Bob McGrath

Bob McGrath, next to Elmo and Big Bird, maybe the most familiar face on Sesame Street. Without question, he is one of the leaders in the promotion of music education and for many years played a key role in the expansion of NAMM programs around the country with the goal of promoting music makers. In the heyday of choral music on television during the 1950s, Bob’s tenor could be heard on the Fred Waring broadcasts and on the programs of choral director icons such as Mitch Miller and Robert Shaw. After a popular solo career in Japan, Bob returned to the states and landed a job for a newly formed children’s television network, a program called Sesame Street. Bob’s easygoing manner endeared children to him and his voice was often used to introduce new material. It was Bob who first sang the now-classic “Sing!” and “Who are the People in Your Neighborhood?” Bob’s devotion to music helped establish the partnership between NAMM and Sesame Music Works, which has focused on bringing the concept of music making to the very youngest of demographics.