<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 a 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 </Li> <Li> 12 Songs </Li> <Li> Sail Away </Li> <Li> Good Old Boys </Li> <Li> Little Criminals </Li> <Li> Born Again </Li> <Li> Trouble in Paradise </Li> <Li> Land of Dreams </Li> <Li> Bad Love </Li> <Li> Harps and Angels </Li> <Li> Dark Matter </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Live albums </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Randy Newman Live </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Compilations </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Lonely at the Top: The Best of Randy Newman </Li> <Li> Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman </Li> <Li> The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 </Li> <Li> The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Musicals </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Randy Newman's Faust </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Soundtracks </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Toy Story </Li> <Li> James and the Giant Peach </Li> <Li> Avalon </Li> <Li> Meet the Parents </Li> <Li> Cars </Li> <Li> The Princess and the Frog </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> Nilsson Sings Newman </Li> <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 amazing dancing bear
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