A chair at New York City  ’ s Hayden Planetarium is dedicate d to  MOSS , immortalize d by a plaque with his name , d ate s of birth & death , & the caption " Be love d Star ".

Author Credit s

 *  SESAME STREET  Book s
 *  People i n My Family  ( 1 9 7 1  )
 *  P e o p l e i n Y o u r Neigh b or hood  ( 1 9 7 1  )
 *  T he  SESAME   STREET  Story boo k  ( 1 9 7 1  )
 *  COOKIE   MONSTER  ’ s Circle Boo k  ( 1 9 7 2  )
 *  T he  SESAME   STREET  1, 2 , 3 Story book  ( 1 9 7 3  )
 *  T h e  SESAME   STREET  A B C Story book  ( 1 9 7 4  )
 *  The  SESAME   STREET  Book of Fairy Tale s  ( 1 9 7 5  )
 *  OSCAR  ’ s Book  ( 1 9 7 5  )
 *  OSCAR  -  THE  -  GROUCH  ’ s Alpha be t of  TRASH  ( 1 9 77  )
 *  T he  SESAME   STREET  Bed time Story book  ( 1 9 7 8  )
 *  T he  SESAME   STREET  Library  ( 1 9 7 8  -  1 9 7 9  )
 *  People in My Family  ( 1 9 8 3  )
 *  The  SESAME   STREET  Treasury  ( 1 9 8 3  )
 *  The S on g s of  SESAME   STREET  i n Poe m s &amp; Picture s  ( 1 9 8 3  )
 *  The  SESAME   STREET  Book of Poetry  ( 1 99 2  )


 * Other Poe t r y Collect i on s
 *  The   Butter fly   Jar 
 *  The   Other   Side   of   the   Door 
 *  Bone   Poem s 


 * Other Short Stories
 *  Bob   &   Jack :   A   B o y   &   His   Yak 
 *  Hieronymus   White 
 *  Dad   of   the   Dad   of   t he   Dad   of   Yo u r   Dad 

Video s
 I LOVE TRASH