Schoolhouse Rock!

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 1973 and 1985, and infrequently during the 1990s and 2000s, with new shows created between 1993 and 1996, and later direct-to-video in 2002 and 2009.
==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. video: America Rock, packaged as commercial video, 1987Unofficial history of Schoolhouse Rock!
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, with reruns moving to Toon Disney.
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. 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 BySchoolhouserock.tv	Lyrics By 	Performed By 	First Aired
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 	Lyrics By 	Performed By 	First Aired
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 	Lyrics By 	Performed By 	First Aired
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.http://www.ultimatedisney.com/schoolhouserock-election.html
===Science Rock===
Song Title 	Subject 	Music By 	Lyrics By 	Performed By 	First Aired
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 Dave Mackey's Guide to Schoolhouse Rock
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 	Lyrics By 	Performed By 	First Aired
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 	Lyrics By 	Performed By 	First AiredDave Mackey's Guide to Schoolhouse Rock
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==
Between 1995 and 1997, Creative Wonders (a joint venture between ABC and Electronic Arts) released several computer games based on Schoolhouse Rock!
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.
===Home video releases===
The franchise was first released on VHS in 1987 by Golden Book Video, under the ABC Kidavision label, hosted by actress Cloris Leachman. Golden Books' release removed several songs from its releases.
In 1995, the series was re-released by ABC Video, including every song from the series. In 1998, the entire series was re-released on VHS by Disney, which had acquired ABC in 1996.
===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.http://www.ultimatedisney.com/schoolhouserock-election.html 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
 	Schoolhouse Rock!- Special 30th Anniversary Edition 	51 	August 26, 2002 	
*All 46 original episodes
*Audio Commentary
*"I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College" Making Of
*Long Lost Song "The Weather Show"
*Top Ten Jukebox
*Top 20 Countdown
*"Earn Your Diploma" Trivia Game
*Arrange-a-Song Puzzle
*4 Music Videos by Contemporary Artists
*Emmy Awards Featurette
*"Three is a Magic Number" Nike Commercial
*"I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College" in DTS 5.1 Surround
*Three of the four Computer Rock segments
 	Schoolhouse Rock-Election Collection 	14 	September 23, 2008	
*10 America Rock songs, 1 Science Rock song, and 3 Money Rock songs
*Bonus song: "Presidential Minute" (includes two endings)
*Map of the United States
 	Schoolhouse Rock!-Earthhttp://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Schoolhouse-Rock-Earth/10753	13 	March 31, 2009 	
*11 all-new songs about conservation
*Bonus Song: "The Energy Blues"
*Music video: "The Three Rs" by Mitchell Musso
==Gallery==
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==References==
==External links==
*Lyrics and other information on Schoolhouse Rock
*Podcast on the history of Schoolhouse Rock
==See also==
*Schoolhouse Rock Songs
Category:Schoolhouse Rock!
Category:ABC
Category:Disney shows
Category:Educational films
Category:Emmy Award winning shows
Category:Disney Educational Productions
Category:Acquired shows