Walk up to anyone between the ages of 25 and 35 and speak the words "Conjunction Junction" to them. Rather than get a strange look, or a call for the funny farm, you'll likely receive the answer of "What's Your Function?" No secret code, this was part of the irresistible song/learning series interspersed between Saturday morning cartoons known as "Schoolhouse Rock". And, just more than twenty years later, Schoolhouse Rock: The Box Set has finally seen the light of day.
The history of Schoolhouse Rock was paved with adoration. From the first episode in 1973 with "Three Is A Magic Number", the series continued until 1985. After an outcrying of support from cartoon fans who were disappointed that their childhood favorites had been removed from Saturday mornings, Schoolhouse Rock returned in 1992 with all the "classic" episodes as well as a new subject, Money Rock.
Schoolhouse Rock also featured musically talented associates. Music director Bob Dorough was a renowned jazz artists; Jack Sheldon (the voice behind "Conjunction Junction") served as the musical directory for the Merv Griffin Show for 18 years, while Lynn Ahrens (vocals on "Interplanet Janet") has written three Broadway shows.
Just as most box sets, this is not meant to be absorbed all at once. In fact, of the 47 different original songs spanning four compact discs , many people would initially think that only half of them were essential. However, each of those people would be picking *different* tracks - and therein lies the beauty of the box set. It's a completists' dream, packaged smoothly in a three ring binder, with school "notes" detailing the inspiration behind and the history of the Schoolhouse Rock series.
Most of these songs have never been heard outside of the accompanying videos; only the "Multiplication Rock" series even was pressed onto slabs of vinyl. And just mentioning some of the titles should bring back childhood memories: "Three Is A Magic Number", "Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here", "A Noun Is A Person, Place or Thing", "The Shot Heart 'Round The World", "I'm Just A Bill", "Interplanet Janet" and the classic "Conjunction Junction".
One thing which stands out, even today, is how musically accessible these songs were. In 2 minutes, Schoolhouse Rock covered the gamut from ragtime ("The Body Machine"), gospel ("Them Not So Dry Bones"), doo wop ("A Victim of Gravity"), pop (many other songs), jazz ("Fireworks") and even "Interplanet Janet" sounds a bit like Susan Sarandon in Rocky Horror.
Forget the tribute album with alterna-rockers covering these songs; this is the real deal. The originals. The ones we grew up with. And, if you've got children, let them have the same excitement and learning experiences which we had in the 1970's through ABC's Schoolhouse Rock.
