The educational television series Schoolhouse Rock! debuted as a series in 1973.
The ABC program used short animated songs to teach subjects including multiplication, grammar, science, history, civics, and economics. Its first season, Multiplication Rock, turned multiplication tables into memorable musical segments, helping make the show a classroom-adjacent staple for generations of children.
There is an important date distinction. The first Schoolhouse Rock! video, “Three Is a Magic Number,” premiered in 1971 during an episode of Curiosity Shop. The program itself did not debut as a regular series until January 1973, when Multiplication Rock began airing.
The original run continued from 1973 to 1985. ABC later revived the series from 1993 to 1996, and additional material was released for home video in 2009. Songs such as “Conjunction Junction” and “I’m Just a Bill” became especially well known beyond the show’s original Saturday-morning television audience.