Jump to content

Michael Rubin (composer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Rubin
Also known asSeth O'Hickory
Born1963 (age 60–61)
New York City, NY
GenresFilm score, electronic, big beat, rock, trip hop
Occupation(s)Composer, producer, lyricist, singer, voice actor
InstrumentMulti-instrumentalist
LabelsMurmur Music
Websitewww.Rhumba.pro

Michael Rubin II (born 1963) is an American music producer, composer, voice actor and lyricist best known for his work in children’s television. Rubin has created musical pieces for shows including Bubble Guppies, Blue's Clues, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Jack's Big Music Show, among others. On Blue's Clues, Rubin was also the voice of Mailbox. His songs have been performed by artists including Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, Macy Gray, Randy Travis, India.Arie, Nell Carter, Toni Braxton, Phoebe Snow, and The Persuasions.

Career

[edit]

Rubin began his professional career making music for advertising. He founded the music production company Murmur Music Inc. in 1993. Murmur created music and sound design for commercials and promotional pieces for American Express, AMC, AT&T, Bell South, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Fisher Price, The Food Network, General Motors, Kraft, Maxwell House, Merck, Motorola, Nabisco, Paramount Pictures, Rockport, Samsung, UPS, VH1, Viacom, Volvo and others. He founded the company Rhumba which encompasses Murmur and Dubway Studios which is run by Al Houghton.[1]

In 1995, Rubin (with writing partner Nick Balaban) created the music and sound design for the pilot episode of Blue's Clues. Rubin and Murmur created the soundtrack for all six seasons of the show as well as music for the traveling theatrical production Blue’s Clues Live, a feature-length direct-to-video movie Blue’s Big Musical Movie, the spin-off Blue’s Room, and other media. Rubin also provided the voice of the character Mailbox.

In 2007, Murmur Music partnered with Dubway Studios to form Rhumba Recorders, an audio production company for children's media. Shortly after this partnership, Rubin began writing and producing the songs and score for all seasons of the series Bubble Guppies.

Rubin, sometimes under the stage name Seth O'Hickory, has sung and voiced several characters in shows featuring his music. He sang lead vocals as a crab henchman in his song "She's So Mean," featured in the Bubble Guppies episode "Bubble Puppy's Fin-Tastic Fairy Tale." He is the voice of the sun in "The Planet Song," originally created for Blue's Clues and then featured in a NASA exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Awards and nominations

[edit]
  • 2016 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Song for “Little Froggie,” from the Bubble Guppies episode "The Running of the Bullfrogs"[2]
  • 2014 Daytime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for the Bubble Guppies (with collaborator John Angier)[3]
  • 2012 Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement: Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production for the Bubble Guppies episode "Bubble Puppy's Fin-tastic Fairy Tale"[4]
  • 2008 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Original Song - Children's & Animated for "Duck 4" on Jack’s Big Music Show[5]
  • 2004 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for (better yet) Blue's Clues[6]

Personal life

[edit]

Rubin was born to Jewish parents Carol (née Teichman), a chemistry teacher who taught at Schreiber High School and Arnold Rubin, who co-founded RHG Electronics in Deer Park, New York as well as a founding member of Kehillath Shalom synagogue.[7] He grew up in Huntington, New York in Long Island. He married Tamara Hanneman in 1994 and they currently live in New York City.[8]

Filmography

[edit]

Television

[edit]
Year Show Music Network Notes
1996-2007 Blue's Clues Composer, lyrics, voice of Mailbox/the Sun Nick Jr. along with Nick Balaban
2004-2007 Blue's Room Composer
2005-2008 Jack's Big Music Show Composer, lyrics Noggin/Nick Jr.
2006-2016 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Composer, lyrics "Mousekador Song" Disney Junior
2011-2016, 2019-2023 Bubble Guppies Composer, lyrics Nick Jr. along with Nick Balaban for Season 1 only.

Film

[edit]
Year Film Music Studio Notes
2000 Blue's Big Musical Movie Composer, lyrics, voice of Mailbox Paramount Pictures, Nick Jr. Productions along with Nick Balaban

Theatrical

[edit]
Year Show Music Notes
1999-2003 Blue's Clues Live! Composer, lyrics along with Nick Balaban


References

[edit]
  1. ^ "About". Rhumba!. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  2. ^ 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations
  3. ^ "Daytime Emmy Awards 2014: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. 2014-05-01. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11.
  4. ^ 2012 Annie Award Nominations
  5. ^ 2008 Daytime Emmy Award Nominations Archived 2013-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ 31st Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations
  7. ^ "ARNOLD RUBIN Obituary (1927 - 2020) - New York, NY - New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  8. ^ "WEDDINGS; T. L. Hanneman, Michael S. Rubin (Published 1994)". The New York Times. 1994-09-25. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
[edit]