Originally, a second actor was hired to do the puppeteering and voice of Rusty the Rooster, but when that didn't work out, Rod Coneybeare was asked if he could handle both puppets at once and ended up doing double duty for the show's entire multi-decade run.
The Friendly Giant debuted on radio in Madison, Wisconsin in 1953. In 1958, the Friendly Giant and his characters moved to Canada and became a staple of CBC programming.
The musicians that provided the theme did not sign off on it being recorded once and being re-used from tape. As a result, they got paid to play it at the front and end of every episode that was taped.
The theme music, "Early One Morning", is a folk song dating back to the time of Henry VIII, though generations of Canadian children know it only as the Friendly Giant song.
The periodic musical episodes, where other creatures were brought in to play other instruments, with Rusty on guitar and Jerome conducting, were often played behind the scenes by major musicians, including Moe Kauffman. Jazz and Classical arrangements were common.