Bob Dorough of ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ is dead at 94

MOUNT BETHEL, Pa. – A musician whose songs helped teach children on ABC’s “Schoolhouse Rock” has died.

His son, Chris, says 94-year-old Bob Dorough died of natural causes Monday at his home in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania.

According to his biography, the jazz musician “set the multiplication tables to music” as musical director for the educational cartoon series between 1973 and 1985. It was revived from 1993 to 1999.

He also wrote the song “Devil May Care,” which jazz great Miles Davis recorded as an instrumental version.

Dorough was born in Arkansas and raised in Texas. He headed to New York City after graduating from the University of North Texas in 1949. He eventually settled in Pennsylvania.

A funeral is tentatively scheduled for Monday in Mount Bethel.