I can name that great TV tune in…

Posted by Blue Girl
June 25, 2007

Ken Levine got memed. And then somehow I did! That’s ok, though because I like the topic. A post listing my favorite TV theme songs.

Ken Levine writes, I MISS TV THEME SONGS. I miss my favorites, too, but that got me thinking. Don’t any of the new shows have theme songs? I have to admit, I don’t watch that much TV, so I had to look it up.

According to Zap2It, here were the top 20 rated network shows for the week of 6/11/07 - 6/17/07. There are many shows on this list that do have theme songs, but they don’t count. America’s Got Talent? 24 full seconds of not counting at all. I couldn’t find a youtube video for Deal or No Deal’s theme song. But, would it really matter if I could? Everyone knows this game show’s theme song. Does it really warm the cockles of your heart?

Answer that in the form of a question!

Law & Order: SVU comes came in at #9. SVU’s theme song is slightly different than the original Law & Order theme song. Although I like the original better, it doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies. Maybe in 25 years it will, like this one does now.

Weren’t Furillo and Davenport cute together? A simple yes will do.

CSI Miami’s theme song’s a great song. But, I’ve never watched that show, so I just think of that song as being the very best conservative rock song of all time. My son may connect it someday to CSI. And then I’ll have to beat him senseless.

Lots of newish shows have their own theme songs. Whether they were written specifically for the show or not. One of my favorite newish show theme songs is Woke Up This Morning by A3, used in The Soprano’s. That song’s actually about a wife who fatally shot her husband after years of abuse. But, I’ll bet you’ll never hear it again without thinking of Tony driving through New Jersey.

Can’t think of another newish theme song, though that has an emotional pull like that one. I’ll Be There For You from Friends? Too bee-boppy and bouncy to really connect with it. But, so was this one and it makes me smile. But then, I was just a teeny-bopper when that show was popular. So, I’ve got fun memories of it.

That’s what makes remembering TV show theme songs so great. And sad. All the memories you have because you were a certain age when the show was on.

While I could include the theme song to The Sopranos on my list, I’m not going to. Doing research for this post today, I ran across some old ones I had forgotten about that I just loved. Are these my favorites? I don’t know. But, I loved them. Here’s my list in no particular order.

Bewitched
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father
The Bob Newhart Show
Good Times
All In the Family
MASH
Cheers
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (I like the newer one better, but I couldn’t find the video.)
The Addams Family

And

Always loved it.

How ’bout you? Which TV theme songs would you put on your list in no particular order?

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Viewing 40 Comments

Tom Watson 2 years ago 1 point
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To me there are two that rise above all others:

Sanford and Son (Quincy Jones)
Rockford Files (Mike Post)

Which reminds me, Pete Townshend wrote a song recently called Mike Post Theme that was on last year's Who record - Pete explained he always loved the Hill Street Blues theme.

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Yeah, the theme song to The Rockford Files is great. Even though, that answering machine message was great, too.

You mean Mr. Townshend didn't like the theme song to Hill Street Blues cuz Furillo and Davenport were so cute together?

Tom, I'm a sucker for TV theme songs. I was a latch-key kid raised on TV. I could have a million songs on my list.

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Tom Watson 2 years ago 1 point
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Room 222 was a brilliant choice.

I just love the synthy wah on Sanford - geez, it literally sounds like a 70s junk yard.

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OutOfContext 2 years ago 1 point
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All the choices so far are favorites. I would add:
Mission Impossible, Green Acres, Batman, Spiderman, Get Smart, Soap, Chico and The Man (the man he ain't so hard to understand), South Park, Taxi, Love American Style, and this turn of the '60's detective show. I could go on for a while.

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Larry Jones 2 years ago 1 point
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Not just the theme, but Henry Mancini's whole soundtrack to Peter Gunn sort of redefined what series music could be: memorable, evocative, subtle, powerful, cool, hip, fully orchestrated.

I'm also partial to some other (really) old ones: Bonanza (it cries out "big, American cattle! and mountains and shit!"); The Jeffersons ("Well, we're movin' on up!").

Mike Post -- king of washed-out, meaningless, inoffensive drivel. Ever see him and Bob Crewe in the same room together? I didn't think so.

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Dan Leo 2 years ago 1 point
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OK guys, let's get real. This is the best one and you know it:

"Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,
From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.
But Patty's only seen the sight.
A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights --
What a crazy pair!

But they're cousins,
Identical cousins all the way.
One pair of matching bookends,
Different as night and day.

Where Cathy adores a minuet,
The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette,
Our Patty loves to rock and roll,
A hot dog makes her lose control --
What a wild duet!

Still, they're cousins,
Identical cousins and you'll find,
They laugh alike, they walk alike,
At times they even talk alike --

You can lose your mind,
When cousins are two of a kind."

Patty Duke rocked.

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Of course, Taxi! And I have pictures that I took of the skyline out of the back of a cab window crossing that very bridge, leaving NYC.

Now I'm sad for my lost youth AND because I'm not in NYC right now.

Larry, Peter Gunn is great.

And Dan Leo, The Skimmer and I both curse you. We're both walking around singing that this morning.

:)

You can lose your mind!

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Make sure you all click on that Bewitched link. LOL at the Oscar Meyer promo at the end. It's hysterical. Advertising's glory days!

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Tom Watson 2 years ago 1 point
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Whoa, Larry Jones with the attack on Mike Post - brutal!

I'm still sticking with Rockford...

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Adorable Girlfriend 2 years ago 1 point
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No Facts of Life or Charles in Charge? And BG calls herself a critic. Pshaw!

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Brando70 2 years ago 1 point
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Wait, there are good TV show themes?

I kid, I kid. I would also agree with Addam's Family and Sanford and Son, which were both catchy and fit their shows perfectly.

A few others off the top of me 'ead:

The Monkees -- Hated the concept of them, but this was a pretty catchy theme song.

Miami Vice -- I am a child of the 80s.

That 70s Show -- mostly because it's Cheap Trick covering Big Star.

The Simpsons -- I have heard that theme more than any other and still like it.

The Drew Carry Show -- Who doesn't like "Cleveland Rocks"?

Daily Show/Colbert Report -- Love both of the opening themes for these, with Colbert having the extra fun of the screaming eagle.

AG, Charles in Charge is maybe the worst TV theme evar! As is Eight Is Enough. But maybe it's just because they both make me think of Willie Ames.

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Almost Canadian 2 years ago 1 point
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How could you not include Hawaii-5-O.

Book um Danno!

Jack Lords hair never moved.

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Claire 2 years ago 1 point
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Sometimes, when I'm in a group of peers and we don't know each other, discussing cartoons of our youth comes up. The Gummi Bears theme always comes to mind.

Currently, I have to say I enjoy the Dr. Who theme.

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Kathleen Maher 2 years ago 1 point
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What century was I born in? I'm not sure I could name any TV theme song. Isn't that sad? The past year, I've campaigned for a TV in our home. Manny doesn't say no often, but he's not budging on TV. But we really haven't been married forever. Apparently I didn't watch TV growing up, either. If the clock was ticking I might be able to name MASH, The Simpsons and The Jeffersons.
Was the Addams TV theme song the same as the movie's? Again, with a gun to my head, I'm sure I could name the *movie* theme song.
No wonder I have trouble keeping friends.

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Claire 2 years ago 1 point
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Type your comment here.

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Brando 2 years ago 1 point
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Claire, great call on Dr. Who.

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Shayera 2 years ago 1 point
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No Silver Spoons? No Facts of Life? "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them all and then you have the Facts of Life!"
I used to have wav files for lots of the early 80s themes in my early computing days.

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Claire 2 years ago 1 point
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Other great themes from mid-80s, early 90s cartoons:

Duck Tales
Animaniacs
Tiny Toons

These shows were great. Memories of Saturday afternoons are flooding back.

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Dan Leo 2 years ago 1 point
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Dearest Blue Girl,
Just want you to know that thanks to your delightful piece my own brain has been a non-stop jukebox from TV hell all day. (Most disturbing of all, the five-second vocal theme-snippet at the end of "Still Standing" keeps erupting from my vocal cords.) I want just to put on "Don Carlo" really really loud to try to drown out this infernal symphony but I'm waiting for a friend to come by and I don't want to miss her door-buzz. Thanks a lot, girlfrunga!

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Tom Watson 2 years ago 1 point
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The theme song I often hum walking around New York came from the movie, so I don't know if it counts.

Odd Couple

It sticks. The perfect NY walking hum.

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Dan Leo! It's what you get for Patty Duke! Hey, anytime you want to be driven crazy, just come see me.

TW, The Odd Couple. The show. Oh man. I forgot about that one. Knock one of those off my list above and add it.

I've always been a sucker for Neil Simon.

I should've written in my post. The theme songs were all great to me. Great audio cues. But, I also loved the visuals.

There might be another post there. Take it on, TW.

:)

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Tom Watson 2 years ago 1 point
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Here's a little bit of trivia I just found on the series of tubes:

The theme song, originally used in the 1968 Odd Couple movie, was composed by Neal Hefti, who also composed the theme for "Batman."

Yeah, Batman! Amazed that hasn't come up yet....

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billy pilgrim 2 years ago 1 point
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The themes from "petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres" too.

Both created by the master of the Porkarina, Vic Mizzy.

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OutOfContext 2 years ago 1 point
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Yeah, Batman! Amazed that hasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t come up yetÃ¢â‚¬Â¦. I would direct you to comment four...and this post from The World of Kane.

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flem 2 years ago 1 point
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The Greatest American Hero is a fave for two reasons.
1) Its a catchy theme song
2) and more importantly, George Costanza used it (slightly bastardized) on his answering machine and kept letting the machine answer the phone over and over! I still laugh at that..."believe it or not, George isn't at home...!"

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Laugh. Out. Loud.

Flem, click here.

Watch when he raises his shoulders and sways his head back and forth.

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flem 2 years ago 1 point
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OMG, that is so hilarious. I totally forgot how
funny it was!

I'm dyin' over here!

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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TRULY The Last Great Show.

I miss it to death.

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Jennifer 2 years ago 1 point
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I love them all, can't narrow them down, but I do believe The Jetsons must be added to the list.

The Green Hornet (Flight of the Bumblebee) just popped into my head. Wasn't that Al Hirt?

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Jennifer, I have no idea if I'm getting these lyrics right or not -- but, The Jetson's song morphs into Gilligan's Island every time I sing it.

Meet George Jetson!
His boy Elroy!
Jane, his wife!
The Movie Star
The Professor and Mary Ann!
Here on Gilligan's Isle!

LOL.

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Jim Tourtelott 2 years ago 1 point
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Among recent theme songs, I'm partial to "We Used to be Friends a Long Time Ago" from Veronica Mars, which I am sadly unlikely ever to hear broadcast again.

When I was a kid, I loved the theme from Perry Mason deeply.

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sean 2 years ago 1 point
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When I was 7 yrs old I loved the Mannix theme, (Lalo Schifrin, like Misson Impossible), I also liked The Wild West, Mary Tyler Moore (kinda precious just like Mary herself), Dr. Who, Good Times. Do spoken word themes count like that annoying control voice on the Outer Limits? Or The Twilight Zone?
Last TV theme to get stuck in my head: Nerf Herder's taut, Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

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brushabrusha 2 years ago 1 point
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Has anyone mentioned
"Love, American Style"?
LOVE Courtship of Eddies Father! A favorite for sure!

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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Hey brusha brusha! I actually meant to add Love American Style and forgot. And I've had a theme song running through my mind since I wrote this that I cannot place. I SWEAR it was The Dating Game, but the youtube videos prove me wrong.

It goes like this...

da-na-na-na (downbeats)
DA-DA-DA-DA (more dramatic)
da-na-na-na
DA-DA-DA-DA

:)

I wish I could figure it out. It's been driving me nuts!

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OutOfContext 2 years ago 1 point
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blue girl, for some reason I guessed Match Game when I read your tone-less da-na-na-nas, but after listening to it, that can't be right.
I'm hard pressed to think of any other game show themes.

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brushabrusha 2 years ago 1 point
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Give me a little more to work with blue girl! Sha Na Na? Remember that one?

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OutOfContext 2 years ago 1 point
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Oh, I forgot The Newlywed Game. That was a good one.

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blue girl 2 years ago 1 point
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I'm going to try to record me singing that theme song and post it on my blog so that I can get help figuring out what it is. This new Mac I've got is supposed to do everything! We'll see if I can record something.

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Connie 2 years ago 1 point
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Forgive me if it's been covered and I've overlooked it somehow, but is it possible to have a conversation about TV show theme songs and not mention the theme to the Brady Bunch?

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juwndrgcy sirnvcz 1 year ago 1 point
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oxid tygnrf fsgwa vrblcpkdm xocszrk qzdcuv siymukqx

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