Sarah Durkee
Encyclopedia
Sarah Durkee is a singer-songwriter
, a television
lyricist
and screenwriter
, and an author and humorist.
Durkee and her husband Paul Jacobs
are the creators of the theme song for the popular PBS
literacy education series, Between the Lions
, and have also written many other musical numbers for the program. Since the mid-1980s, Durkee has also been a frequent contributor of scripts and songs to the children's tv series "Sesame Street
", "Arthur", "Wonder Pets", "Dora the Explorer
" and "Lomax: The Hound of Music". She and Paul Jacobs collaborated on several songs for Meat Loaf
, including the 1984 hit "Modern Girl." Both Durkee and Jacobs are veterans of the National Lampoon
comedy troupe from the 1970s (she as an actor
, he as music director
). In January, 2006, her first novel for young adults, The Fruit Bowl Project, was published by Delacorte Press. Its target audience is students in grades 5-8.
Sarah Durkee has won five Daytime Emmy Awards for her writing contributions to "Sesame Street" and Between the Lions, for both script and songwriting. She lives in New York City.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and an author and humorist.
Durkee and her husband Paul Jacobs
Paul Jacobs (musician)
Paul Ross Jacobs is an American Emmy award winning composer and musician.-Biography:Jacobs was born in New York City. 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...
are the creators of the theme song for the popular 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....
literacy education series, 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...
, and have also written many other musical numbers for the program. Since the mid-1980s, Durkee has also been a frequent contributor of scripts and songs to the children's tv series "Sesame Street
Sesame 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...
", "Arthur", "Wonder Pets", "Dora the Explorer
Dora the Explorer
Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network, including the associated Nick Jr. channel. It aired on CBS until...
" and "Lomax: The Hound of Music". She and Paul Jacobs collaborated on several songs for Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, including the 1984 hit "Modern Girl." Both Durkee and Jacobs are veterans of the National Lampoon
National Lampoon Inc
National Lampoon, Incorporated is a company formed in 2002 in order to use the brand name "National Lampoon" in comedy and entertainment. In the words of its prospectus, the role of the company is to "develop, produce, provide creative services and distribute National Lampoon branded comedic...
comedy troupe from the 1970s (she as an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, he as music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
). In January, 2006, her first novel for young adults, The Fruit Bowl Project, was published by Delacorte Press. Its target audience is students in grades 5-8.
Sarah Durkee has won five Daytime Emmy Awards for her writing contributions to "Sesame Street" and Between the Lions, for both script and songwriting. She lives in New York City.
External links
- Jacobs and Durkee, National Lampoon from Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site (April 20, 2002)