Conjunction Junction: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox television episode | |||
| series = [[Schoolhouse Rock!]] | |||
{{ | | image = | ||
| image_size = | |||
| alt = | |||
| caption = | |||
| season = 2 | |||
| episode = 3 | |||
| director = | |||
| writer = [[Bob Dorough]] | |||
| airdate = {{Start date|1973|11|17}} | |||
| length = 4:13 | |||
| guests = | |||
| prev = Verb: That's What's Happening | |||
| next = Interjections! | |||
| episode_list = List of Schoolhouse Rock! episodes | |||
}} | }} | ||
"'''Conjunction Junction'''" is a song written by [[Bob Dorough]] as part of the ''[[Schoolhouse Rock!]]'' series of educational songs and videos. It aired on November 17, 1973, with vocals from the celebrated jazz artist [[Jack Sheldon]], who also appears in [[I'm Just a Bill]].<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0952263/ "Schoolhouse Rock!" Conjunction Junction (1973)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> It is "by far the most recognized Schoolhouse Rock tune" according to Bob Newall and Yohe. | |||
The frequent refrain of the song is "Conjunction Junction, what's your function? Hookin' up words and phrases and clauses." Conjunction Junction was one of seven Grammar Rock episodes, which made up the second season of ''Schoolhouse Rock!.'' To teach [[Grammatical conjunction|conjunctions]] and their purpose of joining clauses with ''and'', ''but'', ''or'', and ''nor'', the song uses the metaphor of a [[railway junction]] connecting [[railroad cars]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schoolhouse Rock! {{!}} Conjunction Junction, I'm Just a Bill, Songs, Punctuation, Geography, & Grammar {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Schoolhouse-Rock |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> | |||
== Episode == | |||
The main character is an unnamed train conductor with wire-framed glasses, blue overalls and a red bandana. He connects boxcars representing words, phrases, and clauses with the conjunction boxcars that read "AND", "BUT", and "OR". while two [[hobo]]s frying fish, riding in a [[hot air balloon]], and drinking tea with the conductor. Also featured are the duck and the drake, a woman tied up onto the railroad tracks. At the very end, the conductor waves from the caboose. | |||
The idea of a railyard where words and phrases get hooked together came from George Newall. Tom Yohe created the storyboard and sketched the conductor, while Bill Peckmann add several side characters.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
{{quote box | |||
| quote = "The whole idea is: What are you up to? What's your function? What are you seeking?" <br> | |||
– [[Bob Dorough]], Conjunction Junction songwriter<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=Department of Education Changes Tune to 'Schoolhouse Rock' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/education-department-plays-schoolhouse-rock-callers-hold/story?id=10520920 |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| align = right | |||
| width = 30% | |||
}} | |||
== Production == | |||
Conjunction Junction was [[Jack Sheldon]]'s ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' singing debut, and he went on to provide vocals for the classic, [[I'm Just a Bill]], as well<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-02 |title='Schoolhouse Rock!' singer and jazz legend Jack Sheldon dies at 88 |url=https://www.kvue.com/article/news/nation-world/schoolhouse-rock-singer-and-jazz-legend-jack-sheldon-dies-at-88/507-25f51f88-af8e-469e-bd1e-bb92cee920e8 |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=kvue.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Sheldon was the well known television sidekick of [[Merv Griffin]] and a celebrated trumpet player. Sheldon played trumpet on the track, and credited the success of ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' to its deep roots in jazz: "When we made Conjunction Junction, it was me and [[Teddy Edwards]] and [[Nick Ceroli]] and [[Leroy Vinnegar|Leroy Vinegar]] and [[Bob Dorough]] played the piano. That’s a jazz band…it was really nothing to do with rock. It was always jazz, but we said rock and roll, so everybody loved it for rock and roll."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Watch the Original Schoolhouse Rock Composers Sing "Conjunction Junction" and "I'm Just a Bill" Live in Concert {{!}} Open Culture |url=https://www.openculture.com/2023/05/watch-original-schoolhouse-rock-composers-sing-conjunction-junction.html |access-date=2025-09-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> The group of celebrated jazz performers, which also included [[Dave Frishberg]] on piano and [[Stuart Scharf|Stuard Scharf]] on guitar, recorded Conjunction Junction and I'm Just a Bill (which was released two years later) in [[Los Angeles]] on the same day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boone |first=Brian |date=2023-10-23 |title=The Untold Truth Of Schoolhouse Rock! |url=https://www.grunge.com/1427122/untold-truth-schoolhouse-rock/ |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=Grunge |language=en-US}}</ref> Bob Dorough asked Terry Morel, a jazz singer who was in town, to sing the chorus on the demo tape with Mary Sue Berry on harmony, and the recording ended up being the final cut.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Newall |first=George |title=Schoolhouse Rock! The unofficial guide |last2=Yohe |first2=Tom |publisher=Hyperion |year=1996 |isbn=0-7868-8170-4}}</ref> | |||
== Legacy == | |||
''Schoolhouse Rock!'' creators George Newall and Tom Yohe wrote more than twenty years after the song's release that "you can sit at your restaurant table, look up at your twenty- or thirty-something waiter or waitress, say "Conjunction Junction," and chances are you'll get the same enthusiastic reply every time: 'What's your function?'"<ref name=":0" /> | |||
In live performances by songwriter Bob Dorough, Conjunction Junction was the crowd favorite along with [[I'm Just a Bill]] and The Preamble. | |||
An undergraduate English student at the [[University of Connecticut]] organized a petition in 1991 to bring back ''Schoolhouse Rock!'', which taught her conjunctions.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1991-02-15 |title=Can petition turn back the clock on 'Schoolhouse Rock?' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-can-petition-turn-back/180240949/ |access-date=2025-09-02 |work=Hartford Courant |pages=77}}</ref> | |||
A parody of it called ‘Norfolk Southern! What’s your Function?’ is a parody of the song, for Class 1 railroad [[Norfolk Southern Railway|Norfolk Southern]]. | |||
Conjunction Junction appeared in the 1994 film ''[[Reality Bites]]'' with [[Ben Stiller]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sAsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA108&dq=%22conjunction+junction%22+schoolhouse+rock&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiO3NPjh7qPAxXohIkEHca_FWEQ6AF6BAgGEAM#v=onepage&q=%22conjunction%20junction%22%20schoolhouse%20rock&f=false |title=Billboard |date=1995-02-04 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |language=en}}</ref> In 2010, Conjunction Junction became the [[Music on hold|hold music]] for the [[United States Department of Education]], replacing previous [[elevator music]] that the Deputy Chief of Staff Matthew Yale described as "awful, awful, just awful".<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=Department of Education Changes Tune to 'Schoolhouse Rock' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/education-department-plays-schoolhouse-rock-callers-hold/story?id=10520920 |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> | |||
=== Better Than Ezra cover === | |||
On the 1990s-released album ''Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks'', the song is covered by [[Better Than Ezra]]. | |||
== See also == | |||
* [[Three Is a Magic Number]] | |||
* [[I'm Just a Bill]] | |||
== References == | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
== External links == | |||
* {{IMDb episode|id=0952263}} | |||
* [http://www.schoolhouserock.tv/Conjunction.html Lyrics and link to video] | |||
[[Category:1973 songs]] | |||
[[Category:Schoolhouse Rock!]] | |||
Latest revision as of 05:52, 21 December 2025
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"Conjunction Junction" is a song written by Bob Dorough as part of the Schoolhouse Rock! series of educational songs and videos. It aired on November 17, 1973, with vocals from the celebrated jazz artist Jack Sheldon, who also appears in I'm Just a Bill.[1] It is "by far the most recognized Schoolhouse Rock tune" according to Bob Newall and Yohe.
The frequent refrain of the song is "Conjunction Junction, what's your function? Hookin' up words and phrases and clauses." Conjunction Junction was one of seven Grammar Rock episodes, which made up the second season of Schoolhouse Rock!. To teach conjunctions and their purpose of joining clauses with and, but, or, and nor, the song uses the metaphor of a railway junction connecting railroad cars.[2]
Episode
The main character is an unnamed train conductor with wire-framed glasses, blue overalls and a red bandana. He connects boxcars representing words, phrases, and clauses with the conjunction boxcars that read "AND", "BUT", and "OR". while two hobos frying fish, riding in a hot air balloon, and drinking tea with the conductor. Also featured are the duck and the drake, a woman tied up onto the railroad tracks. At the very end, the conductor waves from the caboose.
The idea of a railyard where words and phrases get hooked together came from George Newall. Tom Yohe created the storyboard and sketched the conductor, while Bill Peckmann add several side characters.[3]
<templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />
"The whole idea is: What are you up to? What's your function? What are you seeking?"
– Bob Dorough, Conjunction Junction songwriter[4]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Production
Conjunction Junction was Jack Sheldon's Schoolhouse Rock! singing debut, and he went on to provide vocals for the classic, I'm Just a Bill, as well[5] Sheldon was the well known television sidekick of Merv Griffin and a celebrated trumpet player. Sheldon played trumpet on the track, and credited the success of Schoolhouse Rock! to its deep roots in jazz: "When we made Conjunction Junction, it was me and Teddy Edwards and Nick Ceroli and Leroy Vinegar and Bob Dorough played the piano. That’s a jazz band…it was really nothing to do with rock. It was always jazz, but we said rock and roll, so everybody loved it for rock and roll."[6] The group of celebrated jazz performers, which also included Dave Frishberg on piano and Stuard Scharf on guitar, recorded Conjunction Junction and I'm Just a Bill (which was released two years later) in Los Angeles on the same day.[7] Bob Dorough asked Terry Morel, a jazz singer who was in town, to sing the chorus on the demo tape with Mary Sue Berry on harmony, and the recording ended up being the final cut.[3]
Legacy
Schoolhouse Rock! creators George Newall and Tom Yohe wrote more than twenty years after the song's release that "you can sit at your restaurant table, look up at your twenty- or thirty-something waiter or waitress, say "Conjunction Junction," and chances are you'll get the same enthusiastic reply every time: 'What's your function?'"[3]
In live performances by songwriter Bob Dorough, Conjunction Junction was the crowd favorite along with I'm Just a Bill and The Preamble.
An undergraduate English student at the University of Connecticut organized a petition in 1991 to bring back Schoolhouse Rock!, which taught her conjunctions.[8]
A parody of it called ‘Norfolk Southern! What’s your Function?’ is a parody of the song, for Class 1 railroad Norfolk Southern.
Conjunction Junction appeared in the 1994 film Reality Bites with Ben Stiller.[9] In 2010, Conjunction Junction became the hold music for the United States Department of Education, replacing previous elevator music that the Deputy Chief of Staff Matthew Yale described as "awful, awful, just awful".[4]
Better Than Ezra cover
On the 1990s-released album Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks, the song is covered by Better Than Ezra.
See also
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ "Schoolhouse Rock!" Conjunction Junction (1973)
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External links
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- Lyrics and link to video