Jazz pianist and composer Dave Frishberg passes away at 88. From the London Daily Mail: "Schoolhouse Rock! songwriter and musician Dave Frishberg has died at 88 ... had penned the iconic song I'm Just a Bill"
For people of a certain age, this tune is a marker of childhood, and a nifty civics lesson, too.
Another tune of his that's a favorite of mine is "My Attorney Bernie," and ode to his faithful retainer that is full of witty lyrics. Here is Frishberg performing it on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. It's not the best performance, as he had to rush through it.
I also liked "I'm Hip," particularly the rendition sung by future Schoolhouse Rock collaborator Blossom Dearie, whose ethereal, child-like voice was in "Unpack Your Adjectives" and "Figure Eight". Here she is live in concert, although she employs Frishberg's slight lyric change (in the original, the reference was to Playboy magazine).
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