| Rockapella | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | New York City, U.S. |
| Genre: | A cappella |
| Years Active: | 1986–present |
| Associated Acts: | The GrooveBarbers |
| Label: | Shakariki Records / PAID, Inc., Amerigo Records, J-Bird Records, Rentrak Records, ForLife Records |
| Website: | www.rockapella.com |
| Current Members: | Scott Leonard Jeff Thacher Calvin Jones Manny Houston Armand Hutton |
| Past Members: | Sean Altman Elliott Kerman Steve Keyes David Stix (deceased) Charlie Evett Barry Carl Kevin Wright John K. Brown George Baldi III Steven Dorian Ryan Chappelle Mitchell Rains Jose Rosario Bryant Vance |
Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. The group's name is a portmanteau of "rock" and "a cappella". Rockapella sings original vocal music and a cappella versions of other songs. Over time, their sound has evolved from high-energy pop and world music style toward a sound more influenced by R&B. Rockapella found their enduring success in Japan early in their career. They are most successful for their role as a house band and comedy troupe on the PBS children's geography game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?.
In addition to three compilation albums in Japan, Rockapella has released 19 albums in the US and Japan. Since the band's vocal percussionist was hired, the line "All sounds provided by the voices and appendages of Rockapella" has been printed on each of their CDs.
The founding members of Rockapella consisted of Brown University alumni Sean Altman, Elliott Kerman, Steve Keyes, and David Stix. They had each been in an a cappella group at Brown called High Jinks, but not all at the same time. Having been in High Jinks the longest, Altman was the only connection between the other three members; when they found each other in New York City following their graduation, they decided to form Rockapella. The band began performing on New York City street corners in 1986 with a hat at their feet and a song repertoire that consisted of a mix of barbershop arrangements and a cappella renditions of classic doo wop pieces that evolved to focus less on oldies and barbershop and more on contemporary rock music. Passers-by began to drop business cards into the hat, and these street corner performances led to private party and club performances around NYC.
Stix left the group in 1987 to pursue his artistic career and was replaced by Charlie Evett. That same year, a dinner party performance for television personality Kathie Lee Gifford led to Rockapella's 1988 appearance on the WABC-TV show The Morning Show, Regis Philbin and Gifford's NYC morning talk show before it went national. Their performance of Altman's signature arrangement of the calypso novelty standard "Zombie Jamboree" caught the eye of producer Gerard Brown. He invited Rockapella to perform on the PBS "Great Performances" TV special Spike Lee & Company – Do It A Cappella,[1] which would put them into the national spotlight. However, Evett left the group to continue a career in software design in 1988 before the special's taping, and Barry Carl was hired to take his place.
With a PBS special and numerous morning talk show appearances under their collective belt, Rockapella was noticed by the producers of an up-and-coming children's geography game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?. Shortly before the show's premiere, Keyes had decided to leave Rockapella to launch his legal career, but was still part of the band when they auditioned and were hired to write and perform the show's theme song as well as appearing as the comic relief house band. Keyes was replaced by Scott Leonard, who had just returned from a career as the lead singer in a Tokyo Disneyland electronic rock band. Between Leonard joining the band and the start of their television break, Rockapella began to pick up fame, starring in a Whoopi Goldberg HBO comedy special Chez Whoopi, a Taco Bell commercial, and opened for acts such as Chuck Berry, Styx, Billy Joel, and their a cappella idols The Persuasions, who the group had met on the Do It A Cappella special. They also performed on Jay Leno's first New Year's Eve episode of The Tonight Show in 1992.[2]
Rockapella first appeared on the half-hour game show in 1991 and later continued to appear daily for five seasons, catapulting the band's four members into mid-level television celebrity status and making the Rockapella-performed theme song (which was penned by Altman and his childhood friend, David Yazbek) as one of the best known television themes in history. Jeff Thacher joined Rockapella as the band's permanent vocal percussionist in 1993, although he only appeared on Carmen Sandiego during its fifth and final season two years later. While Rockapella was seen daily in homes across America, Leonard used his connections to the Japanese music market to acquire a recording contract with ForLife Records. The group released seven albums of original and cover material under this label in Japan during their run on Carmen Sandiego and for two years after that, being the first to bring contemporary a cappella music to Japan.
Following the end of Carmen Sandiego in 1996, Altman left Rockapella to pursue his solo career the following year, and was replaced by Kevin Wright. They did two Folger's coffee commercials between 1998 and 2001 and a PBS special of their December 9, 2000, concert. In 2002, Carl was replaced by George Baldi III. In 2003, the group started their now annual "A Rockapella Holiday" tour, and in 2004, they released a live album, as well as re-released all of their previous North American albums on the independent label Shakariki Records. That same year, Kerman, the group's baritone and the last remaining founding member of the group, left and was replaced by John K. Brown, a second tenor. Rockapella began joining the Boston Pops on stage in the eastern US in 2006, creating a concert experience that shows both the orchestra's and Rockapella's talents separately and together in a manner never done before: a cappella with instrumentation.[3] In August 2009, Wright announced he would be leaving the group at the end of the year to spend more time with his family;[4] his last performance with the band was on December 22 of that same year,[5] and was replaced by Steven Dorian.
The project to make "Bang", the title track off their newest album, the first track in Rock Band to feature full, four-instrument gameplay based on no live or synthesized instruments began in the summer of 2010,[6] [7] and was released for purchase on January 30, 2011 through the RBN.[8] At the beginning of 2011, the band's cover of "It's A Small World" from their album Comfort & Joy, was featured in a TV commercial for the animated film Gnomeo and Juliet.[9] On November 16, 2011, Rockapella released a new holiday album, A Rockapella Holiday.
In 2022, Jose Rosario left the group and was replaced by Manny Houston. Bryant Vance left the group at that time as well, allowing George Baldi III to return. By mid-2023, Baldi left the group once again and was replaced by Armand Hutton.
| Country | Release Date | Title | Line-up | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | May 21, 1992 | To N.Y. | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | ForLife Records |
| May 21, 1992 | From N.Y. | |||
| December 16, 1992 | Bash! | |||
| April 21, 1994 | Vocobeat | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | ||
| November 18, 1994 | Out Cold | |||
| USA | 1995 | Primer | Independent | |
| Lucky Seven |
| ||
| USA | 1997 | Rockapella | Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher, Wright | Independent |
| February 16, 1999 | Don't Tell Me You Do | J-Bird Records | ||
| March 28, 2000 | 2 | |||
|
| Christmas |
| |
| In Concert | |||
| USA | August 13, 2002 | Smilin' | Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher, Wright, Baldi | Amerigo Records |
| November 12, 2002 | Comfort & Joy | Kerman, Leonard, Thacher, Wright, Baldi | ||
| June 2004 | Live in Japan | Shakariki Records | ||
| November 16, 2011 | A Rockapella Holiday | Leonard, Thacher, Dorian, Baldi, Brown | ||
| September 21, 2010 | Bang | |||
| March 15, 2013 | Motown & More | |||
| September 2017 | Jams, Vol. 1 | Leonard, Thacher, Rains, Jones, Vance | ||
| December 2018 | Jams, Vol. 2 | |||
| December 2019 | Christmas Live |
All albums from Don't Tell Me You Do through Comfort & Joy were re-released in the US by Shakariki Records in 2004.
| Country | Release Date | Album | Line-up | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Japan | November 17, 1995 | Best Fest | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | ForLife Records |
| September 2002 | Best A Cappella | |||
| September 25, 2002 | More Than Ever | Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher, Wright | Rentrak Records |
| Release Date | Title | Line-up | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | Zoom Express | |
| April 11, 2015 | "Rock Around the Clock/Tell Me Something Good" | Leonard, Thacher, Dorian, Jones, Chappelle | Shakariki Records | |
| February 9, 2016 | "Candy Man" | Shakariki Records | ||
| July 23, 2016 | "Sir GotALot" | Shakariki Records | ||
| November 4, 2016 | "Better 2gether" | Leonard, Thacher, Rains, Jones, Vance | Shakariki Records | |
| June 1, 2017 | "Workin My Way to You" | Shakariki Records | ||
| November 22, 2017 | "How 'Bout Now?" | Shakariki Records | ||
| Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? EP |
| ||
| September 24, 2021 | "Gimme Money (Con and On and On)" (From the game, The Big Con) | Leonard, Thacher, Jones, Vance, Rosario | Skybound Games |
| Year | Artist | Album | Song(s) | Line-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 |
| Altman, Keyes, Kerman, Carl | |||
| 1991 | Zappa's Universe |
| Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | ||
| 1992 | Modern A Cappella |
| Altman, Keyes, Kerman, Carl | ||
| 1992 | Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? |
| Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | ||
| 1993 | The Muppets | Muppet Beach Party | "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | |
| 1993 | Put on Your Green Shoes | "Light of the Sun" (with Richie Havens) | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | ||
| 1993 | "Big Wet Rag" | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | |||
| 1994 | Biggest Little Ticket |
| Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | ||
| 1994 | 95.5 WPLJ Presents Scott & Todd's Scam-America Comedy Album Vol. II | "Where in the World Is Joseph P. Nolan" | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | ||
| 1994 | 1994 World University Games | ”Pass on the Torch (I Know New York)" | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | ||
| 1995 | Ben & Jerry's One World One Heart for Kids | "The Light of the Sun" (with Richie Havens) | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | ||
| 1995 | Anri | Opus 21 | ”Moon in the Rain" (background vocals) | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | |
| 1996 | Voices Only: A Cappella Originals | "Bed of Nails" | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | ||
| 1997 | Anri | Twin Soul | ”Wiper on a Sunny Day" (background vocals) | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher | |
| 1999 | Sam Harris | Revival | "A Change in My Life" (background vocals) | Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher, Wright | |
| 2000 | A Cappella Christmas Party | "Hold Out for Christmas" | Altman, Kerman, Carl, Leonard | ||
| 2000 | Mark and Brian Little Drummer Boys | "Silver Bells" (live) | Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher, Wright | ||
| 2002 | 20 Christmas Stars, Vol. IV | "Merry Christmas Darling" | Kerman, Leonard, Thacher, Wright, Baldi | ||
| 2007 | Hokie Nation An A Cappella Tribute | "I'll Hear Your Voice" | Kerman, Carl, Leonard, Thacher, Wright | ||
| 2016 | Sing 13: Superstition | "Sir GotALot" | Leonard, Thacher, Jones, Vance, Rains |
| Release Date | Artist | Album | Song(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Scott Leonard | My Favorites: The Bee Gees | ||
| 1997 | Sean Altman | SeanDEMOnium | ||
| February 1999 | fi-Ling Fader (Scott Leonard) | Bluespeel | ||
| 2002 | Nice Kitty | |||
| March 2002 | Sean Altman | Alt.mania | ||
| July 2004 | Barry Carl | The SoLow Project | ||
| 2005 | Sean Altman | Losing Streak | ||
| 2005 | The Groovebarbers (Altman, Evett, Keyes) | Glory | ||
| 2006 | Jewmongous (Sean Altman) | Unorthodox | ||
| May 2007 | Scott Leonard | 1man1mike | ||
| 2008 | Jewmongous (Sean Altman) | Taller Than Jesus | ||
| January 2009 | John K. Brown | Essence of Worship | ||
| January 2009 | God Has a Hold on Me | |||
| 2010 | The Groovebarbers (Altman, Evett, Keyes) | Guts | ||
| March 2009 | Altman, Carl, Kerman | Schoolhouse Rock! Earth | "You Oughta Be Savin' Water" | |
| Altman, Carl | "Save the Ocean" | |||
| March 2010 | Scott Leonard | Tokyo Robots - 1M1M2 | ||
| June 2010 | John K. Brown | bOOmbOOm | ||
| June 2011 | Unplugged | |||
| November 2012 | A "Just Play It" Christmas | |||
| 2014 | The Groovebarbers (Altman, Evett, Keyes) | Warning: Barbershop! | ||
| 2016 | Zombie Jamboree | |||
| 2019 | Sean Altman | Salt |