Many of the best television shows are introduced by great opening theme songs that set the tone for the series. Whether they are telling a story about the characters or establishing the show’s style through a score, TV theme songs give the audience a taste of what they are about to experience.
Over the next few weeks, Scoop is going to dust off the old TV Guides to share some of the greatest TV theme songs. This trip down memory lane will take us through a bar in Boston, onto a deserted island, across the final frontier, to a coffee house in New York, and many more familiar places.
Rawhide (1959-1965)
Rawhide followed a group of tough cattle driving cowboys and the characters they meet along the way. The show, which put Clint Eastwood on the map, began with an equally masculine and rustic theme by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin.
The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971)
The Beverly Hillbillies told the story about a man named Jed who quickly got rich and moved his lovable hillbilly family to the upscale, trendy town of Beverly Hills. The series had one of the greatest storytelling theme songs, “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.
Mission: Impossible (1966-1973)
Mission: Impossible delivered thrilling covert operations with an elite team of top agents taking on the hardest of missions. The complex show began with Lalo Schifrin’s catchy theme song of a flute riff that people still hum while attempting difficult tasks.
Sesame Street (1969-)
The human and puppet inhabitants of Sesame Street have educated and entertained preschoolers for over 50 years. And what’s not to love about Joe Raposo, Jon Stone, and Bruce Hart’s song that promises the sunny days will sweep the clouds away.
Happy Days (1974-1984)
Set in the 1950s, Happy Days was part teen sitcom, part family show about teenage Richie Cunningham, his family, and friends like the ever cool Fonzie. The theme song by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox is just as energetic as the show with optimistic lyrics about the happy days of youth.
Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983)
Laverne & Shirley followed the comical misadventures of a pair of friends during the 1950s and ‘60s. To establish the show’s theme of single women doing it there way, it was opened by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox’s ‘70s pop hit “Making Our Dreams Come True.”
Miami Vice (1984-1989)
Miami Vice was the epitome of the 1980s: a sexy cop show with fashionable detectives, great music, and hot Florida culture. Jan Hammer composed a score theme song that is just as cool, stylish, and fast paced as the series.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996)
The animated adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book, saw four anthropomorphic turtles using martial arts to battle the Shredder and his goons. For the theme song, Chuck Lorre wrote lyrics that describe the personalities of each hero in a half shell. Turtle power!
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996)
Will Smith’s meteoric rise began when he played a street smart teen from Philly who moved across the country to live with his rich relatives in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The theme song that Smith and Quincy Jones wrote about how Will ended up in Bel-Air is so catchy that fans can still recite it from memory 26 years later.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015)
CSI was a groundbreaking procedural that put the focus on the science part of police investigations. Rather than create a new theme song, the show began with “Who Are You” by the Who – which is pretty clever considering the show was all about finding people.
Tune in next week for more great TV theme songs!
