TV Theme Songs - You Can’t Go Wrong - Sing Along!

 

I would like to apologize in advance to everyone reading this article.  Because once you do, there are going to be some songs that will be stuck in your head for several days. Don’t say you weren’t warned.  That’s the price you pay for dealing with nostalgic music - and this column is loaded with it.   

Today I had an epiphany I want you share with ya’ll. Everyone that knows me knows I believe the music of the 60s and 70s is the best of all time.  Now I’m prepared to add 60’s and 70’s TV theme songs to that list. I know there are still good themes on the tube now, but I prefer the old ones - the kind you can sing; the kind whose lyrics give you an idea of what the show is about. Examples are almost endless:  Gilligan’s Island, Cheers, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, Friends, The Jeffersons, The Dukes of Hazzard, That 70’s Show, or the Brady Bunch. Even cartoons had them for goodness sake. The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, and Spider Man come to mind. 

Come on - sing with me:

“Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name…”

“A three hour tour.  A three hour tour!”

“Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ keep those doggies rollin’ Rawhide.”

“I wanna tell you a little story ‘bout a man named Jed…”

“Well, we’re movin’ on up - to the East Side…”

“Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees! And people say we monkey around…”

“Spider Man Spider Man - does whatever a spider can…”

“They’re creepy and they’re kooky - mysterious and spooky… They’re all together ooky - The Addams family.’

There were also plenty of instrumental TV themes. Some of them were so popular that they actually became top 40 hits.  We still hum many of them today: Hawaii 5-0, Hill Street Blues, Magnum PI, Dallas, Miami Vice, Peter Gunn, and Bonanza immediately come to my mind. 

Do you remember how the theme from the Dick Van Dyke Show was synchronized to his pratfall in the opening credits?  Have you ever told a friend about something weird that happened to you only to have them respond by singing, “Du- DU-Dudu”? It’s mostly four notes repeated on a guitar, but it’s part of an iconic theme from an iconic show - The Twilight Zone. Another one with a serious sense of foreboding was Dragnet’s “Dum-de-dum-dum!” And for 30 years, millions of people wouldn’t go to bed until they heard the theme from The Tonight Show. By the way, when’s the last last time you whistled the Andy Griffith theme?  Not too long ago, I’ll bet. 

Now, there’s so much programming on television that it’s pretty much brought about the decline of the television theme. Nowadays, it’s easier for a producer to find a song that someone has already recorded and use it on their program. Of course, this is not a new idea. The William Tell Overture was used on The Lone Ranger TV show decades ago.   Did you know the song Bad Boys - aka the theme from Cops, was pulled from a reggae album? I still marvel how perfectly matched certain  songs and shows were. For example, could there have been a better tune for “The Wonder Years” than Joe Cocker belting out his cover of “A Little Help From My Friends?”  Nope.

I hope this trip around the TV dial got you thinking and, more importantly singing. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I’m sure you’ve thought of many more. Personally,  I’ve presented more than enough evidence that makes my TV theme argument so compelling that not even Perry Mason could beat me. 

That’s another one, by the way.  “Da daaaaa….DA DAA!”  

Time to go.  “M-I-C… see you real soon. K-E-Y… why, because we like you.”

You can take it from here. 

#oldthemesongs