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Bob Dorough
Background information
Birth name	Robert Lrod Dorough
Born	(1923-12-12)December 12, 1923 Cherry Hill, Arkansas, U.S.[1]
Died	April 23, 2018(2018-04-23) (aged 94) Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1940s–2018
Labels	Bethlehem, Music Minus One, Capitol, 52e Rue Est, Red, Blue Note, Arbors, Candid
Associated acts	Sam Most, Bill Takas, Dave Frishberg, Blossom Dearie
Website	www.bobdorough.com

Robert Lrod Dorough (December 12, 1923 – April 23, 2018) was an American bebop and cool jazz vocalist, pianist, composer, songwriter, arranger and producer.^[2][3]

He was perhaps best known as the composer and performer of songs from Schoolhouse Rock!, a series of TV cartoons that appeared on Saturday mornings in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He worked with Miles Davis and Blossom Dearie, and his adventurous style influenced Mose Allison.

Early life

Dorough in 2006

Robert Lrod Dorough was born in Cherry Hill, Polk County, Arkansas and grew up in Plainview, Texas. During World War II, he participated in Army bands as pianist, clarinetist, saxophonist, and arranger.^[4] After that, he attended North Texas State University, where he studied composition and piano.^[5][6]

Career

From 1949–1952 Dorough was a graduate student at Columbia University in New York City, and on the side played piano at local jazz clubs. He was hired for a tour by boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, who had interrupted his boxing career to pursue music. In Paris from 1954–1955 he worked as a musician and musical director, recording with jazz vocalist Blossom Dearie.^[7]

When Dorough returned to the United States, he moved to Los Angeles, where he performed in various clubs, including a job between sets by comedian Lenny Bruce. His first album, Devil May Care, came out in 1956 and contained a version of Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite" with lyrics added by Dorough. Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis liked the album, and in 1962 when Columbia Records asked Davis to make a Christmas record, he sought out Dorough to provide lyrics and vocals. Blue Xmas appeared on the compilation album Jingle Bell Jazz. During that session Dorough recorded another song for Davis, "Nothing Like You," which appeared a few years later at the end of the Sorcerer album, making Dorough one of the few musicians with a vocal performance on a Miles Davis record.

From 1972 to 1996, and for direct-to-video releases in 2002 and 2009, Dorough wrote and directed episodes of Schoolhouse Rock!, an educational animated series that appeared on TV.^[7] He got the job when advertiser David McCall asked him in 1969 to put the multiplication tables to music, with "Three Is a Magic Number" earning him the job as the series' musical director. Dorough wrote all the songs for Multiplication Rock, the first of six eventual subject areas (the others being Grammar Rock, America Rock, Science Rock, Money Rock and Earth Rock, to which he also contributed songs and performances).

With his friend Ben Tucker, Dorough wrote the song "Comin' Home Baby", which gave Mel Tormé a Top 40 hit and two Grammy Award nominations. He was a partner for many years with Stuart Scharf, producing two albums for the folk-pop band Spanky and Our Gang and adding jazz arrangements to their sound.

Dorough was the vocalist for The 44th Street Portable Flower Factory, recording cover versions of popular music for Scholastic Records in the early 1970s.^[8]
Dorough remained with the show from 1973 to 1985.

Later career

From 1985 to 1993 he toured Europe several times with the saxophone player Michael Hornstein, bassist Bill Takas and drummer Fred Braceful.

Dorough worked with Nellie McKay on her 2007 album Obligatory Villagers as well as her 2009 release Normal as Blueberry Pie – A Tribute to Doris Day.

He continued to do occasional work intended for children. He wrote an illustrated book of Blue Xmas and three songs to accompany Maureen Sullivan's books about Carlos the French bulldog: Ankle Soup, Custard and Mustard and Christmas Feet.

Death

Dorough died on April 23, 2018, at his home in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, at the age of 94.^[9][10]

Awards and honors

In December 2007, Dorough was honored by East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania with a Doctor of Fine Arts honorary degree. He received Artist of the Year at the 2002 Pennsylvania Governor's Awards for the Arts.^[11][4]
Dorough received one Grammy nomination for Best Recording for Children in 1974.^[12]
In 1998 Dorough was inducted into the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame.^[13]

Discography

As leader

• 
  Devil May Care (Bethlehem, 1957)


• 
  Jazz Canto Vol. 1 (World Pacific, 1958)


• 
  The Medieval Jazz Quartet Plus Three (MMO/Classic Editions, 1961)


• 
  An Excursion Through "Oliver!": Songs from the Hit Show (Classic Jazz/Inner City, 1963)


• 
  Just About Everything (Focus/Evidence, 1966)


• 
  A Taste of Honey (Music Minus One, 1972)


• 
  Multiplication Rock (Capitol, 1973)


• 
  Beginning to See the Light with Bill Takas (Laissez-Faire, 1976)


• 
  Devil May Care II (52e Rue Est, 1982)


• 
  Sing and Swing with Bill Takas (Red, 1984)


• 
  Clankin' on Tin Pan Alley with Bill Takas (Bloomdido, 1986)


• 
  Songs of Love (Orange Blue, 1988)


• 
  Skabadabba (Pinnacle, 1987)


• 
  To Communicate (1987)


• 
  Formerly Not for Sale (1987)


• 
  This is a Recording (Laissez-Faire, 1990)


• 
  Wild Times at the Waterhole with Bernie Krause (Wild Sanctuary, 1991)


• 
  Memorial Charlie Parker with Bill Takas (Philology, 1992)


• 
  Right on My Way Home (Blue Note, 1997)


• 
  Too Much Coffee Man (Blue Note, 2000)


• 
  Who's On First? with Dave Frishberg (Blue Note, 2000)


• 
  Sunday at Iridium (Arbors, 2004)


• 
  The Houston Branch (CD Baby/Dees Bees, 2005)


• 
  Small Day Tomorrow (Candid, 2006)


• 
  The Devil's Best Tunes (Fingertips, 2011)


• 
  Duets (COTAjazz, 2012)


• 
  Eulalia (CD Baby/Merry Lane, 2014)


• 
  But For Now (Enja, 2015)

Singles

• "Ankle Soup" (2011)


• "Christmas Feet" (2011)


• "Custard and Mustard" (2011)


• "'P' is for the People" (2011)

As sideman or guest

• 
  Sam Most: Bebop Revisited, Vol. 3 (Xanadu, 1953)


• 
  Buddy Banks Quartet: Jazz in Paris – Buddy Banks/Bobby Jaspar – Jazz de Chambre (EmArcy, 1956)


• Sam Most: Sam Most Plays Bird, Bud, Monk and Miles (Bethlehem, 1957)


• 
  Miles Davis: Facets (Columbia,1967)


• 
  Miles Davis: Sorcerer (Columbia, 1967)


• Various: That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk (A&M, 1984)


• 
  Harold Danko: Alone But Not Forgotten (Sunnyside, 1985/86)


• 
  John Zorn: Naked City: Grand Guignol (Avant, 1992)


• 
  Michael Hornstein: Innocent Gem (Enja, 1995)


• 
  Hoagy's Children, Vol. 1 (Audiophile, 1994)


• 
  Hoagy's Children, Vol. 2 (Audiophile, 1994)


• Various: Jazzmass (COTA, 1995)


• 
  Blossom Dearie: I'm Hip (Columbia, 1998)


• Various: The Reasons for Christmas Project (PATH, 2003)


• 
  Nellie McKay: Obligatory Villagers (Vanguard, 2007)


• 
  Nellie McKay: Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day (Verve Records, 2009)


• Various Artists: Jazz Canto Vol. 1 (an anthology of poetry and jazz) (Righteous, 2009)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bob Dorough.

• Official website


• 
  Bob Dorough at AllMusic
  


• 
  Bob Dorough on IMDb


• Albin, Scott. Essential Bob Dorough Recordings at Jazz.com