Bob Dorough

BOB DOROUGH, born in Arkansas and raised in Texas, immediately fell in love with music upon joining the Plainview Texas High School Band. He served three years in a Special Services Army Band Unit, gaining much professional experience as arranger, clarinetist, saxophonist, pianist, and entertainer (1943-45).
After earning a Bachelor Of Music degree at the University of North Texas (1949), he made a bee-line for New York City where he took classes at Columbia University and immersed himself in the volatile jazz scene then taking place there -the BeBop revolution. In 1952 he turned his back on the academic scene to devote himself to jazz performance, specializing in piano/vocals. After years of accompanying, conducting, arranging, and playing, he made his first recording as a leader (1956) for the Bethlehem label....DEVIL MAY CARE, having written the title tune three years earlier. He is known as the only singer to record with Miles Davis. While this may not be 100% true, he did record two vocals with Davis, in 1962, Nothing Like You and Blue Xmas, both of which he composed.
Davis also recorded an instrumental version of Bob's classic song, Devil May Care, that same year.
In 1971 he received a commission to set the multiplication tables to music. This led to a small industry, being the beginning of ABC-TV's SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK, Saturday morning cartoons that entertained and instructed unsuspecting children during the years 1973-1985. The impact of this media exposure was unpredictably immense. The show came back for another five years in the 90's and is now enjoying its 40th anniversary with a DVD edition of the entire, five-subject series, for which Dorough worked as the Musical Director.
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- Saluting the 2019 Jazz Masters Maria Schneider and Bob Dorough
- Bob Dorough: NEA Jazz Master & More
- For Today, Tomorrow and Always - A 2018 Retrospective
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- But For Now by Dan Bilawsky
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Read more articlesApril 27, 2018
April 24, 2018
December 17, 2011
Bob Dorough to Perform Sunday, January 15 at the Bistro at Grand Center
July 28, 2010
Devil May Care: The Bob Dorough Movie
July 17, 2009
'Oliver!' Like You've Never Heard It Before
May 02, 2007
Singer/Pianist Bob Dorough Plays Jazz at Pearl's May 4-6
March 20, 2007
The Great Bob Dorough at Sweet Rhythm Tonight! Tuesday, March 20th
February 12, 2007
Bob Dorough & Skip Heller Pay Tribute to Phila Pianist Eric Spiegel in...
February 03, 2006
Blossom Dearie & Bob Dorough LIVE CD!
October 12, 2005
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