<P> "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" is a song written by Randy Newman, about a sincere young man of modest means named Simon Smith who entertains affluent ("well - fed") members of the public with his dancing bear . </P> <P> Newman later said the song was a major stepping point in his writing style . "That was the first one I wrote like that . I was writing a song, believe it or not, for Frank Sinatra, Jr . And it was called something like "Susie" or "Mary" and I just all of the sudden couldn't do it . So I ended up somewhere with "coat to wear" and "dancing bear". There I was, and I just sort of followed it on . And then I was never the same . And I never wrote particularly conventional songs after that ." </P> <P> It was popularized in the UK by the Alan Price Set under the title "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear", where it reached #4 in 1967 . The song was also covered by such diverse singers as Harry Nilsson, Morrissey, Harpers Bizarre, Bobby Short, Akiko Yano, and the band Okkervil River . It appeared in the first episode of The Muppet Show, sung by the character Scooter as Simon Smith, with Fozzie Bear as the dancing bear . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> Randy Newman </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Studio albums </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Randy Newman (1968) </Li> <Li> 12 Songs (1970) </Li> <Li> Sail Away (1972) </Li> <Li> Good Old Boys (1974) </Li> <Li> Little Criminals (1977) </Li> <Li> Born Again (1979) </Li> <Li> Trouble in Paradise (1983) </Li> <Li> Land of Dreams (1988) </Li> <Li> Bad Love (1999) </Li> <Li> Harps and Angels (2008) </Li> <Li> Dark Matter (2017) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Live albums </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Randy Newman Live (1971) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Compilations </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Lonely at the Top: The Best of Randy Newman (1987) </Li> <Li> Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman (1998) </Li> <Li> The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003) </Li> <Li> The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 (2011) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Musicals </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Randy Newman's Faust (1995) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Films scored </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Cold Turkey (1971) </Li> <Li> Ragtime (1981) </Li> <Li> The Natural (1984) </Li> <Li> Parenthood (1989) </Li> <Li> Awakenings (1990) </Li> <Li> Avalon (1990) </Li> <Li> The Paper (1994) </Li> <Li> Maverick (1994) </Li> <Li> Toy Story (1995) </Li> <Li> James and the Giant Peach (1996) </Li> <Li> Michael (1996) </Li> <Li> Cats Don't Dance (1997) </Li> <Li> A Bug's Life (1998) </Li> <Li> Pleasantville (1998) </Li> <Li> Toy Story 2 (1999) </Li> <Li> Meet the Parents (2000) </Li> <Li> Monsters, Inc. (2001) </Li> <Li> Seabiscuit (2003) </Li> <Li> Meet the Fockers (2004) </Li> <Li> Cars (2006) </Li> <Li> Leatherheads (2008) </Li> <Li> The Princess and the Frog (2009) </Li> <Li> Toy Story 3 (2010) </Li> <Li> Monsters University (2013) </Li> <Li> Cars 3 (2017) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Soundtrack albums </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Avalon (1990) </Li> <Li> Meet the Parents (2000) </Li> <Li> Cars (2006) </Li> <Li> The Princess and the Frog (2009) </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Songs </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> "Mama Told Me Not to Come" </Li> <Li> "Sail Away" </Li> <Li> "He Gives Us All His Love" </Li> <Li> "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" </Li> <Li> "Political Science" </Li> <Li> "You Can Leave Your Hat On" </Li> <Li> "Louisiana 1927" </Li> <Li> "Rednecks" </Li> <Li> "Short People" </Li> <Li> "I Love L.A." </Li> <Li> "You've Got a Friend in Me" </Li> <Li> "When She Loved Me" </Li> <Li> "We Belong Together" </Li> <Li> "It's a Jungle Out There" </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Related </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Discography </Li> <Li> Brill Building </Li> <Li> Nilsson Sings Newman </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Family </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Alfred Newman </Li> <Li> David Newman </Li> <Li> Emil Newman </Li> <Li> Joey Newman </Li> <Li> Lionel Newman </Li> <Li> Thomas Newman </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who sang simon smith and his dancing bear