Pinball Number Count

Pinball Number Count (or Pinball Countdown) is a collective title referring to 11 one-minute animated segments on the popular PBS children's series Sesame Street that teach children to count to 12 by following the journey of a pinball through a rather fanciful pinball machine. These segments are notable for the colorful, imaginative animation as well as the funky "one, two, three, four, five...." soundtrack provided by The Pointer Sisters. Pinball Number Count was originally produced in 1976 by Imagination, Inc. in San Francisco, California for the Children's Television Workshop. It made its debut on Sesame Street in 1977.

The Pinball Number Count segments contain common beginning and ending sequences showing the launch of the pinball into the machine and the exit of the pinball from play, respectively. Between these two sequences is a number-specific animated narrative showing the pinball in play. This middle segment features a scene in which a number of contraptions move the pinball about the interior of the machine. Each scene begins with the ball following ramps and hitting some bumpers, then various features belonging to a theme specific to the number. The pinball then exits this area to the end sequence, where it leaves play.

At the beginning of each segment, we see a number with a group of stars circling around it. We hear a voice whispering the current number.

Music for Pinball Number Count was composed by Walt Kraemer and arranged by Ed Bogas. The vocals were provided by the Pointer Sisters. The arrangements in the eleven films reflect musical idioms commonly found in 1970s urban culture, predominantly funk and jazz, though other styles including Caribbean steel drum music are also represented. The number-specific middle sections contain one of three different (presumably) improvised instrumental solos over a basic progression, respectively featuring soprano saxophone, electric guitar, and steel drum. Consistent with an abbreviated jazz structure, a prearranged head and turnaround / coda are played during the common starting and ending animation sequences. The vocals work in similar fashion with improvised shouts of the numbers 2-12 during the middle section and a return to the arranged counting at the end.

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