Joe Raposo

Joe Raposo was an American composer and songwriter born in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1937 to a family of Portuguese immigrants. He trained as a classical pianist before moving into television and theatrical composition, and he became one of the founding musical voices of Sesame Street when the show launched in 1969, serving as its principal composer for many years.

Raposo wrote or co-wrote some of the most enduring songs associated with children's television, blending simple, warm melodies with the emotional directness of Tin Pan Alley songwriting. His work extended beyond Sesame Street into other television specials, films, and Broadway projects, and he was recognized across his career with multiple Grammy and Emmy nominations as well as an Academy Award nomination.

His catalog reflects a gift for melody that could feel childlike without being simplistic, and several of his songs have been recorded by mainstream pop and jazz artists outside their original television context. Raposo died in 1989 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leaving behind a body of work that remains foundational to American children's music.