ELDER MUSIC: Old TV Themes

There was no going back to sleep when I awoke at about 2AM a couple of weeks ago, so I turned on television – usually a guaranteed sleeping potion for me. But not this time.

Clicking through channels, I landed on an old M*A*S*H episode and had fine ol' time with Hawkeye, Hotlips, Radar, Klinger, Frank and the rest of the gang I hadn't seen in 20 or 30 years, and the theme song was as familiar as if I'd seen the program yesterday. Here is the complete version with all verses of Suicide is Painless. [2:53 minutes]

Another fine, old TV theme is from Cheers where, of course, “everybody knows your name.” A hundred years ago, when I lived in San Francisco, I had a neighborhood bar like that, but I've never found another. Must be because I haven't hung out in bars for decades. Like the M*A*S*H theme above, this is the entire song with a bunch of short clips from various episodes. [2:28 minutes]

In 1977, the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a must-see event even for friends who liked to pretend they never watched television. I never liked the sappy song, but the hat thrown in the air was the perfect visual punchline for spunky Mary. [:54 seconds]

This is from the first season of All in the Family in 1971. I'm pretty sure they never changed the opening. The people who create show titles are often brilliant at setting the tone of the program, as this one is. [1:04 minutes]

Who couldn't love perennial screw-up Vinnie Barbarino who was mostly a rougher version of Tony Manero, the character John Travolta played in the movie that celebrated disco, Saturday Night Fever. (Or, I suppose, it could be said that Manero was a somewhat cleaned-up version of Barbarino.) This is the theme from Welcome Back, Kotter. [:48 seconds]

I didn't watch The Munsters or The Addams Family more than once or twice, but somehow I'm thoroughly familiar with the opening of The Addams Family. Weird, funny and wonderful. [1:00 minute]

I have been a fan of Star Trek from the day the original series premiered in 1966. There is an episode titled, The Trouble with Tribbles that I can still recall in detail – offbeat for a science fiction show, and it worked. Here is the theme from the first Star Trek series. Note the wording of the voice-over: “...where no MAN has gone before.” [:58 seconds]

My favorite of all the Star Trek series is “The Next Generation” with Captain Jean-Luc Piccard, the android Data, the Klingon Mr. Worf and all the rest. The producers occasionally updated the opening and I don't know which season this is from. In the clip above, I asked you to note the wording of the voice-over. By the time this spin-off series began, the women's movement had won a change from the producers: “...where no ONE has gone before.”

Now let's go way back to much earlier days of television and the theme of Bonanza which premiered in 1959. It's another show I never saw more than a couple of times, but somehow still recognize the theme. [:36 seconds]

Even farther back is Dragnet which was a favorite in my home when we got our first television set sometime in the early 1950s. This is a short bit of an episode from 1954, showing the opening and, at the end, the standard closing. It also stands out for the appearance of 23-year-old Leonard Nimoy who, 12 years later, would begin playing the Vulcan Mr. Spock on Star Trek. In this Dragnet story, he's one of the bad guys – the one with the thin mustache you will see in the arrest scene and the closing. [5:08 minutes]

Comments

[sky]

what a walk down memory lane! so many shows which i loved in my younger days. where are shows like that now?!

there was a bar in nyc when i visited in the '80s called don't tell mama. we would go in for a drink and a rest from walking the city streets when our eyes were bigger than our feet were strong. i enjoyed this place where a pianist would play all sorts of ny themed songs, most from TV, and the patrons would all join in and sing loudly. great fun.

[doctafill]

During a rough time in my life, I did not miss a single episode of the MTM show. Sometimes I take a little memory lane drives to look at all the places I lived, just to see what the house or apartment looks like now, and to remember my time there. As a kid, I'd race home after school to watch the 3 Stooges, Bonanza, and Beverly Hillbillies. Dad loved cop shows like The Naked City.

[kenju]

What I wish is that all of those shows could come back on network TV. They were much better than anything on TV these days!

[Susan G.]

I can't believe how many TV themes this post brought to mind: Father Knows Best, Ozzie & Harriet, The Newhart Show (the one where he owned a New England inn).

The Bonanza theme originally had really lame lyrics that (thank goodness) were dropped. The unlamented I Love Lucy theme lyrics also bit the dust.

Recently I found a musical birthday card with the Leave It To Beaver music - what a hoot! Bewitched had a happy theme.

And what about the whistling on The Andy Griffeth Show theme? When I learned how to whistle I drove my parents nuts with this one...I even knew two parts!

[Kay Dennison]

Wayyyyyyyyy coooooooooooool!!!!!!!!

Locve these blasts from the past!!! They don't make shows like that anymore. I especially loved the Dragnet clip with a very yound Leonard Nimoy -- Spock was always a fav of mine. These days my TV viewing consists of "Law & Order" and "NCIS" reruns. Reality shows don't do a thing for me.

[Peter Tibbles]

My favorite TV themes were those of Warner Brothers, mainly, I think, because they were complete songs (and they were played in full and not overdubbed by a promo as happens a lot now):
"77 Sunset Strip", "Hawaiian Eye", "Bourbon Street Beat", "Surfside Six" (oh come on, you did watch it), "Maverick", "Cheyenne", "Sugarfoot". There were probably others.
The best of them all though is "Peter Gunn".
Honorable mention to "Have Gun Will Travel"

[joni]

That whistled song on "The Andy Griffith Show" was titled "The Fishing Hole," which is where they appeared to be going in the opening scene. I enjoy viewing some of the old shows on "TV Land," but now they've started putting on some really terrible reality stuff. Most seems to be partially scripted, and badly so. I won't watch to find out. Ugh.

To me, the best theme on present-day shows is the one for "Monk," "It's a Jungle Out There," performed by Randy Newman. It perfectly expresses Mr. Monk's philosophy of life. Too bad that show is ending--hope to see many re-runs.

[George]

Ronnie:

I did not know that you were a Star Trek fan. I am one, too. LOL!

George
Editor
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[Citizen K.]

The Fugitive is my favorite. Click here.

[Sheila Halet]

Ronni - these are terrific...when I was a little girl my favorite show was Howdy Doody. I couldn't wait to get home from Hebrew School so I could watch it at 5:30 on the tiny tv. Now my grandchildren love to watch the tapes of it with Syd. It is so cute when they ask to see it. Recently, I bought a book of tv theme songs to play on the piano...that is a trip (in more ways then one) when I play.