Big Chuck Asks: “Why Have I Never Heard Of Schoolhouse Rock and I’m Just A Bill?” (VIDEO)

THIS IS A THROW BACK THURSDAY POST FROM 2 YEARS AGO!

Boy, this is a new one for me!

As you may be aware, my partner at the station, "Dan the Man," is a lot younger than I am.  A lot.  Which is fine and can be fun for me.

He sits each morning and looks at me wide-eyed in amazement as I share stories with my listeners about air raid drills in my elementary school, our family buying a new vacuum cleaner by trading in something called "Green Stamps," enjoying my favorite 45-rpm on  something called a "record player," and my mother getting her new dishes from the inside of a box of something DUZ Soap.

Well, this morning Dan turned the tables on me.  He asked me if I had ever heard of "I'm Just a Bill," a song from the television show Schoolhouse Rock.

I had never heard of the song or the show!  So I looked it up.

Schoolhouse Rock was a children's animated show which featured many important issues of the day (Space, Grammar, Science, Politics, etc.) in song/ditty segments.  "I'm Just a Bill" (which aired first aired this week in 1975) is one of the most memorable of these little short clips.  It follows a legislative document through the process of becoming a bill.  It is totally charming.

"I'm Just a Bill" was written by David Frishberg, now 79, who started as a piano player for the legendary Billie Holiday and became one of the most successful songwriters of his generation.  The song is sung by the great Jack Sheldon, now 81, who is a famed trumpeter and wit.  Sheldon was the long time sidekick and band leader on the Merv Griffin Show.  His trumpet can be heard playing the famous solo in the hit song "The Shadow of Your Smile."

"Ladies and Gentlemen...may I salute and present to you, on its birthday, "I'm Just a Bill."