[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 202 (Friday, November 19, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING DAVE FRISHBERG

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, Oregon is mourning a Portland treasure, 
Dave Frishberg, who passed away on November 17.
  While perhaps best known for writing the song ``I'm Just a Bill'' for 
the iconic Schoolhouse Rock television series, Dave was also a virtuoso 
pianist with a songwriting gift that reached far beyond his work for 
that classic series. During his career, Dave worked with a wide array 
of talented musicians, including Rosemary Clooney, Gene Krupa, and Zoot 
Sims. A versatile composer, his compositions ranged from melancholy 
ballads to satirical ditties, and his wry wit was well known as one of 
the sharpest in the business.
  Dave has left an indelible mark not only on Capitol Hill, where one 
frequently sees references to ``I'm Just A Bill'' on floor charts and 
in press releases, but also in the minds of generations of young 
Americans lucky enough to grow up watching Schoolhouse Rock with the 
lyrics still etched in their memories decades later.
  David Lee Frishberg was born on March 23, 1933, in Saint Paul, MN. He 
took an early interest in jazz, bebop, and boogie woogie as a teen, 
while playing as a house musician in Saint Paul. Noting in his memoir, 
``Jazz musicians were hip, they were funny, they were sensitive, they 
were clannish, and they seemed to have the best girlfriends.'' In 1957, 
Dave moved to New York City, where he established himself as a pianist 
in the vibrant music scene of Greenwich Village. While in New York, he 
wrote and performed other well-known songs such as ``My Attorney 
Bernie'' and ``Peel Me a Grape.'' He moved to Los Angeles in 1971, 
where he earned acclaim in the jazz and comedy scenes through his work 
with Schoolhouse Rock and his ``Dave Frishberg Songbook'' series. An 
unassuming vocalist with a reedy voice, Frishberg was nominated four 
times during his career for Grammy awards, all for Best Jazz Vocals.
  Dave, who called Portland his home for the past 35 years and is 
survived by his wife April Magnusson and two sons from a previous 
marriage, inspired millions of schoolchildren and music lovers across 
Oregon and the entire country. He will be greatly missed, even as his 
legacy lives on for generations to come.

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