Saturday mornings as a kid I always looked forward to "School House Rock" songs! The man behind them, Bob Dorough, died on April 23 at age 94 of natural causes, and thanks to Dorough, many of us know a whole lot more about "hooking up words and phrases and clauses" than we ever realized.
Dorough, who grew up in Philadelphia and served in World War II, had a solid jazz career playing for names like Miles Davis before being brought on board on and off from 1972-96 to write and perform many of the catchy, educational shorts for "Schoolhouse Rock."
He also served as musical director for much of the series, though he wasn't the only singer/songwriter involved: jazz musicians including Jack Sheldon (who sang "I'm Just a Bill") were also big contributors. Here are some favorites!