Sean Altman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Sean Altman (born May 9, 1961) is an American musician and songwriter. He is a founder and former lead singer (tenor) of the a capella musical group Rockapella and a pioneer of the modern a cappella movement. He was a member of Rockapella from its inception in 1986 until he left the group in 1997 to launch a solo career.
As a founding member of Rockapella, Altman is best remembered for his role on the PBS children's geography game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, as the band served as the house vocal band and comedy troupe. Altman and his childhood friend David Yazbek co-wrote the show's theme song, which is recognized as one of the best-known television themes in history. Rockapella released seven albums in Japan and two in the United States during Altman's eleven-year tenure.
As a subsequent solo artist, Altman has released three solo albums on the independent Chow Fun Records: seanDEMOnium (1997), alt.mania (2002), and Losing Streak (2005). In 2008, Altman's solo comedy song act Jewmongous released the debut album Taller Than Jesus (Chow Fun Records), about which The Washington Post wrote "Witty and outrageously lampooning ... full of catchy melodies, clever arrangements and lyrics that yield satiric gems." His a cappella group The GrooveBarbers has released two albums: Glory (2005) and Guts (2010), and his defunct comedy song duo What I Like About Jew released Unorthodox (2005) before its breakup in 2006. Altman wrote and recorded "Save The Ocean" and "You Ought To Be Saving Water" (with ex-Rockapella members Barry Carl and Elliott Kerman) for the popular Schoolhouse Rock! series, and has composed songs for the TV shows "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?", "Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?", "Out Of The Box", "The Book Of Pooh", "The Damn Show", "Brickleberry", Science Mission 101, and the feature film "Teddy P. Brains".
1961May, 9
Sean Altman
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Events on 1961
- 8Jan
Charles de Gaulle
In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria. - 16Apr
Fidel Castro
In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism. - 1May
Fidel Castro
The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections. - 25Jul
NATO
In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO. - 10Aug
Agent Orange
First use in Vietnam War of the Agent Orange by the U.S. Army.