“Not to unduly shame the American education system,” People magazine said in an article in 2016, “but chances are Bob Dorough has had more of an impact on grammar fluency than any other individual in the 20th century.”
I remember distinctly my 8th grade constitution test, which included humming from each student in the quiet classroom, who easily recited the preamble because of this song.
Segments From Bob Dorough’s New York Times Obituary:
First came military service, from 1943 to 1945; Bob Dorough performed with and arranged for the Army Band as pianist, clarinetist, saxophonist, and arranger.In 1949 he received a music degree at North Texas State Teachers College, then headed for New York, where he plunged into the jazz scene.
In the early 1950s he was the traveling music director for the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson when Robinson tried a tap-dancing career. They were playing France when Robinson decided to return to the ring in 1955, but the Mars Club in Paris offered Mr. Dorough a singing and playing engagement, and he stayed for six months.
He returned to New York and recorded his first album, “Devil May Care,” released in 1956 on the small Bethlehem label. He moved to the West Coast for several years and was playing in a quintet at a Hollywood piano bar when he met Miles Davis, who would later ask Mr. Dorough to write him a Christmas song. The result, in 1962, was “Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern),” a wry, somewhat cynical ditty sung by Mr. Dorough.
Mr. Dorough also helped produce, arranged for, played on or contributed vocals to albums by an array of artists that included Hoagy Carmichael, the Fugs, Spanky and Our Gang, and Art Garfunkel. He even acted occasionally; he appeared in an episode of the western “Have Gun — Will Travel” in 1959.
By the time he was recruited for “Schoolhouse Rock!” he was well connected in the music world, and thus was able to bring a high-end assortment of talent to that project.
This ABC Saturday morning special, not only reviews some of your favorite SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK LIVE songs, but includes stories from Mr. Dorough himself.
R.I.P. Bob Dorough. You were one of my favorite teachers.
