What is your favorite tv theme song/composition?


Since many on Audiogon are baby boomers television must have been a big part of your childhood. In grade school my mother allowed me to stay up until 10pm to watch Barnaby Jones. She knew I wouldn't make it past the great Jerry Goldsmith theme. My current favorite is the dark and haunting John Rubinstein composition for the ABC drama Family.
dayglow
Youngster or oldster, it's hard not to enjoy this tune:

Route 66

...Or another high energy TV cop show theme Kojak with a great horn section.

...Or maybe a nice extended version of Voyage to the bottom of the sea

...Or even something spooky like Dark Shadows

I think this one planted the seed of the love of Jazz for me when I was a wee toddler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-44zvFjJ8E
"Those Were the Days" from All in the Family . Great lyric.

I loved the theme from Ben Casey.

Here's a couple of high-energy 70's tunes from youtube. There's several versions/quality of SOSF, but the first 60 seconds of this one sounds decent and still conveys all of the tight horns.

Crank the volume!

Streets of San Francisco

UFO

~
Theme from "Hill Street Blues", S Boccho predecessor to NYPD blues.

How about two real oldies, Theme from "the Prisoner" and "Secret Agent Man"

Theme from Damages
That music they used to play on Lost In Space during suspense sequences like just before Dr. Smith bumped into some "horrid creature" unexpectedly.
'Chico and the Man' was probably the best in the history of television. It was real music.
Drew Carey used "5 O'Clock World" for a while. Obviously not an original, but a tune for the ages. Those opening choreographed scenes were IMHO the best part of a very good sitcom.

Marty
Many great posts!!! Chico and the Man-Room 222-Streets of San Francisco-The Waltons-Maude have received none or a few votes? I agree that Hawaii Five-0 and Mission Impossible should be on everyone's top ten list.
I just LOVE that little ditty played on Jeopardy when the contestants are writing (or not) the 'final answer'.

Just kidding.
The Bob Newhart Show (the original series), but I was a trumpet player so I have a built in bias.

SportsNight: "Snuffy" Waldron does the theme song, but I've never found a way to buy it...

"Suicide is Painless" (MASH) is a classic.
There are some really great themes on the list that I like but two from my childhood are : The Lone Ranger (William Tell Overture) and of course Roy Rogers "Happy Trails".
The Dating Game ("Spanish Flea")
Bonanza
Rescue Me ("C'mon, C'mon")
HR Pufnstuf
The Monkees
Fat Albert
Not exactly in same frame as most others but I love the current opener to "Meet the Press" the compositions triumphant close at opener is something I really like.
While the show isnt my style the song to "True Blood" is pretty cool.
Thought about it and my old school favorite of all, is "I Spy." Very "cool," "jazzy," and "hip," for the times. Surprised it didn't get mentioned.
Hmm. So many good ones, not easy to choose but my overall favorite theme is the Hawaii Five-0 theme.

Other favorites:

The Sopranos
Miami Vice
The Munsters
Magnum P.I.
Happy Days
I Dream of Jeanie
Gilligan's Island
Airwolf
Mission Impossible
Great version of Johnny Quest theme by Reverend Horton Heat on the "Saturday Morning Cartoons" CD. Nice transition into "Stop the Pigeon" from "Dastardly and Mutley in their Flying Machines". Classic baby boomer stuff!

That's a very good CD chock full of nice, energetic versions of old cartoon themes overall actually!

LEt's not forget the "Groovy Goulies". They're gonna do their thing for you!

Don't ask what that is!
Barretta.
The Jonny Quest was a great call. Now it's humming in my head. Thanks ;)

Regards
What is this TV thing? I remember getting very excited about hearing "The Lone Ranger" on the radio. I think my earliest memory was standing up in my crib listening to the Popeye theme on the radio.
I guess I do remember, after a while, the radio came with pictures and they moved. Wow!
I still listen to my Henry Mancini "Peter Gunn" music and I even remember Mr. Lucky. Now how lucky is that?
I think my favorite theme from that CD is "Experiment in Terror", which was a movie, not a TV show. It was funny seeing the movie and realizing I already knew the theme music. Great!
What about Mr. Ed ? Me thinks the guy who wrote this wrote The Addams Family theme too.
Second Twilight Zone, and Mission Impossible,

Lets not forget the theme to "Sanford and Son"; great tune.
Here is the full version of Park Avenue Beat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paAIbMKb7eY
Perry Mason theme song:
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Perry_Mason.html
Fred Steiner:
Another of Steiner's famous works, "Park Avenue Beat", was used from 1957 to 1966 as the theme song to Perry Mason.

Nothing like it on TV.
There is a bunch of great vintage TV listed here…. As TV goes.

As theme songs go some of these previously mentioned might ought not be listed here… maybe. Great shows… or series… not too great theme songs.

The Thin Man? Avengers? The Man from UNCLE?

Maybe under the title of Most recognizable, but not great theme songs.

Under memorable and maybe good…

“3 blind Mice”… fit the 3 Stooges like a glove.

Dick Van Dyke theme song was always a favorite.

Route 66! Sheesh!

‘Moving on up!’... the Jeffersons!

I seem to recall being intrigued by the “I Dream Of Geanie” theme.. or maybe it was just seeing Barbara Eden.

Happy Days! was always a favorite. Bill Haley? C’mon man!

And the spin off… you’d instantly notice, ‘’Schlemeel, schlamozzle,.. Hosenfefer incorporated….’ Laverne & Shirley.

Star Trek! Certainly.

Perry Mason… absolutely.

Taxi!

Cheers was simply where everbody knew your name… it was in the script, so of course they knew! Good tune though.

I also liked John Sebastian’s theme song for Gabe Kaplan’s show, “Welcome Back Kotter!”….juan, not Vinny, often stole that show.

Twilight Zone intro …. Even if I get Alzheimers I’ll remember that one.

‘course, lest we forget, Flatt & Scruggs “Ballad of Jed Clampet” was attached as the theme song for the Beverly Hillbilies’.

Green Acres!, not great but memorable.

Oh, so many westerns!

Before TV, westerns had theme songs, they had song singers… such as Gene Autry… or Roy Rogers… or The ‘Singing Sherriff’ Faron young. I seem to recall Frankie Lane also did the theme song for the Western series hosted by Ronald Regan, Zane Grey Theater? “High Noon” ? if it wasn’t Ronnies show.. it was someone else.

Bonanza … who can forget that one! Not the words, the melody.

John Cash’s singing of ‘The Rebel’’ starring Nick Adams, was a hit that got tacked onto a western… then there was Cheyenne, High Chapparal. Laramie, Laredo, Wagon Train, Definitely Rawhide, Branded, yancy Derringer, Co-cheese, and of course… Maverick…. With Bart, Brett, and Bo. Another always comes to mind and the lead actor did a lot in H’wood, but after this TV series I simply never was interested…. “He wore a kane and derby hat, they called him Bat… Bat Masterson.”

Cop & Spy shows?

Car 54!

The orig ‘M.I.F.’… was just killer.

S.W.A.T. and Hawaii 5-0 were super! Only S.W.A.T. made it onto the disco scene club’s dance floors as I recall.

Magnum P.I. & Hill Street Blues…. Were quite unique.

N.Y.P.D. Blue…? Not sure about the song/tune… but loved the show. You go Bocchco!

‘Boston Legal’ got sort of fancy, hip, and bluesy all at the same time following in the NYPD Blues footsteps.

Nearly 3 full decades of Doc Severenson playing intro’s for Ed McMahon’s “Here’s Johnny!” on the Tonight Show.

… and the current top fav… ‘Family Guy’.

Music… be they quality tracks or simply memorable melodies, always make the TV show, Film, etc., come alive… engage…. Adds texture and whet the appetite. The theme songs live on longer than the characters in the episodes.
Mission Impossible by Lalo Schifrin.
Let's not forget Gilligan's Island. I can still sing the lyrics after all these years.
"Peter Gun"
"M*A*S*H"
"The Avengers"
"Perry Mason"
"The Man from U.N.C.L.E"
"The Saint"
"Secret Squirrel"
"Thriller", Boris Karloff
"Felix the Cat"
"Top Cat"
"The Flintstones"
"The Pink Panther"
"Mod Squad"
"Mr. Ed"
"Mission Impossible"
"Mannix"
"The Streets of San Francisco"

I could go on for hours.
You can't beat this lyric from the Theme for "The Patty Duke Show"

Where Cathy loves the minuet, The Ballet Russe, and Crepe Suzette
Our Patty loves to rock and roll,

A HOT DOG MAKES HER LOSE CONTROL!

I think the censors may have missed one.

Marty
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Emily Barker's song, Nostalgia, is used for the Kenneth Branagh series, Wallander. That song, and that entire CD, Despite the Snow, is just stunningly beautiful and not at all typical of what one might otherwise associate with a TV theme song. Other cuts from that CD are used throughout the series sparsely. It has been on frequent rotation for me for over a year now, and would probably make it to my desert-island disc status at this point. The series is very good as well. As far as the mainstream TV series from my childhood - some of them are wedged in my brain and I'd rather not have them there at all. I haven't had TV in my house for over 12 years now (just watch DVD's if there is a series that interests me).