Sean Altman (born May 9, 1961) is an American musician and songwriter. He is a founder and former lead singer (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

) of the

a capella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

musical group

Rockapella Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. The group's name is an amalgam of "rock" and "a cappella". Rockapella sings original vocal music and a cappella covers of pop and rock songs; and over time, their ...

and a pioneer of the modern

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

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 The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

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 David Norman Yazbek (born 1961) is an American writer, musician, composer, and lyricist. He wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''The Full Monty'' (2000), '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'' (2005), ''Women on the Verge of a Nervous Bre ...

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 four solo albums on the independent Chow Fun Records: ''seanDEMOnium'' (1997), ''alt.mania'' (2002), ''Losing Streak'' (2005), and ''SALT'' (2018). In 2016 Altman and singer-songwriter Jack Skuller formed The Everly Set, an acclaimed tribute to The Everly Brothers, and in 2020 the duo formed the tribute act Forever Simon & Garfunkel. Both acts tour nationally and have released CD compilation albums. Altman's comedy song act Sean Altman's JEWMONGOUS has released two solo comedy song albums — ''Taller Than Jesus'' and ''The Least Jewy Jew In Jewville'' — about which ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' 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 three albums: ''Glory'' (2005), ''Guts'' (2010), and ''Warning: Barbershop'' (2014), and his defunct comedy song duo What I Like About Jew released the album ''Unorthodox'' (2005) before its breakup in 2006. In 2017 Altman and singer-songwriter Patti Rothberg released an album of their original songs entitled "Dragon Meets Phoenix". 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! ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The theme ...

'' series, and has composed songs for the TV shows "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?" (PBS), "Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?" (PBS), "Out Of The Box" (DISNEY), "The Book Of Pooh" (DISNEY), "The Damn Show", "Brickleberry", ''Science Mission 101'', and the feature film "Teddy P. Brains".

Early life

Altman grew up in the Riverdale neighborhood of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York. His musical talent was recognized early on, as he starred in school musicals (Pippin, Bye Bye Birdie, Gypsy) and claims to have charmed female classmates with "hallway serenades". At age seventeen Altman turned pro, performing on the New York City nightclub circuit with

as Moon Pudding, a

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

-styled teen duo. At

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, Altman majored in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, but focused primarily on singing college a cappella with The High Jinks and fronting Blind Dates, his new wave rock group that released two national college radio hits, "Don't" b/w "Hold On" and "Radio" b/w "Second Hand". Altman continued with Blind Dates after graduating from Brown in 1984, moving from

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

to New York City in search of a record deal which never materialized. The group dissolved in 1987, just as Rockapella's career began.

Rockapella years

After graduating from Brown together, Altman and fellow High Jinks member Elliott Kerman joined classmates Steve Keyes and David Stix to form a new

group called

. Rockapella began its career humbly, performing on the New York City corner of

West 74th Street 74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...

and Columbus Avenue in front of a Haagen Daz ice cream parlor. The group's first repertoire consisted of barbershop arrangements, a cappella renditions of classic

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

pieces, and R&B soul arrangements lifted from their idols, The Persuasions. As the group grew in experience and Altman honed his vocal arranging skills, they began to focus less on

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

and barbershop, and more on contemporary rock music. A dinner party performance for television personality

Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford (née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford is a ...

led to the group's 1988 appearance on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

TV show ''

Live with Regis and Kathie Lee ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

''. Rockapella's performance of Altman's signature arrangement of the calypso novelty standard " Zombie Jamboree" caught the eye of writer-producer Gerard Brown, who invited Rockapella to perform on the PBS ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is pr ...

'' TV special ''

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

& Company – Do it A Capella'', which featured established a cappella acts

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music, gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood University, Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received seve ...

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...

and Rockapella's idols

The Persuasions The Persuasions are an American a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s. The Persuasions were formed in Brooklyn in 1962, singing a cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their ...

. Elektra Records released Rockapella's live recording of "Zombie Jamboree" as the single from the ''Spike & Co. — Do It A Cappella'' soundtrack album, and the group's recording career was launched. Producers of the

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

game show in production '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'' took note of Rockapella's talents on "Spike" and signed the group to appear as the show's comic troupe and vocal house band. The half-hour game show aired daily for five years and 295 episodes, catapulting Rockapella into television celebrity, turning the group from a club act into a nationally touring concert powerhouse, and making the Rockapella-performed theme song (penned by Sean and his childhood friend

) into one of the best known and most popular television themes in history. Altman is particularly remembered for his trademark blonde braids, which were ceremoniously sheared in the last episode of the fifth and final season by the show's host Greg Lee. The soundtrack to the show features five of Altman's original songs, including the theme song and a duet with The Persuasions on "My Home". A sequel album co-produced by Altman, with collaborators

Billy Straus Billy Straus is an American music producer and songwriter. He is known for his work in children's television including the Disney series ''Little Einsteins,'' '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?,'' the two PBS children's computer-animated te ...

and David Yazbek, was entitled ''Carmen Sandiego: Out Of This World'' and contained four Altman compositions as well as contributions from the rock bands

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

and

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

. ''Carmen Sandiego'' aired for five seasons (1991-1995) during which Rockapella released two independent albums in the United States: ''Primer'' and ''Lucky Seven''. Simultaneously, Rockapella enjoyed a parallel career in Japan, releasing eight studio albums containing 14 Altman originals. During Altman's tenure Rockapella toured Japan eight times, performing dozens of sold-out concerts in theaters, and appearing on many Japanese TV variety specials.

Solo career

Altman left Rockapella in April 1997 to focus on his burgeoning solo career as a singer-songwriter. He promptly released his debut CD, ''seanDEMOnium'', about which the ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. The ''Dail ...

'' wrote: "Imagine Dion meeting Marshall Crenshaw at the Beatles' house, with the Kinks, Beach Boys, Four Seasons and Persuasions all dropping by for a song swap. The words have a cynical edge, but what really grabs you is the old-fashioned sweetness and punch of his neo-doowop vocals playing off incredibly hook-happy tunes." After releasing ''seanDEMOnium'', Altman assembled a backup band, played New York City rock clubs for two years, garnering accolades for his live shows. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' called him "an absurdly talented performer... a power-pop mensch and an aspiring teen cult leader." He released ''alt.mania'', his second CD of original music in 2002, about which '' Hits'' magazine wrote: "This record rocks....Rockapella mastermind, internet entrepreneur and divorcé Altman tells barbed, musically diverse tales of romantic misadventures....A dark, funny, resilient, postmodern concept album about love and loss." Altman is the only three-time winner of the Contemporary A Cappella Society's "Original Song of the Year" award, and has also been a "Best Male Vocalist" award recipient. He currently records and performs a cappella with some other ex-Rockapella members in The GrooveBarbers (featured as The Astelins in TV commercials for Astelin nasal spray), bittersweet pop songs as a solo artist, and comedy songs in Jewmongous. He has vocal-arranged and produced a cappella albums for the groups Minimum Wage and Kol Zimra. Altman was named "Best Male Artist" in the 2005 International Acoustic Music Awards and was a 2005 Kerrville New Folk finalist. He is a member of The Loser's Lounge tribute series in New York and serenades hospital patients as a volunteer with Musicians On Call. In June 2011, Altman released the song "MOT: Members of The Tribe" with

Jordan B. Gorfinkel Jordan B. Gorfinkel, also known as Gorf (born July 7, 1967), is an American comic book creator, newspaper cartoonist, and an animation and multi-media entertainment producer. He is also an a cappella singer, most notably with the groups Beat'acho ...

. The song highlights the contrasts in different observance levels within Judaism. It promotes tolerance and respect.

Personal life

In 2003, Altman married operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Inna Dukach. They live in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, New York City. They have a daughter named Ruby, who was born in November 2008.Who is Ruby Dukach-Altman?
Accessed January 6, 2016.

Solo discography

CDs

Guest appearances/various releases

References

External links

*
JEWMONGOUSThe GrooveBarbersRockapellaInna Dukach
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Altman, Sean 1961 births Living people American tenors American male pop singers American rock singers Brown University alumni Jewish American musicians A cappella musical groups Entertainers from the Bronx Musicians from New York City Rockapella members People from Harlem 21st-century American Jews