The Best TV Theme Songs of All Time

The television theme song is a disappearing art form, according to Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times, who chalks the deemphasis on theme songs up to television producers who need to lock in viewers before they have a chance to reach for the remote (or the mouse). His list of the best show intros […]

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The television theme song is a disappearing art form, according to Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times, who chalks the deemphasis on theme songs up to television producers who need to lock in viewers before they have a chance to reach for the remote (or the mouse).

His list of the best show intros includes one modern entry and some usual suspects (I can think of a few other contenders... Diff'rent Strokes and Three's Company, for starters):

  1. Sanford & Son - The swampy groove. Theloopy melody. Toots Thielemans' amazing harmonica work. There are10,000 reasons why Quincy Jones' theme helped make Redd Foxx thecoolest junkman in TV history.

  2. The Addams Family/The Munsters - Both tunes meld campy horror gloom with wacky comedy touches. And the Addams Family
    even tacked on classic lyrics: "They're creepy and they'rekooky/Mysterious and spooky/They're all together ooky." Use of the word"ooky" = instant TV legend.

  1. The Love Boat
    - Looking back, this lounge lizard classic ("Love . . . exciting andnew") nails the faded '70s celebrity vibe of the series so well, you'dalmost think it was intentional.

  2. M*A*S*H (Suicide is Painless) - Transformed an elevator music classic into a resonant, powerful theme.

  3. __The Benny Hill Show (Yakety Sax) __- No composition in the history of television so quickly communicates the idea: "wacky comedy ahead."

  4. Gilligan's Island - Among all the explainer theme songs - Beverly Hillbillies, The Brady Bunch - this is most hallowed. And effective.

  5. Miami Vice
    - What hipster didn't walk into a club during the '80s, pastel shirtand loafers securely in place, without this song playing in their head?

  6. The Jeffersons - Only in the '70s would a sitcom about a successful black businessman come complete with a gospelized theme song ("Movin' on up!") straight from the pulpit.

  7. The Sopranos - A3's throbbing, dance floor masterpiece Woke Up This Morning stands as the best modern-day TV theme song, for the best modern TV drama of all time.

  8. All in the Family - Those Were the Days
    may be the best explainer theme song that wasn't, nailing the wistfulanxiety of Edith and Archie Bunker so well, you loved hearing it weekafter week.

(st. petersburg times; via obscurestore; image of the 'all in the family' credits screen from bridgeandtunnelclub)