Russ Velázquez can tell you how to get to Sesame Street

If you watched “Sesame Street” in the late 2000s, you probably heard the catchy beat “Number One,” composed and played by Riverdale musician Russ Velázquez. His vocals and instrumentals were a staple of theme songs and soundtracks for some of the most iconic shows of the past few decades, including “Pokémon,” “Yu-Gi-Oh!” and “One Piece.”

“I did work for everybody, I was one of the first calls,” Velázquez shared with The Press. “A lot of toy commercials, cereals; I affected the minds of all kids with toys, soda and soft drinks.”

His big break in television came when he landed a Kool-Aid commercial in 1988. He was working for a market research company, conducting phone surveys and climbed the ranks from interviewer to editor and eventually supervisor, but his real passion was music. 

At the time, he was working on a side project with guitarist Jimmy Ryan. Ryan was the first to suggest Velazquez entered the world of singing in jingles.

“I didn’t think I was a good enough singer,” Velázquez said, brushing off the suggestion.

Sometime later, his friend and music producer, Michael Levine told him, “You know, I think you should be doing jingles.”

But Veláquez hesitated again, thinking he had to be a professional singer and not a self-taught musician. But this time he went for it and landed the gig.

Inspired, he put together a demo reel showcasing different character voices, like the Sandman and a pterodactyl, highlighting his versatility.

It wasn’t long before he was called for a second advertisement, but there was a catch. He needed to join a union or the agency risked hefty fines.

The Screen Actors Guild membership fee was $800, but he had less than that to his name. Levine generously loaned him the rest.

Shortly thereafter, Velázquez received a residual check for $900 and repaid his friend the next day.

Though the paychecks were a good start, they weren’t enough to cover Velazquez’s bills. So, he hit the pavement, knocked on doors, made phone calls and slowly built his reputation. Over the next decade, he booked commercials with major brands, like Cheerios, Pizza Hut and Tropicana, including a Diet Coke ad featuring Paula Abdul. But his favorite was one he did for Burger King, where he had one line – I love this place. 

By the mid-’90s, the jingle business hit a rough patch. Companies moved toward one-time payments instead of royalties or non-union positions. At his peak, Velázquez made thousands off a single, but suddenly most jobs paid a flat $350.

Then came the opportunity to ‘Catch ‘Em All’ with a job at 4Kids Entertainment. The kid’s animation and merchandise licensing company was founded by Al Kahn, the visionary behind the global Cabbage Patch Kids craze.

Khan also played a critical role in bringing brands, like Polly Pocket and Nintendo’s Mario Bros., to international mainstream markets.

“Anything that was hot in Japan he would try to bring here,” Velázquez said. “A lot of them bombed. But then he brought ‘Pokémon’ here and all of a sudden, they had to write all this music.”

Though known for jingles, he took on the challenge of both singing and writing the music for animated shows. After Pokémon came Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then Sonic X. The work kept coming.

“You’re like a mad scientist in your studio,” Velázquez said, describing his creative process. “You pretty much had to do everything yourself.”

Producing everything from scratch was an intense, hands-on job. 

His next big break came through his friend, Joe Franco, who opened a recording studio in Manhattan. Franco’s wife worked at Scholastic – the company responsible for handling some of Sesame Street’s recordings.

"Sesame Workshop does a ton of stuff," Velázquez explained. "It's not just the TV show. They have international versions, they do video content, outreach programs, things like that."

He was frequently called to do dubbing for various international adaptations and dabbling in composing music.

One of his most significant breaks came when he was asked to contribute music to “Panwapa Island,” a Sesame Workshop project. It wasn’t long before Sesame Street’s longtime music director Danny Epstein called and asked Velázquez to write, “Number One.” 

Velázquez joined before the show’s 40th anniversary episode for which he composed the song “Imagine.” It’s not the John Lennon classic but an original piece tied to the letter “I.” His involvement earned him a shoutout in Sesame Street’s official anniversary book, a moment of pride in his career.

He was especially mesmerized seeing the puppeteers bring the characters to life. Larger puppets, like Ernie, needed two people – one controlling the head, the other handling the arms. Big Bird was operated by one person holding their arm straight up to move the feathered yellow giant’s neck and mouth.

“You see [the Muppets] and they look like spaghetti,” Velázquez said metaphorically. “You see the whole cast all entwined, intertwined with each other, you know, you can't see their hands, but they still have to see what they're doing so they’re just looking at monitors.”

Velazquez recalled the greatest thrill of all – watching his songs brought to life right in front of his eyes.

Occasionally, the father of six brought his three youngest daughters to set. 

“You watch the show on TV when you're little and it’s hard to understand what a set even is,” his oldest, Emma Velázquez recalled, who was a tween when she visited her father’s job. “I thought they were behind the screen acting for me. But then you’re seeing the voices behind them, and you’re like, ‘whoa, there’s a human behind this little Muppet.’”

One of her favorite memories was walking through the fake on-set grocery store.

At home, Velázquez had a recording studio set up in his attic and sometimes, he enlisted a little help.

“When I was 10, he had me sing one of the songs for ‘Sesame Street,’ and they ended up using my demo,” Emma recalled. After that, I was like, ‘Guys, I'm on TV.’ Like, I thought I was famous.”

His most recent work with the show was during the pandemic. Velázquez composed music for a Sesame Street and Lego collaboration, teaching kids how to navigate COVID-19. One song, “We Love a Parade,” featured animated Muppets playing outside in masks.

Velázquez received multiple Emmy nominations while working with the company and while he still works with Sesame Street Workshop, he’s more focused on performing his own music. 

Lately, he’s been playing gigs in restaurants and bars. 

At the beginning of the year, Velázquez attended a live performance at Neem Indian Cuisine at 3549 Johnson Ave. Co-owner Nandy addressed him with a, ‘Hey, man, you should come sing a song or two.’ Velázquez's partner Oonagh agreed. He debuted his first-ever solo show on Jan 16.

Performing as a one-man act was new to Velázquez. He used an iPad loaded with backing tracks to accompany his guitar and vocals. But being his own band and stage crew had its challenges.

“The performing part I love doing,” he confessed. “But I gotta break down my equipment, go in and load it up, set it up, then do the show, break it down, load it back in – usually by myself.”

Since his first show at Neem, he’s played at other venues like An Beal Bocht Cafe at 445 W 238th St. That night, his ex-wife Nina and their kids cheered from the largest table in the room.

Velázquez mostly sang covers of songs from artists like Eric Clapton and Prince at the show. But in a moment of spontaneity, he pulled out one of his biggest hits – “Number One.”