Schoolhouse Rock!
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Schoolhouse Rock! is a U.S. series of fifty-two educational short films featuring songs about schoolhouse topics, including grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and politics. Originally conceived by Thomas G. Yohe in 1972, the shorts were broadcast on the ABC television network in the U.S. between 1973 and 1986. They were then broadcast infrequently during the 1990s and 2000s with new shows created between 1993 and 1996.
Often viewed with nostalgia by members of both late Baby Boomers and Generation X, Schoolhouse Rock! has become part of American popular culture.
The word "rock" is something of a misnomer, as only a few of the songs are in rock format (e.g., "Elementary, My Dear" and the progressive rock-like "Little Twelvetoes"). The rest are either jazz (e.g., "I'm Just a Bill," "Figure Eight"), blues ("Naughty Number Nine"), or straight pop songs (e.g., "A Noun Is a Person, Place, or Thing," "Interjections!," "No More Kings").
Portions of "Three Is A Magic Number" were also sampled and used in a song entitled "The Magic Number" by hip-hop group De La Soul on their album 3 Feet High and Rising. "Three Is A Magic Number" is notable for its musical sophistication and its use of the kalimba.