Paul Ross 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 playing guitar. He worked as a
session musician during his high school years and later on with
Meat Loaf,
Roy Buchanan, and
Edgar Winter.
Early career Jacobs' association with the
National Lampoon came through
Christopher Guest, who had written a large chunk of the first National Lampoon album,
Radio Dinner. Guest was working as a session musician and met Jacobs when they were both performing at the same session. Guest was developing his own songs at the time and asked Jacobs to contribute, and a musical association was born. When Guest was tapped for ''
National Lampoon's Lemmings'' in 1973, he brought Jacobs on board. Jacobs was musical director of the show and album
Lemmings. As well as being musical director for the production, he played guitar and piano, and sang lead vocals on several songs. He also appeared on the Lampoon album
Goodbye Pop 1952-1976.
From comedy to rock After serving as musical director and cast member of
The National Lampoon Show, Jacobs moved on from Lampoon-related activities and did a stint in the often-intertwined worlds of musical theater and rock and roll. In 1977, when Jim Steinman staged a workshop production of his early musical
Neverland, Jacobs served as musical director and co-arranged the show's score. A year later, Jacobs joined
Meat Loaf as a pianist and background vocalist, later becoming album writer and guitarist.
Children's TV In 1988, following his departure from active live touring with Meat Loaf, Jacobs and his wife
Sarah Durkee, began the task of writing songs for
Sesame Street. As of 2008, they have written over 100. As of the early 2000s, Jacobs has served as musical director for the
PBS show "
Between the Lions" along with Sarah, and they have won several Emmys for their work on that show, most recently the 2007 Emmy for "Best Original Song in an Animated Children's Series." Jacobs was nominated again for a
Daytime Emmy Award for Best Music Direction and Composition in 2011.
Later work In 2000, Jacobs won the Van Cliburn Institute Amateur Piano Concerto Competition. == References ==