One spot featured a talking “bill” that explained to a boy how he could only become a law by passing both houses of Congress and then going to the White House hoping the president would sign him. They were combined with interesting visuals. It is not just the catchy words that connected with kids. More than 30 million people have now watched some of them on YouTube, showing that Dorough’s work still resonates. It came back in the 1990s for five more years. Thirteen years, plus a second round, helped us to reach literally thousands, in a rather broad age spectrum.” “However, what surprised me most was the impact of network television, which kicked in years later, after we’d been on air at ABC-TV. “I learned, when performing at elementary schools, that they were ‘getting through,’ so to speak, and the children would readily recognize my voice on such vocals as ‘Three is a Magic Number,’ and others that I sang. “I am not surprised at all (that the videos still resonate),” Dorough told CNN. He also voiced many of them.ĭorough, who is 89 and still performs, said he gets requests from adults to sing some of the bits because they grew up on them – often times recognizing his voice. He asked him to set the multiplication tables to music.ĭorough ended up writing “Three’s a Magic Number” and other well known videos. Jazz pianist and vocalist Bob Dorough was approached in 1971 by a New York advertising executive whose sons could not multiply. Kids never really had any idea they were learning how a bill becomes a law or proper grammar while watching the three-minute shorts between cartoons. They were animated videos and songs invented by a jazz musician who wanted to help children learn math. These are some of the lyrics that live on 40 years after they premiered on Saturday mornings on ABC television as part of “Schoolhouse Rock.” “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function.” “My hero, zero.” “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly get your adverbs here.” NEW: Bob Dorough says he's not surprised the videos still resonate 'Just a bill' explained how a bill becomes a law in Washington The series of catchy, educational videos is still popular online Episodes are also available for purchase and download on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.ģ.In 1973, a jazz musician created the popular children's short videos to help kids learn math The top 10, along with links to watch them on YouTube, are included below. In 2003, a DVD release commemorated its 30th anniversary and ranked the series' top 25 songs. These days, Schoolhouse Rock is remembered mostly during anniversary years like this one and endures as a happy memory for those who remember munching on sugary cereal and singing along. In all, 64 episodes were produced, the final one (for now) being 2009’s global warming-themed “Don’t Be a Carbon Sasquatch.” But its later incarnations never managed to recapture the imagination of kids quite the way it did during its original run. The show was revived twice, once in the mid-1990s and again in 2009, the latter version as a direct-to-video series. It inspired a memorable Saturday Night Live skit (which used “I’m Just a Bill” to lampoon the flag-burning debate), a live stage show that is still performed at schools across the country, and a Kennedy Center salute to celebrate its 40th birthday in 2013. And the series, which was the brainchild of Madison Avenue adman David McCall, who enlisted a bevy of songwriters to craft catchy educational ditties for the shorts, became a pop culture touchstone. Animated shorts such as “Three is the Magic Number” (the first Schoolhouse Rock segment ever aired), “Conjunction Junction” and “I’m Just a Bill” were viral videos before there was such a thing. 6, 1973, taught a generation of kids grammar, science, economics, math, history and civics during its initial 12-year run. Schoolhouse Rock, which premiered 45 years ago this month on Jan. "In 1787, I’m told, our Founding Fathers all sat down …” “Well, I’m just a bill, and I’m sittin’ here on Capitol Hill …" “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here …" You remember, don’t you? Close your eyes and let the lyrics flow back to you:
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