In 1972, with the counterculture pretty entrenched in the consciousness of
mainstream America, kids were yearning for new and exciting ways to learn–ways
that reflected the electric and changing times around them. Educators were faced
with a challenge: how could they harness the cooler, healthier aspects of
counterculture lifestyle (rock music, fashion trends, language) with traditional
teaching concepts?

Thomas G. Yohe is the man who eventually hatched the
most fantastic and enduring plan: what better way to teach the must-knows of the
schoolhouse than to do it with rock?

Enter the ingenious Schoolhouse
Rock!, a series of 46 shorts featuring original rock songs and
“hippie-inspired” animated characters penned to teach grammar, history,
economics, and politics to grade-school children.

You know what we’re
talkin’ about.

“I’m Just a Bill?”
“Conjunction
Junction?”
“Interplanet Janet?”

Come on!

Of course, the
show was a rousing success, airing not only throughout the rest of the ’70s but
through the ’80s and ’90s as well, becoming a staple of Saturday morning
television.

Tie-ins to the popular series included a children’s album
and toy premiums from the show’s various sponsors including Nabisco, Kenner
Toys, Kellogg’s, and McDonald’s. A tribute album featuring Moby, Better than
Ezra, Blind Melon, Biz Markie, and others was released in 1996. A special 30th
Anniversary Edition of Schoolhouse Rock! debut on DVD in August of 2002.