So I'm a little late sharing this list with you guys, TV Guide published it in the last week of April, but life was a little busy for me back then. They have been doing these lists a lot lately, and I already have a few more to share with you guys at a later point in time. I will say that this has to be one of my favorite lists, because who doesn't like a good theme song. For many of us, all it takes is the first few notes of a song, and we instantly know what show it's from. There is just something so wonderful about the combination of music and television. The memories these songs recall for many of us, can never be conjured any other way. These theme songs are so tied into our lives, I'm not sure they can be separated out.
On quick note before I share the list with you guys, am I really the only one who is saddened by the demise of the theme song. You will be able to tell by this list, very few of these shows are on currently. It seems that many of the shows we watch today have replaced the theme song with an opening sequence instead, and if we are lucky, it's accompanied by a few notes, but that's it. I hope the theme song makes a recovery soon.
With my soapbox put away, let the list commence. After the top ten, they are listed alphabetically.
1. Cheers
2. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
3. Hawaii Five-0
4. M*A*S*H
5. Friends
6. The Beverly Hillbillies
7. Route 66
8. The Jeffersons
9. Sesame Street
10. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
11. The Addams Family
12. Alfred Hitchock Presents
13. The Andy Griffith Show
14. All in the Family
15. Ally McBeal
16. Batman
17. Bewitched
18. The Big Bang Theory
19. The Brady Bunch
20. Car 54, Where Are You?
21. The Cosby Show
22. Curb Your Enthusiasm
23. Dallas
24. Dawson's Creek
25. The Facts of Life
26. Family Guy
27. The Flintstones
28. Get Smart
29. Gilligan's Island
30. The Golden Girls
31. Good Times
32. The Greatest American Hero
33. Green Acres
34. Happy Days
35. Hill Street Blues
36. I Love Lucy
37. Laverne & Shirley
38. Law & Order
39. Malcolm in the Middle
40. Maude
41. Miami Vice
42. The Mickey Mouse Club
43. Mission: Impossible
44. Mister Ed
45. The Monkees
46. The Muppet Show
47. The Odd Couple
48. The Patty Duke Show
49. Peter Gunn
50. The Rockford Files
51. Scooby-Doo
52. The Simpsons
53. The Sopranos
54. SpongeBob SquarePants
55. Star Trek
56. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
57. Three's Company
58. Weeds
59. Welcome Back, Kotter
60. The X-Files
So there you go, TV Guide's picks for the 60 best theme songs of all time. Honestly there are a few on there that I could do without ever hearing again, but I at least understand why most of them are on there. What I have a hard time understanding, are some of the songs they left off. So instead of listing the ones I would have included, I'm going to show you the videos instead. I won't explain myself, I'll just let the music do that for me.
The Twilight Zone
Wonder Woman
The Lone Ranger
The Green Hornet
Perry Mason
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bonanza
The Big Valley
So I lied, some other shows I think could have made the cut were: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, How the West Was Won, Davy Crockett, Gunsmoke, and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.
So what do you guys think of the list. What theme songs do you love? What songs did TV Guide, or even myself, leave off the list that deserve to be there?
9 comments:
They left off The Twilight Zone and Bonanza? You should be writing that list instead of them!
Great post Ryan! Those theme songs sure bring back memories. And, yes, you caught some really good ones that TV Guide missed.
I don't watch TV anymore so I had no idea that shows rarely have theme songs now. What a shame...and just another reason not to miss television.
Oh....and how about The Dick Van Dyke Show? I just realized that wasn't on the list. I'd be willing to be that there would have been no Mary Tyler Moore Show without The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Sponge Bob came in higher (just...but still) than Star Trek? Seriously? [And what the heck is Curb Your Enthusiasm?]
Love Malcome in the Middle's song!!
Angie
Angela's Anxious Life
They left off The Jetsons??? Criminal! I was just thinking how no shows seem to have proper theme songs anymore. And Sesame Street should have been No. 1.
Great post, indeed! I feel like watching many of these shows again. M*A*S*H used to be a favourite and Comedy Central is re-telecasting it on Indian cable TV. Alan Alda deserved a better film career.
As I was reading the list, I have to say I agreed with most of them, although by the end I was thinking that it could have been a list of only 50 songs. And then I saw what they left out and was astonished by the ones they left out. How in the world do you leave off Rawhide? I do miss the songs and you'd think the fact that even my kids can sing the theme song of Fresh Prince might convince producers that those songs can have a lasting impression.
Great post, indeed! I feel like watching many of these shows again.
It is a great list of TV’s best theme songs and a very nice collection of videos, which you have used in this blog. It would be a great favor if you can also display some videos of “Peter Gunn” and “The Old Couple” from this list.
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