Here’s the Vinyl Express listener-voted countdown from September 19, 2020: The top 40 TV Theme songs from the vinyl era (mid-1960s to early 1990s) (sponsored by Kelly Subaru.). These also include some songs that became hits because they were first heard on a TV series. Thanks for voting, and for listening!
Top 40 TV Theme Songs
40. Thank You For Being a Friend- Andrew Gold (Golden Girls) Perfect for this show!
39. King Tut- Steve Martin (SNL) I saw it live, and have never forgotten it.
38. Bandstand Boogie- Barry Manilow (American Bandstand) Listen to the words!
37. Quentin’s Theme- Charles Randolph Grean Sound (Dark Shadows) Creepy then,, creepy now
36. Love American Style Memories of fun Friday nights, watching C-list stars, just glad to have a job,
35. At This Moment- Billy Vera (Family Ties) Billy Vera, rescued from the giveaway record bin.
34. Suicide is Painless- (MASH) Choppers, “Incoming!” Radar, Hot Lips, Hawkeye, and Klinger
33. I’ll Be There For You- Rembrandts (Friends) Even the actors had fun on this video!
32. Mr. Ed Of course, of course!
31. WKRP in Cincinnati– Steve Carlisle Every old deejay can relate to this one.
30. Angela (theme from Taxi)– Bob James Perfect theme for one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. This really set the mood.
29. Magnum PI– Mike Post First of 3 in the countdown for Mr. Post, the TV theme master
28. Green Acres– Eddie Albert & Eva Gabor Eddie visited his psychic, who lived in Rossville, GA to get his advice about taking the Green Acres job. Easily the best gig of his long career. Fresh air!
27. Where Everybody Knows Your Name- Gary Portnoy (Cheers) My personal pick for number one, Outvoted!
26. Come on Get Happy- Partridge Family David Cassidy was hired primarily because the producers thought he had great potential as a teen idol. It turns out he could sing!
25 Moonlighting– Al Jarreau I could listen to this over and over. Al Jarreau was a national treasure.
24. The Monkees Theme Made for TV, but they sounded great on the radio too.
23. Good Times Great tune, great lyrics.
22. Mission: Impossible– Lalo Schifrin I think this has aged better than most 60s TV theme songs. It still sounds “current” today.
21. Gilligan’s Island The show’s creator Sherwood Schwartz wanted the theme song to tell the story to anyone who was watching for the first time. It worked!
20. My Life- Billy Joel (Bosom Buddies) Most recording stars are reluctant to loan their songs to a new TV show. Thank you Billy Joel!
19 . Different Worlds- Maureen McGovern (Angie) This show flopped despite some great ABC lead-ins (Happy Days, Mork and Mindy). The theme song was better than the show.
18. Movin’ on Up- Janet DuBois (The Jeffersons) Sung by Good Times cast member Ja’net DuBois, this was a perfect match for the show. “Movin on up, to that de-luxe aparment in the sky!
17. Batman- Neal Hefti I heard all forty of these songs on the day the countdown aired. THIS is the one that was stuck in my head two days later.
16. Good Ol’ Boys- Waylon Jennings (Dukes of Hazzard) Whoever chose Waylon to sing the Dukes theme song was a dad-gum genius.
15. Miami Vice– Jan Hammer I was never a Miami Vice fan, but the theme song rocked.
14. The Brady Bunch Kudos to the Brady family, who discovered the Zoom call in 1970. Ahead of their time.
13. Hill Street Blues– Mike Post As Sgt. Esterhaus told us, “Let’s be careful out there.” I never got tired of this theme song.
12. Saved by the Bell Like a Saturday morning alarm clock.
11. Long Lonesome Highway- Michael Parks (Then Came Bronson) The show’s star did double duty, singing the theme song. Great little two-minute ear candy treat.
10. Theme from SWAT– Rhythm Heritage One of the few songs in this countdown that could have been a hit without the TV show. Best heard at high volume.
9. The Addams Family When people come to see them, their house is a museum, they really are a scree-am…” Poetry at its finest.
8. The Rockford Files– Mike Post “Hi, this is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and message, and I’ll get back to you.” Loved that guy. Good theme song too.
7. Secret Agent Man- Johnny Rivers (Secret Agent) Never saw this show, but I sure do love this song. Johnny should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
6. Happy Days– Pratt & McClain “Rock Around the Clock” was the theme for this show’s first season. This was a good replacement.
5. How Do You Talk to an Angel- The Heights A 1992 number one record from a TV show about a fictional band, that was cancelled after 13 weeks.
4. TSOP- MFSB (Soul Train) Featuring the Three Degrees on vocals at the end. The Sound of Philadelphia.
3. Hawaii Five-0– Ventures Book ’em Dano. I was never a fan of this show, but I watched the intro, with music theme EVERY week.
2. Welcome Back- John Sebastian (Welcome Back Kotter) It took a while for this sitcom to catch on. After a few weeks, America discovered John Travolta, and the John Sebastian theme song was a hit as soon as it was released.
- Believe it or Not- Joey Scarbury (The Greatest American Hero) The show only lasted two years, but the theme song has endured for more than three decades.
And now, the five that got away: these are on my personal top 40 list, but the votes didn’t support my opinion: Bonanza, Love Boat, Dallas, NBC Mystery Movie (Columbo, McCloud), and Police Squad (a Naked Gun-style Leslie NIelsen comedy that only lasted six weeks, but the weekly theme sequence was unforgettable).
Here are about 60 others that received multiple votes, in no particular order:
All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Hour, That Girl, Newhart, Rawhide, Perry Mason, St. Elsewhere, Route 66, 77 Sunset Strip, One Day at a Time, Alice, Dynasty, Laverne & Shirley, Three’s Company, Jeopardy, The Price is Right, Sesame Street, Branded, The Rebel, Twilight Zone, Dragnet, Ironside, Dean Martin Show (Everybody Loves Somebody), I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Davy Crockett, Odd Couple, Munsters, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Dating Game, China Beach, Baretta’s Theme (Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow), My Three Sons, Andy Griffith Show, Wagon Train, The Lone Ranger, Star Trek, It’s About Time, Sanford and Son, Big Bang Theory, Frasier, I Love Lucy, Facts of Life, Flipper, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Man from UNCLE, Get Smart, Nadia’s Theme (Young and the Restless), Tonight Show theme (Here’s Johnny), The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Where The Action Is, Cheyenne, Room 222, Perfect Strangers, Charlie’s Angels, The Carol Burnett Show, Growing Pains, Married With Children (“Love and Marriage” by Frank Sinatra)
Growing Pains fans mourn!