TV Theme Song
Located in 2 routes
The standalone, usually sung theme that opens a television series — a self-contained pop, country or rock song written or licensed to brand a show and hook viewers in under a minute. Built on a strong chorus, era-appropriate production and lyrics that often narrate the show's premise, these themes were frequently recorded by established recording artists and sometimes charted as singles in their own right. The defining trait is a memorable, hummable song so bound to its series that hearing it instantly conjures the show.
History
The sung TV theme flowered from the late 1950s, when Frankie Laine's "Rawhide" and Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man" brought hit-single craft to prime time. The format peaked from the mid-1970s through the 1980s: Cyndi Grecco's "Making Our Dreams Come True" (Laverne & Shirley), Jack Jones' "The Love Boat," Joey Scarbury's chart-topping "Believe It or Not" (The Greatest American Hero), Waylon Jennings' "Good Ol' Boys" (The Dukes of Hazzard) and B.J. Thomas' "As Long as We Got Each Other" (Growing Pains). Even as instrumental stings and cold opens rose, the premise-narrating theme endured, and Alabama 3's "Woke Up This Morning" gave The Sopranos a modern classic.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Believe It or Not(1981) — Joey ScarburySpotifyYouTube
- Rawhide(1958) — Frankie LaineSpotifyYouTube
- Secret Agent Man(1966) — Johnny RiversSpotifyYouTube
- Making Our Dreams Come True(1976) — Cyndi GreccoSpotifyYouTube
- The Love Boat(1977) — Jack JonesSpotifyYouTube
- As Long as We Got Each Other(1985) — B.J. ThomasSpotifyYouTube
Show 9 more
- Good Ol' Boys(1980) — Waylon JenningsSpotifyYouTube
- Woke Up This Morning(1997) — Alabama 3SpotifyYouTube
- Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)(1981) — Joey ScarburySpotifyYouTube
- Good Ol' Boys (Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard)(1980) — Waylon JenningsSpotifyYouTube
- Welcome Back(1976) — John SebastianSpotifyYouTube
- Love Is All Around (Mary Tyler Moore Theme)(1970) — Sonny CurtisSpotifyYouTube
- Theme from The A-Team(1983) — Mike PostSpotifyYouTube
- Miami Vice Theme(1985) — Jan HammerSpotifyYouTube
- Theme from S.W.A.T.(1975) — Rhythm HeritageSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Jon Burlingame, TV's Biggest Hits: The Story of Television Themes (1996)
- Vincent Terrace, Television Theme Recordings
- Billboard chart archives
- Jon Burlingame, TV's Biggest Hits (Schirmer, 1996)
- Ronald Rodman, Tuning In: American Narrative Television Music (Oxford, 2010)
- Billboard chart histories