| Michael Rubin | |
| Alias: | Seth O'Hickory |
| Birth Place: | New York City, NY |
| Genre: | Film score, electronic, big beat, rock, trip hop |
| Occupation: | Composer, producer, lyricist, singer, voice actor |
| Instrument: | Multi-instrumentalist |
| Label: | Murmur Music |
| Associated Acts: | Blue's Clues, Steve Burns, Bubble Guppies |
| Website: | www.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.
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.
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]
| Year | Show | Music | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-2007 | Blue's Clues | Composer, lyrics, voice of Mailbox/the Sun | 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" | ||
| 2011-2016, 2019-2023 | Bubble Guppies | Composer, lyrics | Nick Jr. | along with Nick Balaban for Season 1 only. |