The Vowelles are vocalists, made up of of floating lips and wigs, who perform with Johnny Consonanti and Martha Reader. They often accompany Reader in Motown-style harmonies as part of a group, Martha Reader and the Vowelles (playing on the Motown group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas).
Martha Reader and the Vowelles usually perform the vowel sound out of the middle of a monosyllabic word, singing it to a tune similar to Martha and the Vandellas' 1963 hit "Heat Wave," accompanied by saxophone. In Season 1, they also occasionally performed two-letter words, with them performing the vowel, and Consonanti performing the consonants.
In the first season, they performed in front of a black background. This background was changed in Season 2 to a bright silver background, revealing that the group is nothing more than a floating group of lips. Additionally, their appearances were now preceded by an introduction from Consonanti.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West
- The Lost Rock
- Little Big Mouse
- Farmer Ken's Puzzle
- The Hopping Hen
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf
- Fuzzy Wuzzy, Wuzzy?
- Lionel's Antlers
- To the Ship! To the Ship!
- The Chap with Caps
- Pandora's Box
- Lionel's Great Escape Trick
- There's a Fly in My Soup
- The Popcorn Popper
- Something Fishy
- Hug, Hug, Hug!
- The Ram in the Pepper Patch
- A Peck of Peppers
- Sausage Nose
- Red Hat, Green Hat
- The Lucky Duck
- The Old Man
- A King and His Hawk
- The Roar That Makes Them Run
- Piggyback, Piggyback
- The Fox and the Crow
- Giants and Cubs
- Be Bop
- Pigs, Pigs, Pigs! / The Three Little Pigs
- A Shower of Stars / Two Moons and One Lagoon
- The Popcorn Popper/Oh, Yes, It Can!
- The Pest in the Tent
Seasons 2, 3 and 4[]
- The Sad Dad
- The Good Seed
- Icarus's Wings
- Zoop! Zoop!
- Clickety-Clack, Clickety-Clack!
- Poetry Day
- Teacher's Pet
- The Last Cliff Hanger
- Pebble Trouble
- Oh, Yes, It Can!
- Five, Six, and Thistle Sticks
- Bug Beard
- Trains and Brains and Rainy Plains
- Quest, Quest, Quest!
- The Spider and the Lie
- Why the Baboon's Balloon Went Ka-boom!
- But, Mama, But...
- Dreaming Shakespeare
- Rats
- Tweet! Tweet!
- Good Night, Knight
- The Chess Mess
- Pigs Aplenty
- What Parakeets Need
- Too Cool
- You Can't Catch Me!
- Huff and Puff
- Help!
- Treats!
- Step by Step
- Dance in Smarty Pants!
- Ruby Sings the Blues / The Camel Dances