Bob Dorough, December 12, 1923 – April 23, 2018
April 24, 2018 6:46 PM Subscribe
Bob Dorough has died, and with him an essential part of the early education of tens of millions of children in math, grammar, and United States civics. Here he is in 2011, doing an extended version of "Three is a Magic Number"...
Dorough was a great musician who seemed not to mind that these jingles overshadowed many other things he did, such as playing a Christmas song with Miles Davis, jamming with Chico Hamilton and Jerry Mulligan while backing Lawrence Ferlinghetti. In his nineties, he was still producing music like this song on behalf of Occupy.
Dorough was a great musician who seemed not to mind that these jingles overshadowed many other things he did, such as playing a Christmas song with Miles Davis, jamming with Chico Hamilton and Jerry Mulligan while backing Lawrence Ferlinghetti. In his nineties, he was still producing music like this song on behalf of Occupy.
time to unpack some adjectives like "sad"
posted by entropicamericana at 6:57 PM on April 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 6:57 PM on April 24, 2018 [15 favorites]
Nothing Like You, performed by Bob Dorough and Miles Davis was the first song my wife and I danced to when we got married. It’s also comically out of place at he end of the Sorcerer album, but gosh if it isn’t one of the sweetest little tunes out there. It got me into lyrical jazz.
posted by furtive at 7:04 PM on April 24, 2018
posted by furtive at 7:04 PM on April 24, 2018
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My mom was a Bob Dorough fan, so I grew up listening to his stuff. In memory, a few of my favorites:
Baltimore Oriole
I've Got Just About Everything
Old Devil Moon
It Could Happen to You
I'm Hip
Ow!
I Had the Craziest Dream
Small Day Tomorrow
Yardbird Suite
If you only know him for Schoolhouse Rock (here's a talk he gave called "Schoolhouse Rock explained") do check out the rest of his work. He was remarkable.
posted by Lexica at 7:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
My mom was a Bob Dorough fan, so I grew up listening to his stuff. In memory, a few of my favorites:
Baltimore Oriole
I've Got Just About Everything
Old Devil Moon
It Could Happen to You
I'm Hip
Ow!
I Had the Craziest Dream
Small Day Tomorrow
Yardbird Suite
If you only know him for Schoolhouse Rock (here's a talk he gave called "Schoolhouse Rock explained") do check out the rest of his work. He was remarkable.
posted by Lexica at 7:13 PM on April 24, 2018 [12 favorites]
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posted by gyusan at 7:23 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gyusan at 7:23 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seeing that video for his song for Occupy, and seeing it open with clips from the various "Schoolhouse Rocks" he did over the years -
...my God, there were some members of my parents' generation that not only had these values, they instilled them in us with this and with Sesame Street and Electric Company, they believed in actually using television and media to teach kids instead of trying to sell them crap - and they didn't just believe in teaching us about the number 3 and conjunctions but also in teaching us that education should be open to all, not just the kids who had more of the advantages (because they're bringing the lessons right there into your house and making it fun), and there was this whole time in the 70s when I was watching all of this and not only learning the Preamble to the Constitution (by learning the melody) but also learning that yes, that is a good vision for the world, I'm all in...
...and then they got talked over by damn yuppies and it all went to hell.
I remember, though, and I'm going to try to keep that going. For Bob.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:23 PM on April 24, 2018 [48 favorites]
...my God, there were some members of my parents' generation that not only had these values, they instilled them in us with this and with Sesame Street and Electric Company, they believed in actually using television and media to teach kids instead of trying to sell them crap - and they didn't just believe in teaching us about the number 3 and conjunctions but also in teaching us that education should be open to all, not just the kids who had more of the advantages (because they're bringing the lessons right there into your house and making it fun), and there was this whole time in the 70s when I was watching all of this and not only learning the Preamble to the Constitution (by learning the melody) but also learning that yes, that is a good vision for the world, I'm all in...
...and then they got talked over by damn yuppies and it all went to hell.
I remember, though, and I'm going to try to keep that going. For Bob.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:23 PM on April 24, 2018 [48 favorites]
He and Lynn Ahrens and Jack Sheldon are the voices an entire generation knows and whose songs they – we – can sing without ever knowing their names.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:26 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:26 PM on April 24, 2018 [4 favorites]
Mr. Dorough performed constantly throughout his career and was a regular at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, Pa., where he last played just a few weeks ago.
Augh, this is five minutes up the road from me. Why did I not know?
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posted by pemberkins at 7:31 PM on April 24, 2018
Augh, this is five minutes up the road from me. Why did I not know?
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posted by pemberkins at 7:31 PM on April 24, 2018
My wife is a teacher who uses his stuff all the time. Such a big part of our childhood.
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posted by 4ster at 7:36 PM on April 24, 2018
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posted by 4ster at 7:36 PM on April 24, 2018
How many people have written educational songs that touch so many lives and also are inspiration to De La Soul? That’s pretty amazing!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:39 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 7:39 PM on April 24, 2018 [7 favorites]
Hey Little Twelvetoes, please come back home.
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posted by Reverend John at 7:47 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by Reverend John at 7:47 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mentioned his work (I'm just a bill) in a corporate meeting just yesterday.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 8:41 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Ogre Lawless at 8:41 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Dorough was a great musician who seemed not to mind that these jingles overshadowed many other things he did
That might have been because the songs he wrote for Schoolhouse Rock were genuinely good music. It wasn't just some dumbed-down kiddie project he tossed off; you can hear that he put as much effort and artistry into them as he would into music for adults.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:53 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
That might have been because the songs he wrote for Schoolhouse Rock were genuinely good music. It wasn't just some dumbed-down kiddie project he tossed off; you can hear that he put as much effort and artistry into them as he would into music for adults.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:53 PM on April 24, 2018 [16 favorites]
I grew up on Schoolhouse Rock. My favorite of the songs he wrote for the OG series is "Verb! That's What's Happening" (Grady Tate sang that one) and of the ones Dorough both wrote and sang, it's “Ready or Not Here I Come” (about multiples of five). In one of my music appreciation classes in 10th grade, our teacher asked us if we knew who Bob Dorough was, and of course we didn't, not by name. So he started us with a couple tunes from Schoolhouse Rock for us to listen in terms of musicality, not nostalgia. Then he busted out the the jazz. This album. And I've dug him from that day forward. "Blue X-Mas" is one of my fave winter holiday tunes.
Wow, 94. That's a good run, indeed.
posted by droplet at 9:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wow, 94. That's a good run, indeed.
posted by droplet at 9:35 PM on April 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
As a tribute album “Schoolhouse Rock Rocks!” has to be among the top. Blind Melon, Lemonheads, Skee-Lo, Pavement... I mean it appealed to us Gen X’ers whose ranks were a little thick.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:47 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:47 PM on April 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Running the board for his solo live performance at the Chicago Cultural Center in the 90s was a highlight of that particular job; he was a gem and I was a fan from that day forward.
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posted by davejay at 11:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by davejay at 11:18 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 11:42 PM on April 24, 2018
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 11:42 PM on April 24, 2018
8 ("Place it on its side and it's a symbol meaning infinity.")
posted by bryon at 12:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by bryon at 12:11 AM on April 25, 2018 [6 favorites]
I always found Figure 8 to be hauntingly beautiful. Blossom Dearie's childlike voice is just perfect as well.
"Three is a Magic Number" is also just a great song, whether or not it was written for kids. I still hear it played from time to time by nostalgic DJs.
These songs are probably better known and loved and remembered than most billboard hits from that time. In terms of reach, Bob Dorough was a rock star.
posted by vacapinta at 2:45 AM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
"Three is a Magic Number" is also just a great song, whether or not it was written for kids. I still hear it played from time to time by nostalgic DJs.
These songs are probably better known and loved and remembered than most billboard hits from that time. In terms of reach, Bob Dorough was a rock star.
posted by vacapinta at 2:45 AM on April 25, 2018 [12 favorites]
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posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 3:36 AM on April 25, 2018
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 3:36 AM on April 25, 2018
I saw him in Baltimore in '97 when he was touring behind "Right on My Way Home" - what an entertainer! Flawless, seemingly effortless playing, charmed the audience with a master class in old school stage banter, and his voice, even at 74, was still as supple, nuanced, and surprising as ever.
Dorough made a slew of LPs as a leader, and played with everyone from Miles to John Zorn as a sideman - his catalog is really worth digging into. Here's a small teaser:
'Tis Autumn
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
posted by ryanshepard at 4:26 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
Dorough made a slew of LPs as a leader, and played with everyone from Miles to John Zorn as a sideman - his catalog is really worth digging into. Here's a small teaser:
'Tis Autumn
Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
posted by ryanshepard at 4:26 AM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
That might have been because the songs he wrote for Schoolhouse Rock were genuinely good music. It wasn't just some dumbed-down kiddie project he tossed off; you can hear that he put as much effort and artistry into them as he would into music for adults.
Yep, the arrangement and musicianship on say, Three Is A Magic Number is amazing - the bass and drums especially are a masterpiece of tension and release and funky as hell.
posted by kersplunk at 4:47 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yep, the arrangement and musicianship on say, Three Is A Magic Number is amazing - the bass and drums especially are a masterpiece of tension and release and funky as hell.
posted by kersplunk at 4:47 AM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
The great Kelly Hogan (previously) wrote about her love for Bob Dorough in 2013:
posted by MrJM at 5:35 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
Finally, in 1989, I sold my television to the drummer of the Black Crowes so I could afford a plane ticket from Atlanta to New York (my first visit there) to see Bob Dorough play. He was booked for a two-night stand at Zanzibar—and Bob Dorough ended up being the second person I ever met in NYC. (The first being my cab driver from LaGuardia.)I wonder what it's like to mean so much to so many people who mean so much to so many people...
My flight had been delayed an agonizing five hours on the tarmac in Atlanta, and I was afraid I had missed the whole first night’s show. I rushed into the tiny club just before the last set, out of breath, wearing a too-big vintage granny dress and old-man shoes, and carrying a stuffed Daffy Duck toy I had bought at the airport for a friend. Bob, who was sitting right there at the end of the bar, looked up and, almost laughing, said in that familiar voice, “Little lady, are you sure you’re in the right place?” All I could stammer was, “I … I … I came to see you.” Bob’s next words were “Get this lady a drink!” I’ll remember that gin and tonic forever. That night, and the rest of my first-ever visit to New York City was a dream.
posted by MrJM at 5:35 AM on April 25, 2018 [10 favorites]
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Not to sound trite, but I'm sorry Mr. Dorough is gone, though I'm really glad he's been here. Deaths like this make me appreciate Metafilter so much. When someone of clear talent and especially long careers passes away, I check here for obit threads, and spend hours enjoying seeing the depth and breadth of their work and effects.
[also, MrJM, that is a wonderful line.]
posted by DigDoug at 5:51 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Not to sound trite, but I'm sorry Mr. Dorough is gone, though I'm really glad he's been here. Deaths like this make me appreciate Metafilter so much. When someone of clear talent and especially long careers passes away, I check here for obit threads, and spend hours enjoying seeing the depth and breadth of their work and effects.
[also, MrJM, that is a wonderful line.]
posted by DigDoug at 5:51 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
Schoolhouse Rock meant so much to me when I was a little girl who wanted to be smart but didn't know how to be. My dad would mock me if/when I got stuff wrong and it definitely wasn't "cool" to be smart in school back then. But Schoolhouse Rock told me that it was great to learn and that knowledge is power. I really needed those words and I took them to heart.
Thanks to SR, I got the only perfect score on the Constitution test in 4th grade because I knew the entire preamble. In 6th grade, I got extra credit in English class because of adverbs and conjunctions. I'm Just a Bill helped get me through Government class in high school.
And Three is a Magic Number was the song we sang to our newborn son on the first night home from the hospital, just the three of us snuggled together in our big bed.
Thank you, Mr. Dorough. You were there for me my whole life.
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posted by cooker girl at 6:01 AM on April 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
Thanks to SR, I got the only perfect score on the Constitution test in 4th grade because I knew the entire preamble. In 6th grade, I got extra credit in English class because of adverbs and conjunctions. I'm Just a Bill helped get me through Government class in high school.
And Three is a Magic Number was the song we sang to our newborn son on the first night home from the hospital, just the three of us snuggled together in our big bed.
Thank you, Mr. Dorough. You were there for me my whole life.
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posted by cooker girl at 6:01 AM on April 25, 2018 [16 favorites]
Yep, the arrangement and musicianship on say, Three Is A Magic Number is amazing - the bass and drums especially are a masterpiece of tension and release and funky as hell.
I have a strong memory of the bass on that song having been played by Bootsy Collins, but I can't find any info online to back that up. It may have actually been Ben Tucker.
posted by davejay at 7:03 AM on April 25, 2018
I have a strong memory of the bass on that song having been played by Bootsy Collins, but I can't find any info online to back that up. It may have actually been Ben Tucker.
posted by davejay at 7:03 AM on April 25, 2018
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I've been working off and on on a Jack Sheldon post here for a couple of years now, but there never seem to be enough videos online to link to. His (and Dorough's) Rufus Xavier Sasparilla is a vocal tour de force.
Growing up my favorite was always Interjections and a few of the American History ones. And of course I can't hear or think about the Preamble without singing it. We've played Schoolhouse Rock a bunch of times for our son and he loved them - most of them still hold up (other than some cultural issues - representation, the fact that everyone named by their job is a man - and it took a long time to unpack things like "I put a dime in the drugstore record machine"). My only real beef with them is the same as it was when I was a kid - why does the 7 times table - the one that's the hardest to remember - have a song that's so forgettable?
So glad these existed, and I really hope someone could do the same thing for the next generation.
posted by Mchelly at 7:03 AM on April 25, 2018
I've been working off and on on a Jack Sheldon post here for a couple of years now, but there never seem to be enough videos online to link to. His (and Dorough's) Rufus Xavier Sasparilla is a vocal tour de force.
Growing up my favorite was always Interjections and a few of the American History ones. And of course I can't hear or think about the Preamble without singing it. We've played Schoolhouse Rock a bunch of times for our son and he loved them - most of them still hold up (other than some cultural issues - representation, the fact that everyone named by their job is a man - and it took a long time to unpack things like "I put a dime in the drugstore record machine"). My only real beef with them is the same as it was when I was a kid - why does the 7 times table - the one that's the hardest to remember - have a song that's so forgettable?
So glad these existed, and I really hope someone could do the same thing for the next generation.
posted by Mchelly at 7:03 AM on April 25, 2018
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posted by SonInLawOfSam at 7:40 AM on April 25, 2018
posted by SonInLawOfSam at 7:40 AM on April 25, 2018
Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla!
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:44 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:44 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have never missed the image tag more.
Point of order: "I'm Just A Bill" was written by Dave Frishberg, who is very much alive and similarly beloved. He turned up at this grab-bag-of-people set at the Bottom Line I went to once, and no one knew who he was really but he was pretty entertaining, so we were digging him, and then towards the end of his set:
FRISHBERG: So my next song is my most-requested song, but it's not my best known song. For that you'd have to know about - who here has heard of something called SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK?
AUDIENCE, WHICH IS ABOUT 85% GEN-XERS: (gasp!)
FRISHBERG: Ah! Okay - well, I did a song for them about how a bill becomes a law....
AUDIENCE: (gasp, then uproarious cheers and whoops)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:45 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
Point of order: "I'm Just A Bill" was written by Dave Frishberg, who is very much alive and similarly beloved. He turned up at this grab-bag-of-people set at the Bottom Line I went to once, and no one knew who he was really but he was pretty entertaining, so we were digging him, and then towards the end of his set:
FRISHBERG: So my next song is my most-requested song, but it's not my best known song. For that you'd have to know about - who here has heard of something called SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK?
AUDIENCE, WHICH IS ABOUT 85% GEN-XERS: (gasp!)
FRISHBERG: Ah! Okay - well, I did a song for them about how a bill becomes a law....
AUDIENCE: (gasp, then uproarious cheers and whoops)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:45 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
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Schoolhouse Rock was such a treasure. Whenever I'm trying to remember some tidbit about grammar, history, politics, math . . . it's right there in my deep brain setting me straight.
I started checking out the rest of Bob's music when his album, Too Much Coffee Man, came out (apparently, the title track was composed for an animated series based on Shannon Wheeler's eponymous comic character). Fantastic album, really shows all of his best musical impulses.
Thanks, Bob!
posted by pt68 at 8:16 AM on April 25, 2018
Schoolhouse Rock was such a treasure. Whenever I'm trying to remember some tidbit about grammar, history, politics, math . . . it's right there in my deep brain setting me straight.
I started checking out the rest of Bob's music when his album, Too Much Coffee Man, came out (apparently, the title track was composed for an animated series based on Shannon Wheeler's eponymous comic character). Fantastic album, really shows all of his best musical impulses.
Thanks, Bob!
posted by pt68 at 8:16 AM on April 25, 2018
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posted by tuesdayschild at 8:46 AM on April 25, 2018
posted by tuesdayschild at 8:46 AM on April 25, 2018
Point of order: "I'm Just A Bill" was written by Dave Frishberg,
Yeah, I meant that I wanted to wave goodbye to Mr. Dorough, using probably the most memorable Schoolhouse Rock image.
posted by tzikeh at 9:12 AM on April 25, 2018
Yeah, I meant that I wanted to wave goodbye to Mr. Dorough, using probably the most memorable Schoolhouse Rock image.
posted by tzikeh at 9:12 AM on April 25, 2018
Wow - in wandering off down Schoolhouse Rock memory lane, I came across this tidbit, which I remember seeing when I watched the episode but promptly forgot about:
"In the February 12, 2006 episode of Inside the Actors Studio, when James Lipton asked Dave Chappelle what he wanted to hear when he arrived in heaven, Chappelle answered, 'Congratulations, Bill, you're a law.'"
Congratulations, Bob, you're a law.
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posted by tzikeh at 9:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
"In the February 12, 2006 episode of Inside the Actors Studio, when James Lipton asked Dave Chappelle what he wanted to hear when he arrived in heaven, Chappelle answered, 'Congratulations, Bill, you're a law.'"
Congratulations, Bob, you're a law.
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posted by tzikeh at 9:19 AM on April 25, 2018 [4 favorites]
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posted by egypturnash at 9:31 AM on April 25, 2018
posted by egypturnash at 9:31 AM on April 25, 2018
Just as well there wasn't a Punctuation Rock because then I'd have a harder time doing this:
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posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 10:31 AM on April 25, 2018
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posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 10:31 AM on April 25, 2018
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In fifth grade or so, we were made to memorize the preamble to the Constitution. I was baffled at how many of my classmates struggled with this assignment for a week or more, because of course from the moment the assignment was given I was all "memorize it? I could sing it for you right now!" (Wikipedia informs me that song was by Lynn Ahrens, not Mr. Dorough - but it's my best Schoolhouse Rock story anyway.)
posted by dnash at 10:32 AM on April 25, 2018
In fifth grade or so, we were made to memorize the preamble to the Constitution. I was baffled at how many of my classmates struggled with this assignment for a week or more, because of course from the moment the assignment was given I was all "memorize it? I could sing it for you right now!" (Wikipedia informs me that song was by Lynn Ahrens, not Mr. Dorough - but it's my best Schoolhouse Rock story anyway.)
posted by dnash at 10:32 AM on April 25, 2018
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posted by oneswellfoop at 1:07 PM on April 25, 2018
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:07 PM on April 25, 2018
We used to sing a medley of Schoolhouse Rock songs in my a capella group, and it was one of our most requested pieces. We may need to bring it out of retirement for our next gig.
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posted by blurker at 1:40 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by blurker at 1:40 PM on April 25, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:23 PM on April 25, 2018
posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:23 PM on April 25, 2018
why does the 7 times table - the one that's the hardest to remember - have a song that's so forgettable?
Fight me!
I swear I heard Bob Dorough tell the story, and it’s confirmed in the introduction to Schoolhouse Rock: The Official Guide, that after its run, everyone involved in creating Schoolhouse Rock had moved on and mostly forgotten about it. There were no VCRs, there was no internet, and fandom hadn’t really been invented yet. Once us 70s kids grew to be cool teens, and ABC stopped running the shorts, it all just sort of receded into memory. Then, 15 years later, Dorough was performing jazz concerts in Europe when students from America started requesting SHR songs. He was surprised, but obliged them, much to their delight. He started including a Best of SHR in his college concerts, and the students went nuts for it.
I just love that.
Much as I love Lucky Seven Sampson, and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla, in my heart the top place is for My Hero, Zero.
“What’s so wonderful about a zero?
It’s nothing isn’t it?”
“Sure, it represents nothing alone, but...
With only ten digits, including zero,
You can count as high as you could ever go,
Forever, towards infinity;
No one ever gets there, but you can try.”
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posted by LEGO Damashii at 10:37 PM on April 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
Fight me!
I swear I heard Bob Dorough tell the story, and it’s confirmed in the introduction to Schoolhouse Rock: The Official Guide, that after its run, everyone involved in creating Schoolhouse Rock had moved on and mostly forgotten about it. There were no VCRs, there was no internet, and fandom hadn’t really been invented yet. Once us 70s kids grew to be cool teens, and ABC stopped running the shorts, it all just sort of receded into memory. Then, 15 years later, Dorough was performing jazz concerts in Europe when students from America started requesting SHR songs. He was surprised, but obliged them, much to their delight. He started including a Best of SHR in his college concerts, and the students went nuts for it.
I just love that.
Much as I love Lucky Seven Sampson, and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla, in my heart the top place is for My Hero, Zero.
“What’s so wonderful about a zero?
It’s nothing isn’t it?”
“Sure, it represents nothing alone, but...
With only ten digits, including zero,
You can count as high as you could ever go,
Forever, towards infinity;
No one ever gets there, but you can try.”
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posted by LEGO Damashii at 10:37 PM on April 25, 2018 [5 favorites]
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This reminds me that I've still not made that post on Bud Luckey's passing.
posted by JHarris at 2:21 PM on April 26, 2018
This reminds me that I've still not made that post on Bud Luckey's passing.
posted by JHarris at 2:21 PM on April 26, 2018
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