Jazz musician turned Schoolhouse Rock! composer Bob Dorough died Monday at 94, WNEP reported.
And he was more than just a Bill … er, Bob.
Dorough kicked off his career in 1956 with an album titled Devil May Care. Miles Davis rerecorded the title track and turned it into a jazz standard, per NPR.
Despite that success, Dorough still had a day job at an advertising agency with a boss whose kids couldn't remember multiplication tables. Dorough's boss asked Dorough to set the math to music, and Schoolhouse Rock! was born.
After penning Three is a Magic Number and other multiplication hits, Schoolhouse Rock! was sold to ABC and Dorough stayed on to continue writing educational jams. He didn't love creating grammar songs, per NPR, but Conjunction Junction still became one of his most well-known tunes.
Celebrate Dorough's legacy with this live performance of Conjunction Junction in 2014. Kathryn Krawczyk