Schoolhouse Rock
was an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming on
ABC. The topics covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. The series' original run lasted from 1973 to 1985, and was later revived with both old and new episodes airing from 1993 to 1999. Additional episodes were produced as recently as 2009 for direct-to-video release.
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It began as a commercial advertising venture by David
McCall. The idea came to him 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. 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 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
VP 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.
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 also included Nabisco, Kenner Toys, Kellogg's, and McDonald's. During the early 1970s, Schoolhouse Rock was one of several short-form animated educational shorts that aired on ABC's children's
lineup.
After leaving the airwaves in 1985, the original team reunited to produce two more Grammar Rock segments ("Busy Prepositions" and "The Tale of Mr. Morton") for television in 1993. This was followed in 1995 by a brand new series, "Money Rock," which discussed topics related to money management on both the personal and governmental scale. Episodes from the new series aired in rotation with the original segments from 1994 to 1996.
The Walt Disney Company acquired Schoolhouse Rock in 1996 along with its acquisition of ABC owner Capital Cities Communications; Schoolhouse Rock was one of only two children's shows (The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show being the other) to continue airing (albeit in reruns) after the transition to One Saturday Morning. The series as a whole ceased airing on television in 2000 with newer episodes released directly to home video. Starting 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. For the new song, Tom Yohe Jr. took over as lead designer for his father, Tom 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 the 2008 DVD "Schoolhouse Rock! Election Collection," which centered on songs relating to American history and government.
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METRO
ARCHIVES-SEPTEMBER 1998
McCARTY
METRO DATELINE NEWS
Dateline: 1998 Dan McCarty Memorial: Due to an overwhelming demand by the McCartys, these new rules will be implemented effective next year...
1. Teams with matching shirts are allowed to skip
water hazards.
2. Long drives include the initial drive plus one kick.
3. Golfers who kneel to evaluate breaks in greens will be shot.
4. All golf carts will be equipped with passenger-side air bags.
5. No shirt, no shoes, no dice
Dateline Greystone: Not to say that Chris McCarty's team did not know much about golf, but when Chris picked up his team in his mini van, one of his high school buddies noticed a bunch of golf tees on the front seat and asked, "What are those things for?" Chris said, "They're to hold my balls when I drive." "Wow," his buddy said, "these Chrysler products have everything, don't they?
Dateline Grand Rapids: Papa, from Papa Romano's Pizzaria, was nominated by Mike McCarty as the best damn 2 handed waiter in the city. Mike says, "Although he could only get 2 drinks at a time, he didn't even flinch at the fact that we had an odd number of people in our party, and that's impressive." Papa would have been there to accept the award, but he had to make a delivery. He did state though, in no uncertain terms, that he would be back in 10 minutes or less.
Dateline Clinton Township: Well, I don't have to tell you that the song "Waterloo" by Abba is sweeping the nation due to the efforts of "record boy" Eric Swan. Eric states, "Even though I only know one word (waterloo) in the whole song, it sure is a catchy tune. Eric can be seen at "The Wellington Pub" on Thursday nights singing "Waterloo" along with other one word hits like, "HEY", (that rock song they sing at sporting events), and "Ha ha ha ha, Wipe Out", from Wipe Out (technically 3 words, but just shows you the versatility of this fine entertainer).
Dateline Tennessee: LC Productions is expanding its' entertainment division. President and CEO (and the only employee) Larry McCarty was touring the Southwest when he stopped to entertain in a Tennessee bar. Larry went through his tribute to Elvis song medley when he started his ventriloquism show. He went through his usual stupid redneck jokes, when a big burly guy in the audience stood up and said threateningly, "I've heard just about enough of your smart mouth hillbilly jokes-we ain't all stupid here in Tennessee!" Flustered, Larry began to apologize, when the big guy interrupted him and said, "You stay out of this mister-I'm talking to the smart mouthed little fella on your knee!"
BACK
TO SCHOOL REPORT:
IS YOUR KID A DWEEB? How to tell by
Jerry McCarty
DOES
YOUR CHILD...
1. Spend
hours in a Star Trek Voyager chat room?
2. Wear a elastic eyeglass holder when playing
chess?
3. Have his beanie baby collection alphabetized
on a computer?
4. Have a Bill Gates poster in his locker?
5. Have permanent creases in his underpants due
to wedgies?
6. Have John Tesh stickers on his/her
skateboard?
7. Want to borrow your black leather pants and
skinny ties?
8. Wear a helmet when not riding a bike?
9. Says his favorite Spice Girl is
"Oregano?"
10. Cut the end off a signed Bobby Hull hockey
stick to play street hockey?
SCORING
For every yes answer, give yourself 1 point
Pts
Comments
0
Follow
up with a DNA test, this may not be
McCarty kid
1-3
This
kid has overcome hereditary obstacles
4-6
There's
a swirly waiting with this kid's name
on it
7-9
Lock
your kid in a room with a Squirrel Nut
Zippers cd
10
Ladies
and gentlemen! Your Disc Jockey For
This Evening... Mr. Brad Savage
DO YOU
REMEMBER - MARK "THE BIRD" FIDRYCH?
Mark Fidrych, nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers (1976–1980).
In 1976, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA, won the AL Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19-9 record.
In the 1974 amateur draft
Mark Fidrych was selected in the 10th round by the Detriot Tigers & later joked that when he got a call saying he had been drafted he thought he was drafted into the military not thinking there were any teams looking at him. In the minor leagues one of his coaches with the Lakeland Tigers dubbed the lanky 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher "The Bird" because of his resemblance to the "Big Bird" character of the 1970s Sesame Street television
program.
Fidrych made the Tigers as a non-roster invitee out of the 1976 spring training, not making his major-league debut until April 20, and not making his first start until mid-May. He only made that start because the scheduled starting pitcher had the flu. Fidrych responded by throwing six no-hit innings, ending the game with a 2-1 victory in which he gave up only two hits. He went on to win 19 games, led the league in ERA (2.34) and complete games (24), was the starting pitcher in that year's All-Star
Game. In the process he captured the imagination of fans with his antics on the field.
Every time he pitched, Tiger Stadium was jam-packed with adoring fans who became known as "Bird Watchers".
He would crouch down on the pitcher's mound and fix cleat marks, what became known as "manicuring the mound", talk to himself, talk to the ball, aim the ball like a dart, strut around the mound after every out, and throw back balls that "had hits in them," insisting they be removed from the game. Mark Fidrych also was known for shaking everyone's hands after a game. On June 28, 1976, he pitched against the New York Yankees in a nationally televised game on ABC; the Tigers won the game 5-1. After a game filled with "Bird" antics in which he and his team handily defeated the Yankees, Fidrych became a national celebrity.
Fidrych's fan appeal was also enhanced by the fact that he had his own "personal catcher". Because Tigers coaching and managerial staff were somewhat superstitious about "jinxing" Fidrych's success, Bruce Kimm, a rookie catcher, caught each of Fidrych's outings. It became common to hear the crowd chant "we want the Bird, we want the Bird" at the end of each of his home victories. The chants would continue until he emerged from the dugout to tip his cap to the crowd. While these "curtain calls" have become more common in modern sports, they were not so in the mid-'70s baseball. In his 18 appearances, attendance equaled almost half of the entire season's 81 home games. Teams started asking Detroit to change its pitching rotation so Fidrych could pitch in their
ballparks.
Fidrych also drew attention for the simple, bachelor lifestyle he led in spite of his fame, driving a green subcompact car, living in a small Detroit apartment, wondering aloud if he could afford to answer all of his fan mail on his league-minimum $16,500 salary, and telling people that if he hadn't been a pitcher, he'd work pumping gas in Northborough.
After his first season, the Tigers gave him a $25,000 bonus and signed him to a three-year contract worth $255,000. Economists estimated that the extra attendance Fidrych generated around the league in 1976 was worth more than $1 million.
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METRO PHOTO BLAST
4th Of July - 1990
Larry Amanda Dad Kevin Rick & Sara
CARTOON CHARACTER
Can
You Guess
This Cartoon Character?
LAST
MONTH'S ANSWER
Trusty From Lady
& The Tramp
.
No One Got It
Correct
GUESS
THE YEAR OF THESE SONGS
.
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
2 Legit 2 Quit - MC Hammer
Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton
Jump Around - House Of Pain
When A Man Loves A Woman - Michael Bolton
