Bob Dorough dead: Schoolhouse Rock composer who wrote 'Conjunction Junction' and '3 is a Magic Number' dies aged 94

Series of animated short educational videos were enjoyed by generations of children every Saturday morning during the 70's and 80's

A jazz pianist and vocalist, Dorough wrote his first Schoolhouse Rock tune in 1971 (Getty)

Bob Dorough, the musician known for writing and performing many of the beloved songs on Schoolhouse Rock, has died aged 94.

His granddaughter Corin Wolf did not disclose his exact cause of death, but told CNN that he was diagnosed with cancer last year.

Schoolhouse Rock was a series of short, educational cartoons shown on Saturday mornings in America during the 1970s and 1980s.

Generations of children learned grammar and maths by listening to songs including Dorough's famous "Conjunction Junction" and "Three Is A Magic Number". "Conjunction Junction" was performed by Gwyneth Paltrow in an episode of the musical dramdey Glee.

Dorough wrote and/or sang all 11 of the songs featured on Multiplication Rock, which helped to launch the Schoolhouse Rock phenomenon in 1973.

He also contributed to several episodes in the collections which taught viewers about science, American history, money, grammar, maths, and later on - to be conscious of the environment.

A jazz pianist and vocalist, Dorough wrote his first Schoolhouse Rock tune after he was approached by a New York advertising executive in 1971. The executive explained that his sons couldn't multiply numbers, and asked Dorough to set the times tables to music, which resulted in "3 Is A Magic Number".

In 2013 he told CNN that he believed the songs resonated so much because "even though they were in a 'rock' or 'pop' bag, my jazz sensibilities and the fine musicians I used for the audio recordings made the songs seem unusual to the Saturday morning cartoon listener."