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Theme songs from full-lengh songs

A

ajc_trw

I've wanted to start this thread for awhile, so the time is now.

How many classic TV shows had their themes carved from songs written for the series. Song that ran well past what aired as the theme song. EX: The theme to Angie was taken from the song "Different Worlds".

so, with this in mind

Which theme songs came right from the single (edited from the version released as a single) as was

The Monkees, Welcome Back Kotter, Love American Style.

and how many came from different versions than the single version (the TV theme sounding notably different than the full length single)

Angie, Happy Days, Friends

;)
 
One I can think of offhand is the theme from Medical Center - different than the single version (single courtesy of YouTube).

Theme from the Love Boat was apparently released more than once as a single, as this 1979 MGM Jack Jones single is much different than the show's theme (single courtesy of YouTube).

I can't find an online example but I believe the single release of the theme from All In The Family was a difference recording than the take used in the show.
 
Re: Theme songs from full-length songs

Hawaii Five O. (The 1968) version.

I know the Ventures did the song and had a hit with it. But who
did the theme song for the actual TV show? It sounds different
than the Ventures version.

The Johnny Cash show used the intro to Folsom Prison Blues as
a lead-in to Johnny spinning around and saying 'Hello'. This was
recorded at a higher pitch than the actual song.

The Dean Martin show. Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.

The Greatest American Hero - Joey Scarborough.
 
Re: Theme songs from full-length songs

Bill Myers said:
Hawaii Five O. (The 1968) version.

I know the Ventures did the song and had a hit with it. But who
did the theme song for the actual TV show? It sounds different
than the Ventures version.

The Johnny Cash show used the intro to Folsom Prison Blues as
a lead-in to Johnny spinning around and saying 'Hello'. This was
recorded at a higher pitch than the actual song.

The Dean Martin show. Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.

The Greatest American Hero - Joey Scarborough.
Click to expand...

Folsom Prison Blues and Everybody Loves Somebody were not written for the singers' respective shows. They were songs already associated with the singers.

Davy Crockett was the number one song in 1955, probably the most successful song written for a TV show.

Any number of songs from TV shows were released on records (usually in different versions and often with different singers) but few got much airplay or chart action.
 
The NBC-TV series, "Medic" from 1954-1956 featured the theme that was later called "Blue Star" or "The Medic Theme". It was written by Victor Young. Lyrics were later written for it by Edward Heyman.
 
Re: Theme songs from full-length songs

FredLeonard said:
Any number of songs from TV shows were released on records (usually in different versions and often with different singers) but few got much airplay or chart action.
Click to expand...
You didn't live through the '70s, did you?

"SWAT," Rhythm Heritage
"Rockford Files," Mike Post
"Making Our Dreams Come True," Cyndi Grecco (theme from Laverne and Shirley)
"Makin' It," David Naughton
"Hill Street Blues," Mike Post
 
Re: Theme songs from full-length songs

firepoint525 said:
FredLeonard said:
Any number of songs from TV shows were released on records (usually in different versions and often with different singers) but few got much airplay or chart action.
Click to expand...
You didn't live through the '70s, did you?

"SWAT," Rhythm Heritage
"Rockford Files," Mike Post
"Making Our Dreams Come True," Cyndi Grecco (theme from Laverne and Shirley)
"Makin' It," David Naughton
"Hill Street Blues," Mike Post
Click to expand...

I did. I didn't say zero airplay or chart action. I said few got much. Including those you listed. Minor hits, at best. By the way, if you lived through the 70s, you'd recall Hill Street Blues premiered January 15, 1981.
 
Re: Theme songs from full-length songs

FredLeonard said:
firepoint525 said:
FredLeonard said:
Any number of songs from TV shows were released on records (usually in different versions and often with different singers) but few got much airplay or chart action.
Click to expand...
You didn't live through the '70s, did you?
"SWAT," Rhythm Heritage
"Rockford Files," Mike Post
"Making Our Dreams Come True," Cyndi Grecco (theme from Laverne and Shirley)
"Makin' It," David Naughton
"Hill Street Blues," Mike Post
Click to expand...
I did. I didn't say zero airplay or chart action. I said few got much. Including those you listed. Minor hits, at best. By the way, if you lived through the 70s, you'd recall Hill Street Blues premiered January 15, 1981.
Click to expand...
Where did I say that my list was strictly from the '70s? Several theme songs already mentioned in this thread (including at least one of mine here) were #1 hits. Several more were top ten hits. I don't know how you get much more "chart action" or airplay than that. Some of these are probably more popular (now) than the shows that they came from. Granted, none of these were six-week #1s or anything like that, but most of them have more staying power than the novelty songs which were also prevalent during the '70s and '80s. (And something tells me that even more theme songs could have been hits, except that they were never issued as singles.)

Another one for the list:

"Dukes of Hazzard," Waylon Jennings (who did double-duty, also as "narrator" on the show)
 
In the case of "Makin' It", the song peaked at #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1979. In fact, it didn't even enter the Top 40 until about two months after the show left the air, after 9 episodes, due to poor ratings.
 
There's the variation of Billy Joel's "My Life" that was used as the theme for Bosom Buddies. However, there's a different singer (he doesn't exactly sound like Joel), and the instrumental portion is slightly different. In subsequent rerun airings, that song was replaced by a different theme song, this time sung by Stephanie Mills.
 
Don't know if this counts or not, but the theme song to "Golden Girls" was a hit about 5 or 6 years earlier for Andrew Gold. He wasn't the one who sang it for the "Golden Girls" but he is the orignal artist and songwriter of the song.
 
jwk1979 said:
Don't know if this counts or not, but the theme song to "Golden Girls" was a hit about 5 or 6 years earlier for Andrew Gold. He wasn't the one who sang it for the "Golden Girls" but he is the orignal artist and songwriter of the song.
Click to expand...

Yup, "Thank You For Being a Friend." Cynthia Fee sang it for the "Golden Girls" theme. (For much of the "Golden Girls" run, the only one to get credit for music on the show was George Alison Tipton, who scored the other Susan Harris sitcoms, and arranged Paul Williams' Oscar-nominated score to "Phantom of the Paradise.")
 
Providence used a cover of "In My Life" by the Beatles. Life Goes On used a cover of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (obviously!) by the Beatles, sung by Patti Lupone and the rest of the cast of the show.
ShawnHill1 said:
There's the variation of Billy Joel's "My Life" that was used as the theme for Bosom Buddies. However, there's a different singer (he doesn't exactly sound like Joel), and the instrumental portion is slightly different. In subsequent rerun airings, that song was replaced by a different theme song, this time sung by Stephanie Mills.
Click to expand...
The show based on Dave Barry's life (title escapes me right now) used a cover of "You May Be Right."

Friends used "I'll Be There For You" by the Rembrandts, and Dawson's Creek used "I Don't Wanna Wait" by Paula Cole. I believe that both of these had been hits by the time they were used for their respective shows.

One Tree Hill used "I Just Wanna Be" (not sure if that is the actual title or not) by Gavin DeGraw, which probably led to his becoming a star.
 
Actually "I'll Be There For You" was written specifically as the theme for "Friends." Early in the show's first season, demand was growing for a recording of the theme, so The Rembrandts added a couple more verses, shot a video with the "Friends" cast, and the record became a hit.
 
azumanga said:
In the case of "Makin' It", the song peaked at #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1979. In fact, it didn't even enter the Top 40 until about two months after the show left the air, after 9 episodes, due to poor ratings.
Click to expand...

I have this song on vinyl in both the single & disco length versions. Nice song and a nice singer, for being a Pepper.
 
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