Biography
Bob Dorough was, amongst many things, an adventurous, risk-taking master of vocalese and scat singing who directly or indirectly influenced Mark Murphy, Michael Franks, Mose Allison, and Kurt Elling. The Arkansas native started out on piano in the 1940s, then took up singing in the early ’50s (when he played for boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, an entertainer at the time). From 1954-1955, Dorough lived in Paris, where he recorded with singer Blossom Dearie. The improviser launched his own recording career when he signed with Bethlehem in 1955 and recorded the excellent “Devil May Care,” which introduced the defiant title song and lyrics to Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite.” In 1962, Dorough co-wrote “Comin’ Home Baby” (a hit for Mel Tormé) with Ben Tucker, and in 1966, he recorded his second album, “Just About Everything,” for Focus. In the early ’70s, he began writing and directing the popular series of educational children’s TV programs, Schoolhouse Rock. Though instructional material became his bread and butter, Dorough recorded jazz dates for 52 Rue East, Orange Blue, Pinnacle, Boomdido, Laissez-Faire, and other labels in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1997, a 73-year-old Dorough received some long-overdue attention from a major label when he signed with Blue Note Records for the release of Right on My Way Home. Too Much Coffee Man came out in the spring of 2000 and was quickly followed by the live duo album Who’s On First with Dave Frishberg.
