Sidetracked

In my last blog entry, I suggested that I like the theme song to the old “Welcome Back, Kotter” TV show.

Well, I may have understated that a bit.

In fact, I actually LOVE the theme song to the old “Welcome Back, Kotter” show! In fact, I actually have the old .45 of that song. And, in fact, I have often found myself watching the intro to “Welcome Back, Kotter” on YouTube just so I can hear that song.

Go ahead – call me a dork now. Get it over with.

But, really – that song’s infectious, man. Old sitcoms might not stand the test of time well, but their songs do.

Think about it: How many shows today – or in the past ten years – featured theme songs you can remember, let alone that you actually might hum in the car on the way home from work?

None, right? You might like the theme to the British “Office,” but that’s an old Rod Stewart song so it doesn’t count. (And, by the way — Rod the Mod is coming to the Mid-State Fair in Paso this summer!)

That said, here’s a list of my favorite TV theme songs:

10.) M*A*S*H. I didn’t even know the song “Suicide is Painless” had lyrics until I saw the movie version years after I’d started watching the TV show. The lyrics, by the way, were penned by Mike Altman, the 14-year-old son of the film’s director, Robert Altman, who reportedly made far more from the song’s royalties than his dad did directing the movie.
9.)Hillstreet Blues. Like the “Taxi” theme, this is just a great instrumental. And it worked perfectly with the opening clips featuring cold and wintery city scenes.
8.) Cheers. Gary Portnoy’s “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” was one of several TV theme songs to actually get radio airplay and become a chart-busting single. Portnoy also sang the “Punk Brewster” theme and co-wrote the opening to “Mr. Belvedere.”
7.) Laverne & Shirley. Like the “Mary Tyler Moore” theme, this one was created to inspire. And did it ever! My dream as a child was to one day work in a beer factory. The intro, by the way (“Schlemeel, schlimazel, hassenfeffer incorporated”) is a Yiddish-American hopscotch chant that Penny Marshall (a.k.a, Laverne) suggested.
6.) Good Times. With lyrics like “Keeping your head above water” and “Temporary layoffs,” this theme song fit the content of the show perfectly. Remember Kid Dyn-o-mite?
5.) The Jeffersons. Well, we’re movin’ on up — yeah, baby. This one’s got soul. Anyone who listens to this without clapping is clearly not right. Possibly even a terrorist.
4.) Happy Days. The show initially used “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Hailey and the Comets but eventually settled on its own original, which became a hit record for a duo named Pratt & McLain. A big Fonzie thumbs up for this one.
3.) Greatest American Hero. Joey Scarbury might not be a household name, but his song “Believe it or Not” was a hit. The song was later used by Michael Moore in “Fahrenheit 9/11” during a scene where President Bush offers his “Mission Accomplished” speech.
2.) WKRP in Cincinnati. I’m not sure it made anyone want to move to Cincinnati, but what a great song, telling the story of the show’s main character — the feather-haired Andy Travis. The more rocking end theme was pretty solid as well.
1.) Welcome Back, Kotter The show it was written for was initially going to be called “Kotter,” but when John Sebastian turned “Welcome Back” in, the creators changed the name of the show to match. The song eventually became a #1 hit.

Honorable mentions: “Magnum P.I.,” “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Taxi,” “Batman,” “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” “Different Strokes,” “Gimme a Break.”

– Pat P.

Posted on February 29th, 2008 by Pat
Filed under: TV