Carl McVicker

Carl McVicker (21 July 1937—11 September 2021) was an American jazz bassist and music teacher. He worked in the house band of Fred Rogers's TV show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS) for over 30 years.

Carl McVicker was born Carl Grant McVicker Jr. on 21 July 1937, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Carl Grant McVicker Sr. (1904-1993) and Ella Bert (1906-1982). His father was a trumpeter who taught music at Westinghouse High School in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. Over the years, he taught many noted Pittsburgh jazz pianists including Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal, Billy Strayhorn, Patricia Prattis Jennings, and Mary Lou Williams.

After graduating from Wilkinsburg High School, McVicker received his undergraduate degree in music from Carnegie Mellon University (1959) and his Master's degree from Duquesne University.

McVicker began his professional music career in the 1960s, playing with many celebrated musicians of the time. He was a member of the Air Force Band when he was stationed at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC. One of his early recordings is The Walt Harper Quintet's album Harper's Ferry (Encore Custom Records, 1962) in which he played bass with Nate Harper (tenor saxophone), Jon Morris (trombone), and Bert Logan Jr. (drums).

McVicker then joined the house band of Fred Rogers's Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, a half-hour educational television series for children. He remained with the band for over 30 years, until the early 2000s, playing bass with bandleader Johnny Costa (piano), guitarist Joe Negri, and drummer/percussionist Bobby Rawsthorne. The band performed almost all the background music heard on the series, including the show's recognizable main theme, the trolley whistle, Mr. McFeeley's frenetic speedy delivery piano plonks, the vibraphone flute-toots as Fred fed his fish, dreamy celesta lines, incidental music, and Rogers' entrance and exit tunes.

In September 1980, McVicker contributed to the music for an episode of the PBS documentary series Old Friends… New Friends. The show was produced by Fred Rogers during his hiatus from producing Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and directed by Phyllis Chinlund and Hugh Martin. In the episode, Fred spoke with the Boston-based psychologist Thomas Cottle who talked about himself and his work, and the dynamics of human relationships.

In 2019, the track "Things To Do With Our Hands That Don't Hurt" from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was featured in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a biographical drama film on Fred Rogers, directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. The film was inspired by Tom Junod's 1997 Esquire magazine article "Can You Say… Hero?". Fred's character was played by Tom Hanks and Maryann Plunkett played Joanne Rogers, Fred's real-life wife. Other stars included Matthew Rhys ("Lloyd Vogel"), Chris Cooper ("Jerry Vogel"), and Susan Kelechi Watson ("Andrea Vogel").

McVicker also taught music at all levels.

Mister Rogers recordings are available on Fred's recording label Family Communications, and Omnivore Recordings, founded by music industry veterans Cheryl Pawelski, Brad Rosenberger, Greg Allen, and Dutch Cramblitt.

In 2021, the album It's Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers (released October 2019 on Omnivore Recordings) won a Grammy for Best Historical Album. The album carries 21 tracks from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, including "Today Is A Very Special Day", "Be Brave, Be Strong", and "Wishes Don't Make Things Come True". Lee Lodyga and Cheryl Pawelski were the record producers and Michael Graves was the mastering engineer.

McVicker married his childhood sweetheart Darlene Jean Hellings (1938–2020) while stationed at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC, as a member of the Air Force Band. They had three children. They raised them in the Pittsburgh area before relocating to Naples, Florida.

In his later years, McVicked moved to Ligonier, Pennsylvania, to be closer to his children in his failing health. After a five-year battle with multiple myeloma, he died on September 11, 2021, at age 84.