Paul Jacobs (musician)
Encyclopedia
Paul Ross Jacobs is an American
Emmy award winning composer
and musician
.
. He attended the Juilliard School
and as a child, played at Carnegie Hall
, on television and for Radio Free Europe
. After watching The Beatles
on the Ed Sullivan Show, he started playing guitar. He worked as a session musician
during his high school
years and later on with Meat Loaf
, Roy Buchanan
, and Edgar Winter
.
, who had written a large chunk of the first National Lampoon album, Radio Dinner. Guest was working as a session musician and met Jacobs when they were both performing at the same session. Guest was developing his own songs at the time and asked Jacobs to contribute, and a musical association was born. When Guest was tapped for National Lampoon's Lemmings
in 1973, he brought Jacobs on board.
Jacobs was musical director of the show and album Lemmings. As well as being musical director for the production, he played guitar and piano, and sang lead vocals on several songs.
as a pianist and background vocalist.
. As of 2008, they have written over 100. As of the early 2000s, Jacobs has served as musical director for the PBS
show "Between the Lions
" alongside his wife, and they have won several Emmys for their work on that show, most recently the 2007 Emmy for "Best Original Song In An Animated Children's Series." Jacobs is nominated again for a Daytime Emmy Award
for Best Music Direction and Composition in 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Emmy award winning composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Biography
Jacobs was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He attended the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
and as a child, played at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, on television and for Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
. After watching The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
on the Ed Sullivan Show, he started playing guitar. He worked as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
during his high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
years and later on with Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still...
, and Edgar Winter
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...
.
Early career
Jacobs' association with the National Lampoon came through Christopher GuestChristopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
, who had written a large chunk of the first National Lampoon album, Radio Dinner. Guest was working as a session musician and met Jacobs when they were both performing at the same session. Guest was developing his own songs at the time and asked Jacobs to contribute, and a musical association was born. When Guest was tapped for National Lampoon's Lemmings
National Lampoon's Lemmings
National Lampoon's Lemmings, a spinoff of the humor magazine National Lampoon, was a 1973 stage show which helped launch the performing careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest, and Chevy Chase. The show was co-written and co-directed by a number of people including Sean Kelly...
in 1973, he brought Jacobs on board.
Jacobs was musical director of the show and album Lemmings. As well as being musical director for the production, he played guitar and piano, and sang lead vocals on several songs.
From comedy to rock
After serving as musical director and cast member of "The National Lampoon Show" Jacobs moved on from Lampoon related activities and did a stint in the often-intertwined worlds of musical theater and rock and roll. In 1977, when Steinman staged a workshop production of his life-work "Neverland," Jacobs served as musical director and co-arranged the show's score. A year later, Jacobs joined Meat LoafMeat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
as a pianist and background vocalist.
Children's TV
In 1988, following his departure from active live touring with Meat Loaf, Jacobs and his wife began the task of writing songs for Sesame StreetSesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. As of 2008, they have written over 100. As of the early 2000s, Jacobs has served as musical director for the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
show "Between the Lions
Between the Lions
Between the Lions is a PBS Kids' puppet show designed to promote reading. The show is a co-production between WGBH in Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, in association with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, in Mississippi. The show has won seven Daytime Emmy awards between 2001 and...
" alongside his wife, and they have won several Emmys for their work on that show, most recently the 2007 Emmy for "Best Original Song In An Animated Children's Series." Jacobs is nominated again for a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Best Music Direction and Composition in 2011.