TV Theme Pop

tagStarted 1976Peak 1985-1997Last big hit still active

Sitcom and TV opening themes that escaped the screen to chart as standalone pop singles. Tight 60-second hooks, warm jangle-pop or soft-rock arrangements, lyrics about friendship, perseverance or belonging written to telegraph a show's mood. Earworm choruses engineered for thirty seconds of recognition, then expanded into full radio-ready singles.

History

TV themes had charted since the 1960s, but the sitcom-theme-as-pop-hit peaked when WKRP and Cheers themes drew radio play, then The Rembrandts' "I'll Be There for You" hit Billboard's Hot 100 top 20 in 1995 after a Nashville station expanded the Friends theme. Will Smith's Fresh Prince rap-theme and Mike Post's TV instrumentals run parallel.

Defining artists

The RembrandtsSpotify YouTube
Gary PortnoySpotify YouTube
Joey ScarburySpotify YouTube
Will SmithSpotify YouTube
Mike PostSpotify YouTube
John SebastianSpotify YouTube

Essential listening

I'll Be There for You — The RembrandtsSpotify YouTube
Where Everybody Knows Your Name — Gary PortnoySpotify YouTube
Believe It or Not — Joey ScarburySpotify YouTube
Welcome Back — John SebastianSpotify YouTube
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air — DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh PrinceSpotify YouTube

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Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'll_Be_There_for_You_(The_Rembrandts_song)
https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/the-rembrandts-ill-be-there-for-you/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Everybody_Knows_Your_Name