Schoolhouse Rock! is a series of animated musical educational music videos that aired during Saturday morning children's programming on U.S. television network ABC. Topics covered include grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, politics and environmentalism. The series aired between 1972 and 1986, and infrequently during the 1990s and 2000s, with new shows created between 1993 and 1996, until its cancellation by ABC in 2001.
Origins and history[]
Schoolhouse Rock! began as a commercial advertising venture by David McCall. The idea came to McCall when he noticed one of his sons, who was having trouble in school remembering the multiplication tables, knew the lyrics to many current rock songs. The first song recorded was "Three is a Magic Number", written by Bob Dorough. It tested well, so a children's record was compiled and released. Tom Yohe listened to the first song, and began to doodle pictures to go with the lyrics. He told McCall that the songs would make good animation.
When a print workbook version fell through, McCall's company decided to produce their own animated versions of the songs, which they then sold to ABC (which already was McCall's company's biggest advertising account) based on a demo animation of the original "Three is a Magic Number" for its Saturday morning lineup. They pitched their idea to Michael Eisner, then vice-president of ABC's children's programming division. Eisner brought longtime Warner Bros. cartoonist/director Chuck Jones to the meeting to also listen to the presentation. Jones decided to use the animated song for the pilot episode of his children's series that also aired on ABC, Curiosity Shop, which premiered on September 2, 1971.
The network's children's programming division had producers of its regular 30- and 60-minute programs cut three minutes out of each of their shows, and sold General Foods on the idea of sponsoring the segments. The series stayed on the air for 12 years. Later sponsors of the Schoolhouse Rock! segments included Nabisco, General Foods, Kenner Toys, Kellogg's, and McDonald's.
The last of the original series were four segments about the then-novel personal computer technology. The shorts featured two characters by the name of Scooter Computer and Mister Chips, and so these were the only episodes in the series to feature any recurring characters.
A 1987 production of the series for VHS tape featured Cloris Leachman opening the collection and some songs with child dancers and singers, but "Three Ring Government", "The Good Eleven", and "Little Twelvetoes" were not included on the videos. [1][2]
In the 1990s, the team reunited to produce Money Rock and two more Grammar Rock segments ("Busy Prepositions" and "The Tale of Mr. Morton").
ABC stopped regular broadcasts of this series in 2001.
In 2002, the team once again reunited to produce a new song, "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College" for the release of the 30th Anniversary DVD. The song teaches about electoral college. For the new song, Tom Yohe Jr. took over as lead designer for his father Yohe Sr., who had died in 2000.[2] Another contemporary song, called "Presidential Minute", which explained the process of electing the President of the United States in greater detail, was included on a 2008 DVD collection centered on the America Rock subseries.
In 2009, the team produced eleven brand new environmentally-themed songs for the DVD Schoolhouse Rock: Earth Rock. They also made a rendition of their 2006 song, "The Three R's" by Jack Johnson.
In 2018, the Library of Congress inducted all songs from Schoolhouse Rock into the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Videos[]
Multiplication Rock[]
| Song Title | Subject | Music By[3] | Lyrics By[3] | Performed By[3] | First Aired[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Hero, Zero | 0 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1972 |
| Elementary, My Dear | 2 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1972 |
| Three is a Magic Number | 3 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1971 |
| The Four-Legged Zoo | 4 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1972 |
| Ready or Not, Here I Come | 5 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1972 |
| I Got Six | 6 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Grady Tate | 1973 |
| Lucky Seven Sampson | 7 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1973 |
| Figure Eight | 8 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Blossom Dearie | 1973 |
| Naughty Number Nine | 9 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Grady Tate | 1973 |
| The Good Eleven | 11 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1973 |
| Little Twelvetoes | 12 | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1973 |
No shows were produced featuring the numbers 1 or 10 explicitly.
In 1973, Capitol Records released a soundtrack album of Multiplication Rock, featuring all 12 songs. Two tracks: "My Hero, Zero" and "Three is a Magic Number" had been edited for TV to keep each video within three minutes. This LP features both songs in their full, unedited forms. Also, the album version of "The Four-Legged Zoo" has a slightly different ending than the television version.
Grammar Rock[]
| Song Title | Subject | Music By[3] | Lyrics By[3] | Performed By[3] | First Aired[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unpack Your Adjectives | Adjective | George R. Newall | George R. Newall | Blossom Dearie | 1975 |
| Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here | Adverb | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1974 |
| Conjunction Junction | Conjunction | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Jack Sheldon | 1973 |
| Interjections! | Interjection | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Essra Mohawk | 1974 |
| Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla | Pronoun | Bob Dorough | Kathy Mandary | Jack Sheldon | 1977 |
| Verb: That's What's Happening | Verb | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Zachary Sanders | 1974 |
| A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing | Noun | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | 1973 |
| Busy Prepositions | Preposition | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Jack Sheldon & Bob Dorough | October 1993 |
| The Tale of Mr. Morton | Subject and Predicate | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Jack Sheldon | December 1993 |
America Rock[]
* - Songs only seen in the 2002 edition.
| Song Title | Subject | Music By[3] | Lyrics By[3] | Performed By[3] | First Aired[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No More Kings | American Independence | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens & Bob Dorough | 1975 |
| Fireworks | Declaration of Independence | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Grady Tate | 1976 |
| The Shot Heard 'Round the World | American Revolutionary War | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 1976 |
| The Preamble | United States Constitution | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | 1975 |
| Elbow Room | U.S. Territorial Expansion | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Sue Manchester | 1976 |
| The Great American Melting Pot | Immigration/Melting Pot | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lori Lieberman | 1977 |
| Mother Necessity | American Inventions | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough, Jack Sheldon, Blossom Dearie, & Essra Mohawk | 1977 |
| Sufferin' Till Suffrage | Women's Suffrage | Bob Dorough | Tom Yohe | Essra Mohawk | 1976 |
| I'm Just a Bill | Legislative Process | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | Jack Sheldon | 1976 |
| Three Ring Government | Separation of Powers | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | 1979 |
| I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College* | Electoral College | George R. Newall and Bob Dorough | George R. Newall and Bob Dorough | Jack Sheldon & Bob Dorough | 2002 |
| Presidential Minute* | Voting for President | Joshua Harisson | Samuel Elliot | Jack Sheldon | 2002 |
"I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College" was produced for the 30th anniversary DVD collection.
"Presidential Minute" was promoted as produced for the Election DVD collection, but its presence as an Easter Egg on the 30th Anniversary DVD suggests that it was written before 2008.[4]
Science Rock[]
| Song Title | Subject | Music By[3] | Lyrics By[3] | Performed By[3] | First Aired[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Body Machine | Digestion | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Bob Dorough & Jack Sheldon | 1979 |
| Do the Circulation | Circulatory System | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Joshie Armstead, Mary Sue Berry, & Maeretha Stewart | 1979 |
| Electricity, Electricity | Electricity | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Zachary Sanders | 1979 |
| The Energy Blues | Energy Conservation | George Newall | George Newall | Jack Sheldon | 1978 |
| Interplanet Janet | Solar System | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | 1978 |
| Telegraph Line | Nervous System | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Jaime Aff & Christine Langner | 1979 |
| Them Not-So-Dry Bones | Skeletal System | George Newall | George Newall | Jack Sheldon | 1979 |
| A Victim of Gravity | Gravity | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | The Tokens | 1978 |
| The Greatest Show on Earth/The Weather Show | Weather | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Bob Kalban | 1979 [5] |
Copyright issues between Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey prevented The Greatest Show on Earth to be further aired on television.
Scooter Computer and Mr. Chips[]
| Song Title | Subject | Music By[3] | Lyrics By[3] | Performed By[3] | First Aired[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Computers | Lynn Ahrens, Tom Yohe, and Bob Dorough | Lynn Ahrens, Tom Yohe, and Bob Dorough | Darrell Stern and Bob Kaliban | 1982 |
| Hardware | Computer Hardware | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | Darrell Stern and Bob Kaliban | 1982 |
| Software | Computer Software | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Darrell Stern and Bob Kaliban | 1983 |
| Number Cruncher | Computerized Statistics | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | Darrell Stern and Bob Kaliban | 1984 |
Money Rock[]
| Song Title | Subject | Music By[3] | Lyrics By[3] | Performed By[3] | First Aired[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollars and Sense | Interest and Loans | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | Val Hawk and Bob Dorough | 1994 |
| $7.50 Once a Week | Budgets | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | 1995 |
| Where the Money Goes | Paying Bills | Rich Mendoza | Rich Mendoza | Jack Sheldon | 1995 |
| Tax Man Max | Taxes | Stephen Flaherty | Lynn Ahrens | Patrick Quinn | 1995 |
| Walkin' on Wall Street | Stock Exchange | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | Dave Frishberg | 1996 |
| This for That | Barter | George R. Newall | George R. Newall | Bob Dorough | 1996 |
| Tyrannosaurus Debt | Budget Deficit | Tom Yohe | Tom Yohe | Bob Dorough and Bob Kaliban | 1996 |
| The Check's in the Mail | Using Checks | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Luther Rix | 1996 |
Earth Rock[]
| Song Title | Subject | Music By | Lyrics By | Performed By | First Aired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report from the North Pole | Global Warming | Bob Dorough | George R. Newall | Bob Dorough, Jack Sheldon, Bob Kaliban, and Barry Call | 2009 |
| The Little Things We Do | Energy Conservation | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens, Jack Sheldon, Bob Dorough, Bob Kaliban, Val Hawk, Vicki Doney, and Nancy Reed | 2009 |
| The Trash Can Band | Recycling | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens, Luther Rix, Bob Dorough, and Eric Weissberg | 2009 |
| You Oughta Be Saving Water | Water Conservation | Sean Altman and Barry Carl | George R. Newall | Barry Carl, Sean Altman, and Elliott Kerman | 2009 |
| The Rainforest | Rainforests | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Tituss Burgess | 2009 |
| Save the Ocean | Oceans | Sean Altman | Sean Altman | Sean Altman, Inna Dukachi, Jon Spurney, Patti Rothberg, Barry Carl, and Eric Booker | 2009 |
| Fat Cat Blue: The Clean Rivers Song | Marine Debris | Andy Brick | Andy Brick | Jack Sheldon, Bob Kaliban, Val Hawk, Vicki Doney, and Nancy Reed | 2009 |
| A Tiny Urban Zoo | Gardens | George Stiles | Anthony Drewe | Barrett Foa, Shoshana Bean, and George Stiles | 2009 |
| The Energy Blues | Energy Conservation | George Newall | George Newall | Jack Sheldon | 1978 |
| Solar Power to the People | Solar Energy | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens | Lynn Ahrens, Val Hawk, Vicki Doney, and Nancy Reed | 2009 |
| Windy and the Windmills | Wind Power | Bob Dorough | George R. Newall | Bob Dorough, Jack Sheldon, Val Hawk, Vicki Doney, and Nancy Reed | 2009 |
| Don't Be a Carbon Sasquatch | Carbon Footprints | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | Bob Dorough | 2009 |
| The Three R's | Three R's | Bob Dorough | Jack Johnson | Mitchel Musso | 2009 |
Tie-ins[]
Several tie-ins were released in 1996:
- Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks, a tribute album featuring covers of Schoolhouse Rocks songs performed by alternative rock acts.
- Schoolhouse Rock! The Official Guide (ISBN 0-7868-8170-4), written by Tom Yohe and George Newall, and including synopses, lyrics, and production notes about each of the shorts created to date, except "The Weather Show", which was the subject of pending litigation and so could not be included.
- The Schoolhouse Rock Songbook (Cherry Lane Music), containing sheet music for ten songs.
- Schoolhouse Rock! Soundtrack The 4 CD release with bonus tracks on each CD was released on June 18, 1996 by Rhino Records.
In addition to the above, Rhino Records also released Schoolhouse Rocks the Vote!: A Benefit for Rock the Vote, a tribute album containing covers and original songs in the style of Schoolhouse Rock, all with an electoral theme. It was released on August 18, 1998.
DVD releases[]
On August 26, 2002 Buena Vista Home Video released a 2-disc DVD featuring 51 of the 52 episodes (the only one missing being the presumed-lost Computer Rock segment) as well as many special features. The release coincided with the 30th anniversary of the show. An abbreviated VHS, featuring the "top 25" episodes plus "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College," was released at the same time. On September 23, 2008, the "Schoolhouse Rock-Election Collection" was released, including 14 songs about the history and the government and a "new to DVD" song.[6] On March 31, 2009, Buena Vista Home Video released "Schoolhouse Rock Earth" on DVD, which includes 10 newly written and animated songs.
| Cover Art | DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Schoolhouse Rock DVD.jpg | Schoolhouse Rock!- Special 30th Anniversary Edition | 51 | August 26, 2002 |
|
| Schoolhouse Rock-Election Collection | 14 | September 23, 2008 |
| |
| Schoolhouse Rock!-Earth[7] | 13 | March 31, 2009 |
|
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ video: America Rock, packaged as commercial video, 1987
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Unofficial history of Schoolhouse Rock!
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 Schoolhouserock.tv
- ↑ http://www.ultimatedisney.com/schoolhouserock-election.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dave Mackey's Guide to Schoolhouse Rock
- ↑ http://www.ultimatedisney.com/schoolhouserock-election.html
- ↑ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Schoolhouse-Rock-Earth/10753
External links[]
Also See[]
Schoolhouse Rock Songs
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