The Community
ROCK AND ROLL! => All Them Other Guys => Topic started by: Zzzptm on March 16, 2025, 11:42:32 AM
-
Not wanting to step on toes, I'll refrain from snagging the themes for Top Gear and The Grand Tour... :smug:
But I still get a car for my first theme song pick! The tune is "The Streetbeater" by Quincy Jones, but everyone of a certain age in the USA knows it as the theme for Sanford and Son:
It's a great tune for rollin' down the street with the windows down, for sure!
-
I have so so so many favourite TV show themes I'm going to need some time to compile a list I can feel comfortable with....and I know I'm still gonna be missing 20 great ones!
-
I say we keep the list open after our first 10 choices, but we just start a new actual top 10 list once we've got 10 entries from everyone here.
Because I got a lot, too.
EDIT: And I think Vyn and me are gonna be dukin' it out on a bunch of them!
-
Streetbeater was my first one, you bastage! :)
-
I'm pretty sure that Sandford and Son was based on the British sitcom Steptoe and Son...
Pick #1 is the theme from Steptoe and Son. ;D
-
I think 90% of USA TV shows were based on some previous British TV show.
My numero uno pick is the Theme from The Monkees (yeah, they had a TV show and it's a catchy song):
-
My first pick is one of my childhood favourites...and I still love both the show AND the theme to bits!
Agatha Christie's...POIROT!
-
Streetbeater was my first one, you bastage! :)
Muhuhahahahahahaha!!!
I'm pretty sure that Sandford and Son was based on the British sitcom Steptoe and Son...
That's why I didn't want to "step on any toes" there. :D
Love the Monkees tune, great to sing along with and Poirot's theme is another classic.
Time to hop into the Pontiac and do a bootlegger reverse!
Mike Post could sure write a great theme, and that's what we got with The Rockford Files. This is from season 1, although I prefer the theme from season 2 and after. But it's got the opening montage that practically told a story in and of itself. It also released as a single on MGM in 1974, which was not uncommon for really great teevee theme songs back then.
-
Oh I remember Rockford Files with James Garner! It aired here in the early 90s...
I'm going full on 80s vibe for my second one! This was not just another action show it was also a fashion statement and an ICON of the 80s..
Jan Hammer presenting MIAMI VICE theme!
-
Welcome Back by John Sebastian, theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter.
-
Pick number 2. I don;t know if Thunderbirds ever made it across the pond but it is one of the best theme tunes ever!
The Theme from Thunderbirds
-
Somehow the Thunderbirds toys made it over here, but not the show. Go figure.
Vyn took Kotter... I must move swiftly and take S.W.A.T.!!! (theme done by Rhythm Heritage)
-
Oh I remember Thunderbirds from back in the day...I think it aired here in the early 90s...on Saturday afternoons....I watched it occationally. It was sort of fun...surely not among my favourites.
Good loooord with that SWAT intro! That's so corny and cheesy and cliché it's absolutely brilliant!
We never had that show here...atleast I can't remember it and it looks like the kind of show I would have watched for sure!
Never even heard of Welcome Back Kotter either...
I'm going back to the 60s with my third one!
This (again) was one of my childhood favourites. Aired here in saturday evenings if memory serves me right...
This the legend JERRY GOLDSMITH and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E
-
^^^
I think by the 1990s Thunderbirds may have looked quite dated compared to it's debut in the 1960s. BUT the theme tune still holds up in my opinion.
For my 3rd pick I'm going with something gentle...
The theme from Inspector Morse by Barrington Pheloung...
I can't rule out there being another John Thaw show later!
-
"Barney Miller" theme song. Made millions of kids want to play the bass with that killer intro.
-
I'll let you have Barney Miller - but SWAT is a bunch of crap man. For that, I'm going to have to whip out Pratt & McClain's Happy Days :)
I still have that 45.
-
Oh yeah that was a jam, even if it was a 70's version of the 1950s, lol. But when I was a kid, it didn't matter, it was the jam. "Sit on it", indeed.
SWAT was awesome. It's why me and my buddies found sticks and then held them over our heads as we jumped off the jungle gym in the playground.
Anyways, I was getting my funk show ready for the next week and had this nugget in my list... the riff in it has a passing similarity to the theme for The Grand Tour. It zigs where the theme zags, but there's a similar vibe. It's Lenis Guess, "Thank Goodness Gotta Good Woman" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3pMbEHThRs
But that's not my theme, it's just presented for interest. My theme for today is the oh-so-iconic Star Trek theme. And you MUST include the opening monologue. Every dang episode, once I learned it, I repeated along with Cap'n Kirk. Yes, I practiced memorizing it. I had to get it right.
When me and my buddies played Star Trek, I got to be Scotty. Or Chekov. I could do the accents, so the parts were mine for the taking. :smug:
-
I'm gonna call your TOS and raise with TNG!
My 4th pick indeed will be the Star Trek show that left the biggest impression on me and the one that I still consider to be among the greatest tv shows ever made
STAR TREK: The Next Generation and again mr. JERRY GOLDSMITH!
-
Pick number 4 for me. It's a bit different, no music, just doors being locked and sentence being passed!
Porridge
Sinple, but effective!
-
Loved Star Trek!
And for Norman and Lennie stuck in the porridge, it's about time for Movin' On Up, as written and sung by Ja'Net DuBois as the theme song for The Jeffersons!
-
Porridge's opening is chilling and cold, masterful.
And The Jeffersons' theme is another one of those great singalong themes that all the kids knew. And it grew out of a show with another great, great opening theme:
"All in the Family" - always loved it when Edith missed that high note. :)
-
Never heard of Porridge or The Jeffersons but loved All In The Family!
I'm throwing in a UK comedy from the early 90s called MEN BEHAVING BADLY for my 5th! Bit of a jazzy theme this one but still great!
-
The Get Smart Theme. The period 1966-1976 may have been peak TV Theme in the USA...
And I think I lost count of where I am...
:sorrychief:
-
Oh you son of a....That one was on MY list goddamnit!
-
I had forgotten Men Behaving Badly, it is a pretty good one.
Pick No. 5 and another classic British sitcom from the 60s and 70s
Dad's Army
This was sung by Bud Flanagan an old school music hall entertainer. Apparently he agreed to do the song, came in and recorded it in no time... and a few days later he died.
-
Oh you son of a....That one was on MY list goddamnit!
:sorrychief:
-
Late 70s mellow with the theme from Taxi - "Angela" by Bob James.
-
Hawaii Five-O Theme as performed by The Ventures
-
^^^
Oh 5-0 theme is great! The new version was also spot on.
I also remember watching Taxi back in the day...gosh over 30 years ago I reckon...
For my 6th it's back to the 80s again and to another childhood favourite..
MATLOCK!
-
The Batman Theme composed by Neal Hefti and performed by Carol Kaye and Tommy Tedesco.
-
Some good memories being posted here.
Pick number 6, another TV show starring John Thaw
The Sweeney
This is the opening and closing theme, for the 1970s police series.
-
The Batman Theme composed by Neal Hefti and performed by Carol Kaye and Tommy Tedesco.
Oh yeah, soooooooo iconic! And those two from The Wrecking Crew played on pretty much every theme in the era. Watch the kids play on The Partridge Family and no way are they as skilled as the actual musicians jamming away and knocking out those tunes.
Muppet Show theme:
Bugs Bunny & Friends theme:
-
Now it's return to the 60s for my 7th choice!
This is Lalo Schifrin and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
This version is a newer one but I think it's rather brilliant!
-
M:I has a great theme tune, good choice.
My Pick number 7 is from a 21st century sitcom
The Big Bang Theory
Performed by the The Barenaked Ladies, this is the full song as the show only used about 21 seconds of it!!
-
That was gonna be on my mirror list of theme songs with lyrics! Great theme tune!
-
Written and performed by Sonny Curtis, we have here the song Love is All Around, used as the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
-
Three greats in a row, love 'em all!
Now, can I keep the momentum going... Hmmm...
With Gilligan's Isle, of course! And this one has the opening AND closing verses! Bonus high point super score! :lol:
-
For my 8th choice I'm going back to the 60s...and jump to the late 80s.
This is PERRY MASON!
For me I never saw the original 60s Perry Mason but when I was a kid the revival with the longer episodes from the late 80s and early 90s aired here and thus this theme is THE Perry Mason theme for me!
-
For some reason, it made me flash on the theme for ABC's Wide World of Sports. My money is on Vyn being able to recite the opening word for word. :smug:
Lord, I get some CHILLS when I play this back!
-
Yes sir, I can indeed recite those words. Haven't thought about that in a long time, cool dig! The agony of defeat skier always hurt, even through the TV screen. haha
Oh, and Perry Mason. I'm the opposite Charger. I absolutely loved the original series and watched it every change I got, and have never seen any of the revival episodes. Although I do recall them making a big deal about it at the time and I wondered how many of the original cast would appear. Sadly I was always too busy to watch one so never found out.
-
I forgot to post last night, so I'll catch up now...
Pick number 7 and another classic 70s and 80s cop show.
The Professionals
Two versions of the titles in one.
-
Well my 9th is the one promised!
THE GRAND TOUR!
BRILLIANT!
-
The Six Million Dollar Man - theme song!
-
Catch up part 2
Pick 8
Top Gear
I hadn't realised quite how short this is! Perhaps I should have gone with the full song of Jessica instead!
-
The Six Million Dollar Man - theme song!
Another great reciteable set of lines at the start of the theme. Dude, that bionic man is outta-sight!
Which reminds me...
Loved to sing along with Good Times... good times man, good times...
-
Good Times had a great theme song, very memorable!
-
Pick number 9
Red Dwarf
-
No. 9: WKRP Theme Song. There were two, the opening and the closing. Always liked the closing one better, but the opening had lyrics that were understandable haha.
And Red Dwarf is one of my favorite shows.
-
I'm seeing a lot of shows that I don't remember EVER airing here!
-
Yeah, I guess some of the US shows didn't make an international impact.
-
WKRP closing credits were the better of the two. It's like the opening was the old radio format as exemplified by Herb, Les, Mr. Carlson, and, yes, even the hot receptionist Jennifer Marlowe. They're the legacy of the easy-listening they used to be.
The closing song represents WKRP's rock and roll present and (hoped-for) future, with Venus, Johnny Fever, Andy, and the babe I had a crush on when I was a kid, Bailey Quarters. Sure, Jennifer had a very nice, um... *presentation*... but Bailey? Dude, she was gonna set Herb on FIRE!!! Now THAT is Rock and Roll!!!
The Price Is Right had a fun theme and was about the only thing a sick kid could watch when the daily cartoons ended and most other networks were showing boring old soap operas.
Fast forward to when my youngest was, well, young, and my wife would let the TV stay on after the CBS Morning Show ended while she was doing chores. My youngest never watched the show, but she'd hum the theme song at the oddest times and I'd always crack up when that theme popped up out of nowhere from my little girl. :)
-
No 9 bonus prior to tomorrow's no. 10:
Theme from Black Books. What a quirky little show that was excellent!
-
We needed a metal TV theme, so I've got the one. Metalocalypse.
Oh wait, there was ANOTHER!!! EEK THE CAT!!!
:guitar: :guitar: :drummer: :guitar: :guitar:
-
Number 10:
Suicide is Painless, from MASH. The TV show version without lyrics.
-
I did think about M*A*S*H, but really didn't want to step on someone elses toes!
My last pick, and probably the most recent one on my list...
Succession
Loved the slightly off-key piano... loved the series.
-
My final pick is going to be the theme of the GREATEST TV SHOW EVER MADE and most certainly one of THE greatest themes ever made.
This is MARK SNOW presenting the theme for MILLENNIUM!
-
1972-1973... The ABC network had an idea for an action-drama series called "The Men" that would have three different production companies alternate with each other on following each of three different tough-as-nails, no-nonsense, fed-up-with-the-rules action heroes. The series flopped, but the theme they commissioned Isaac Hayes to come up with made for a chart hit.
The horn/string run that starts around 2:36 is 100% pure American 70s, right there.
Speaking of 100% pure American 70s...
The theme from "Superstars", a great sports show where athletes from all different sports would compete against each other 1-on-1. I loved watching that as a kid.
-
This (again) was one of my childhood favourites. Aired here in saturday evenings if memory serves me right...
This the legend JERRY GOLDSMITH and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E
Nice selection, Charger. 8)
Here's the version I like.
-
That's is a great theme indeed! I'm glad you approve sir!
-
Hawaii Five-O Theme as performed by The Ventures
Yeah, I'd choose this one as another favorite. Good choice Vyn.
-
Three greats in a row, love 'em all!
Now, can I keep the momentum going... Hmmm...
With Gilligan's Isle, of course! And this one has the opening AND closing verses! Bonus high point super score! :lol:
A 3rd choice I would have selected. Glad you included the closing verse. I watched this show so much that I know the lyrics to that part as well. :)
-
It's nothing without the closing verse, I agree.
-
Speaking of 100% pure American 70s...
The theme from "Superstars", a great sports show where athletes from all different sports would compete against each other 1-on-1. I loved watching that as a kid.
I identify this tune with Monday Night Football, which ABC used for a number of years.
A great theme song.
-
Well I see a number of other theme songs, which I recognize, but nothing else I would call a favorite. Throughout the week I'll list my remaining selections. I'm kind of surprised some of these weren't chosen. :o
First up, Lost In Space, specifically from season 3. The first 2 seasons had a completely different tune, far inferior to this one.
-
That one really is a great theme. It's got all the right stuff for what one needs to get the vibe set for the upcoming program.
We forget in the days of streaming, but the theme song was kind of a call to action: commercials are over, we're getting started, you have 30 seconds to wrap up what you're doing and get your butts in seats, because it's SHOW TIME!
And when the final chords wrapped up, it was totally polite to shush everyone else because there was no pause, rewind, or playback later. The sense of the Now was urgent and all-demanding.
-
I have never seen Lost In Space. It did not air here in the late 80s early 90s. It might have aired earlier but of that I have no knowlage.
Great theme though!
-
IMO the 1960's was the decade with most of my favorite TV show themes. So it is no surprise that my next selection began in that decade. It is that private investigator Mannix.
-
The thumbnail for the Lost in Space video you posted Typhon took me right back into the show. I had forgotten that's what they did with the art, but seeing it brought all the memories back.
-
My next selection is from a western which began in the late 1950's. For those who are unfamiliar, you will see a young Clint Eastwood as a regular in this series.
-
Back to the 1960's for this selection. Even Community members close to my age may mot remember it. Suspense Theatre was a show whose stories I was too young to understand at the time. But I always made sure to put it on just to hear this opening theme song.
-
I have never even heard of that show! BUT the theme is indeed very good!
-
Here is a British Si-fi show from 1970, that few would remember, called UFO. I guess the show wasn't very good because it only lasted 1 season. But the theme song is terrific.
-
Now that it is that time of year again, here is my favorite theme from a sports show. This is the NFL on NBC from the early 1970's. Likely only Zzzptm and Vyn could have seen this before, way back then.
-
Oh yeah, some tight horn charts on that theme song!