This article from Billboard simultaneously celebrates the original TV theme song and mourns its demise. Read the full post.
Sep 18
2008
01:00 PM ET
The most popular original TV theme songs
- Comments 102
- Add comment
Latest News
- 'DWTS': Donald Driver is season 14 champ
- 'Basketball' vs. Obama: Political ad review
- 'American Idol': Notes from inside the Nokia
- 'American Idol' poll: Jessica or Phillip?
- 'True Blood': New showrunner is...
- 'Deadliest Catch' clip: Rescue at sea!
- Michael McKean hit by car in NYC
- 'Great Gatsby': Gonzo new trailer
Most Commented
Top 5 Most Read
- ‘Dancing With the Stars’: Season 14 winner is….
- 'Dancing With the Stars' season finale recap: Battle for the Miracle Ball
- On the scene at ‘American Idol’ finale: The audience at Nokia Theatre clearly liked Phillip Phillips better than…
- ‘Glee’ season finale: Who made it to New York?
- ‘American Idol’: Did Phillip or Jessica win the night?
That list sucks. There were a few songs on there that I couldn’t think of at all, yet, I can sing all the lyrics to The Addams Family, Scooby Doo, Cheers, Dukes of Hazzard, Family Ties, Three’s Company, and countless others. As for those from the last decade: I love the theme for Psych, not just because it’s awesome, but because they also did it in Spanish for their telenovela. I also like the Big Bang Theory theme.
The original 90210 theme song. Doing the claps at the beginning comes instinctively now. I also like Melrose Place’s theme. One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes is when the four are bobbing their heads to the MP theme.
It’s a classic and iconic: my all time favourite theme song has got to be Doctor Who. It was great in the early days, and Murray Gold’s new arrangements gave it even more vitality.
Can’t rule out “the fall guy.” That was a good one!
Heloooo, How I Met Your Mother??? I always wanna bust out and “sing” along!! And what about The British Office?!?!? Is that an original song?
Theme songs also cut away at the total run time for a show. That’s why How I Met Your Mother has such a short song. It let’s them have more in an episode.
Who the hell remembers “The Heights.” The theme from Hill Street Blues should be #1. Where is the theme from “Dynasty?” and “Sanford and Son?”
There’s no words, but I just love Mad Men’s theme song. There’s no fast-forwarding through that.
My mom used to watch a show called “Simon and Simon” I think it was about PI’s anyhew, I remember totally jamming to the gee-tar in the theme song. It was awesome.
Reading Rainbow. Butterfly in the sky… I can fly twice as high.
And speaking of PI’s ….what about Magnum PI?
Oh, come on. Even 50 years later…who doesn’t know the theme song from Batman??
WKRP in Cincinnati, Psych, Big Bang Theory, Welcome Back Kotter, Cheers, I love them all!
The Friends theme isn’t on the list because there was no commercial single released for it, and thus it wasn’t on the Hot 100 during it’s peak because of the the chart rules at the time that didn’t allow airplay only songs to chart.
It did eventually chart as a B-side to the follow up single. “I’ll Be There For You” is credited because it had more radio airplay than “This House Is Not A Home”, but airplay had dipped at that point so it’s chart positioning (I think it peaked at sometime like #19) doesn’t really reflect the song’s popularity.
And this list doesn’t really reflect popularity…it’s just a list of the best performers on the Hot 100. Numerous theme songs that would be considered classics were never actually singles.
What about the Jeffersons, the Adams Family, the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Gilligans Island and Hawaii 5-0?