Conjunction Junction, Got Any Bills?

"Schoolhouse Rocky, a chip off of the block -- of your favorite Schoolhouse, -- SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK!! "Go up to anyone of a certain age , and say -- "Conjunction Junction --" and that person will smile, and reply -- "What's your function?!?!"

On January 6th 2015, the great, fun, and awesome Schoolhouse Rock celebrated its 42nd anniversary!!

Schoolhouse Rock debuted over the weekend of January 6th and 7th of 1973. The very first four segments to air were also the first four segments in the Multiplication Rock segments. They are -- " My Hero, Zero", which ranks as one of the top ten favorite Schoolhouse Rock segments.

It deals with a little boy, who becomes a super hero: The Mighty ZERO, to convince his skeptical sister that there really is value in nothing!! "Elementary, My Dear" is a segment about the number Two. And it has the best example of pairs (two) in the animals of Noah's Ark!!

"Three Is A Magic Number",was the very FIRST Schoolhouse Rock segment ever produced!! It deals with multiples of the number three (who can forget the huge football player, number 30 , bursting through the doorway??). There was a stanza cut out of the song to allow for Schoolhouse Rock's two minute and 58second time limit . Three really IS a magic number! The same was done with " Hero Zero. "

But those who own the Multiplication Rock album can hear the original versions in their entirety. The last segment is " The Four Legged Zoo", which is about a teacher taking her students to the zoo and they count the creatures' legs.

Schoolhouse Rock began as an idea of David B. McCall. McCall was, at this time, the President of McCaffrey and McCall Advertising. He was on horseback, while on vacation at a dude ranch in Wyoming one day when inspiration struck. McCall suddenly realized that while his son Davey , could not seem to memorize his multiplication tables, he had no such problem reciting the lyrics to ANY songs by the Rolling Stones, or any other such groups. This gave McCall an idea. If his son could so easily learn rote ROCK , why not rote LEARNING??

Once McCall got back from vacation, he hired a jingle writer, who had composed several jingles for many of the agency's commercials, to come up with something suitable for an educational phonograph record. The result? According to McCall, it was something "halfway between the saccharine sweetness of the "Singing Lady" and Bryllcreem's "a little dab'll do ya !!"

Enter Bob Dorough, jazz pianist and composer. Dorough loved the whole concept, and after spending several weeks immersing himself in his daughter's math text books, Dorough returned with a song, " Three Is A Magic Number!" Upon hearing the song, McCall and his staff were amazed and enthralled. It was EXACTLY what they had been looking for!! McCall set up test recordings of the song in several urban and suburban school districts. Teachers reported back with great enthusiasm!! That was when McCall's colleague, Radford Stone, had an idea. Stone was in charge of McCaffrey and McCall's biggest account -- the ABC Television Network . Stone, who knew that ABC was on the lookout for "pro - social" children's programming, suggested that they take their concept to ABC.

Stone set up a meeting with ABC's Vice President for Children's Programming. He was a young man named Michael Eisner (yes, THAT Michael Eisner)! Eisner invited legendary animator Chuck Jones to join the meeting. McCall played the demo tape with Dorough's "Three Is A Magic Number" and showed Eisner and Jones the storyboard, frame by frame.

At the end of the presentation, Eisner turned to Chuck Jones, and asked "What do you think ?" Jones' reply? "Buy it!!" And THAT is how Schoolhouse Rock burst upon the scene in 1973! Schoolhouse Rock was a beloved, wonderful and integral part of my childhood, and many such childhoods all over the country.

We learned history, biology, math, and language while being entertained. We did not even know we were being taught all of those things!

One of the most innovative things that the creators of Schoolhouse Rock did was to have different styles of music, and no set character for all of the segments. Each segment stands on its own, as its own individual entity.

Songs could be high tempo ("Vibe", and "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here") or they could be slow, even wistful, such as in the haunting "Figure Eight" as sung by the late Blossom Dearie.

People still credit Schoolhouse Rock with making learning fun, helping them pass tests, and even helping them choose their careers in some cases!

Schoolhouse Rock, like other such segments as " Time For Timer", "Woodsy Owl" and the late Christopher Glenn with "In The News" stand tall in their excellence!! Happy 42nd Anniversary to SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK!!

Darn! That's the END!!