The 40 Best Television Theme Songs of All-Time -- Now with Special Bonus Track!

Of all the art forms none can match the emotional attachments we have with music. Whether it is a song from our youth or a theme from a favorite television series, music has become a near essential element of our earthly lives. Television themes have gone the way of the typewriter, but looking back on the history of television there are some remarkable themes to listen to and to reflect with fondness on a time gone by. 

There was a long period of time when the concept of water cooler television was literally just that. We discussed what we had viewed with people at work, at school and just about anywhere else we might be. We all pretty much watched the same shows week in, week out and we heard some of these theme songs hundreds of times over the course of a lifetime. Enjoy looking back and pondering a time when we weren't a niche society and all shared in the same moments of life from the start of the week through the end of the week.  Here are the 40 best television theme songs of all-time -- plus a new Bonus Track at the end!  

40) Monday Night Football - Hank Williams Jr. wrote Are You Ready for Some Football and this fun-loving theme worked for many years on both ABC and ESPN.  Monday Night Football garnered huge ratings for several decades. MNF broke one of the biggest news stories of the last fifty years when Howard Cosell announced during a game that John Lennon had been shot in New York City.   

39) Mannix - One of the most undervalued theme pieces comes from this series that aired from 1968 through 1975. Mike Connors starred as private detective Mannix. Lalo Schifrin (he also wrote the theme for Mission Impossible) composed the music. Gail Fisher co-starred as the assistant to Private Investigator Mannix. 

38) The Lawrence Welk Show - The Lawrence Welk Show is one of the longest running series in television history. It is the closing theme that sets the tone for the series. It is a lovely tune that speaks of another time lost to the cynicism of our current world. Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen was written by George Cates and John Elliott. Even though the show stopped producing original one hour shows in 1981 the series continues to air on many PBS stations across the nation. Some gifted people appeared on the series during its long run.  

37) Here Come the Brides - ABC's short-lived series provided an upbeat song which would go on to give teen idol, Bobby Sherman a hit with Seattle.  Orchestra leader and composer, Hugo Montenegro wrote the music and the lyrics came from Jack Keller and Ernie Sheldon. The bluest skies!

36) Green Acres - A CBS 1960's rural show with one heck of a great theme song. The song literally defines the series. Vic Mizzy who wrote the theme for The Addams Family is also the man who created this theme. Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor led the cast, along with Arnold the Pig. Green Acres is the place to be.

35) The Partridge Family - David Cassidy became a huge star with the launch of this ABC Friday night series. Cassidy became one of the most famous teen idols of the 20th century and the theme, C'Mon Get Happy was a worthy theme.

34) The Dick Van Dyke Show - Earle Hagen who wrote the famed Andy Griffith Show theme also composed this upbeat theme song. The Dick Van Dyke series aired for five seasons and became one of the most honored comedies in television history.

33) Peter Gunn - Craig Stevens portrayed Peter Gunn in a series created by film director, Blake Edwards. The show stopped airing in repeats years ago, but one cannot deny the impact of Henry Mancini's theme.

32) The Greatest American Hero - The theme, Believe it or Not was more successful than the series which aired for two seasons.  Mike Post and Stephen Geyer wrote the theme which was sung by Joey Scarbury. The song was a big hit on the Billboard Top 40.

31) I Love Lucy - One of the most formidable series in television history also provided a classic theme song. Eliot Daniel and Harold Adamson wrote the piece that aired on CBS from 1951 through 1957. Considering the series still airs somewhere on television on a daily basis that piece of music is still going strong nearly 70 years after its first broadcast.

30) The Odd Couple - The Odd Couple started as a stage play and was adapted for the big screen in 1968. The film starred Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The TV series starred the equally gifted  Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. Neil Simon's brilliant characters were matched by the unique and memorable Neil Hefti music.

29) The Twilight Zone - Rod Serling's classic horror-thriller series aired for five seasons. The theme still resonates with a certain air of fear. Marius Constant wrote the theme.

28) The Munsters - Fred Gwynne delivered one of the best performances in the history of television. Yes, one of the best performances indeed. The series is still funny and in some bizarre way it still works. The theme was written by Jack Marshall.

27) Captain Kangaroo - Captain Kangaroo had a few different themes over the years, but Puffin' Billy remains a sweet, homespun piece of music. Puffin' Billy was written by Edward White. It was originally used on a BBC children's show and the captain lifted it. The Captain was a classic children's series which aired on CBS for 38 seasons. The show left the air in 1992, but it left an indelible mark on more than one generation of children.

26) My Three Sons - Fred MacMurray had a long career in feature films when he ventured into television.  Little did he realize he would be in one of the most successful series of all-time. My Three Sons premiered on September 29, 1960 and ended in 1972. Frank DeVol wrote the theme. DeVol also composed the theme songs for other series including Family Affair and The Brady Bunch.

25) Jeopardy - One of the longest running series in television history. It premiered in its first format in 1964 with Art Fleming as host. The show used to be much harder to play. Just saying. Alex Trebeck has hosted the current version for over thirty years. Series creator Merv Griffin co-wrote the theme along with Christopher Rhyne. It's one of the shortest themes on the list, but it's been played more than any other theme in history.

24) Gidget - The TV series for the character of Gidget aired for only one season, but it made Sally Field a television star. The series cemented her all-American girl status that would extend through an entire career. Sally Field wasn't the first Gidget (filmed versions had been made prior to the launch of the series), but she was the best Gidget. Wait 'til You See My Gidget was written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield. Johnny Tillotson who scored several top 40 hits during the early 1960's sings an uplifting TV theme song. 

23) The Beverly Hillbillies - The Tiffany network scored big ratings with a series of rural series back in the 1960's. Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and the long-running The Beverly Hillbillies all had memorable theme songs, but The Ballad of Jed Clampett is certainly one of the most creative of the themes. The show premiered on September 26, 1962 and it came to its end in 1971. The theme was written by series creator Paul Henning and it was performed by the famed bluegrass duo of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. Jerry Scoggins sang lead on the song. Flatt and Scruggs are iconic figures in bluegrass music and the wacky part is that this piece of music is still their most memorable.

22) The Golden Girls - This series about four senior women has continued to gain new fans years after it went off the air.  The series was a huge hit and in large part the theme contributed to its success. Andrew Gold had a minor hit with Thank You For Being A Friend in the 1970's but the song was revived (without Gold singing) for the series in the mid-1980's. It still sounds great.

21) M*A*S*H - Before M*A*S*H premiered on September 17, 1972 it was a feature film in 1970. The film was directed by Robert Altman and the lyrics to Suicide is Painless were penned by Altman's son Mike, who made more money writing the lyrics for the theme than his father made for directing the film version.  Johnny Mandel wrote the music.

20) Gilligan's Island - The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle was the best element of the series. A wildly ridiculous series lasted for several years, but the show's theme can still be sung by nearly anyone over a certain age. Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle wrote the theme. How did they get all those different outfits on the island? They were only away on a day trip!

19) The Jetsons - The Hanna Barbera creation of The Jetsons premiered on September 23, 1962. It was a short-lived series, but you wouldn't know it by the love still given to the series and to the even more famous theme. Hoyt Curtin also wrote the theme for The Flintstones. Curtin deserves laurels, kudos and awards for all of this feel good music which has been enjoyed for generations. Daughter Judy!

18) The Jeffersons - The series spent ten years on CBS. Janet Dubois and Jeff Barry wrote the upbeat tune and Dubois sang it with a gospel choir. 

17) The Love Boat - One of the worst series ever to have life on television premiered on September 24,1977 and for some unexplainable reason stayed on the air for nine seasons. The Pacific Princess theme was composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Paul Williams. The Jack Jones version proved to be his most famous track and by the final season they switched from the Jones version to a Dionne Warwick version.  The show may have been dismal trash, but the theme song worked and became part of the pop culture world during a time when everyone was watching the same shows on television.

16) Happy Days - The show which inspired the phrase "jump the shark" managed to provide a genuinely fun theme song which many people can still ad-lib on a dime. Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox wrote the theme music.

15) The Addams Family - The series is dated, but the Vic Mizzy composed theme music featuring finger snaps and a harpsichord still echoes for television fans many years after the show made its premiere. The Addams Family would manage to find an audience in the feature film world as well.

14) Welcome Back Kotter - Another one of the worst series of the 1970's produced one of the finest theme songs of any television series. John Sebastian of Lovin' Spoonful fame wrote and performed Welcome Back and it became a hit song. The series aired on ABC from 1975 until 1979.

13) Friends - By the time Friends premiered in the 1990's television themes were already being dismissed. Television audiences no longer had the patience to sit through opening credits with a theme and networks didn't want viewers tuning out during an extended open. The wildly expensive NBC series (all six leads were making millions of dollars by its end) lasted ten years. I'll Be There For You enjoyed top 40 hit status.

12) American Bandstand - The Bandstand Boogie written by Charles Albertine had several variations during the long run of the series. The show hosted by Dick Clark lasted on-air from 1952 through 1989. Rate a record! I can dance to this theme song!

11) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - Johnny's Theme was written by singer-songwriter Paul Anka who made more money from this piece of music than any of his other pieces of music. Imagine getting a royalty every time the series aired. Johnny Carson's long running success in the late-night world lasted for 30 years beginning in 1962. Carson was a formidable talent and one of television's foundational artists. We shall never see the likes of Carson again.

10) Bonanza - One of the most successful westerns in television history rode into our homes in September, 1959 and would be welcomed into our homes until its conclusion in January, 1973. It aired for 14 seasons and it delivered 430 episodes which explains why it still has a strong shelf life in repeats all these years later. The music was composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.

9) Miami Vice - The famed open by composer Jan Hammer went on to Billboard top 40 single status. The hipster series was inspired by MTV. NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff was said to have wanted MTV cops on the schedule. Miami Vice made its first entry into our homes on a Friday night in 1984. The series stayed on the schedule until 1990.

8) The Andy Griffith Show - The show first aired on CBS in 1960 and concluded its long run in 1968. The Fishin' Hole theme was written by Earle Hagen; and it is Hagen whistling on both the open and close of the credits. The Andy Griffith Show still airs on multiple channels some fifty years after it went off of a network schedule.

7) The Flintstones - Hoyt Curtin, who also wrote the equally memorable theme for another Hanna-Barbera animated series, The Jetsons created one of the most famous television themes of all-time. Anyone over a certain age can certainly sing this song without being prompted by anything other than the first notes of the tune. The Flintstones premiered on September 30, 1960 and lasted through 1966. Meet the Flintstones! Have a Yabba Dabba Do time!

6) The Monkees - No, they weren't a real group, even though they became one of the biggest hit-making groups of the 1960's. The series came on the air in 1966 and was already gone by 1968, but the theme song still can make a generation of early and late baby boomers sing in unison. Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz and the forever cute, Davy Jones sang Hey, Hey We're the Monkees and crafted a hit.

5) The Rockford Files - The Rockford Files made its television network debut on September 13, 1974. One of the most appealing actors in television history, James Garner starred in the series for six years, but the Mike Post theme has taken its place as one of television's most noteworthy pieces of music. Mike Post also wrote many other well-known television theme show classics, including Law & Order and  Hill Street Blues.

4) Cheers - Cheers made its debut on NBC in September 1982. It ran successfully for eleven seasons on the Peacock network. The theme, Where Everybody Knows Your Know Name written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Portnoy went on to become as formidable a television classic as the series itself.

3) Hawaii Five-O - The original Hawaii Five-O premiered on CBS on September 20, 1968. It was a major series for twelve years and was rebooted for the same network in 2010. The famed theme music was written by Morton Stevens. The Ventures had a top 40 Billboard hit with their version of the music shortly after the series premiered in the late 1960's. Book em Danno!

2) Mission Impossible - Mission Impossible premiered on television in the late 1960's and was rebooted briefly on ABC in the 1990's. The film franchise which launched in 1996 has gone on to become one of the most successful film franchises in history. Lalo Schifrin wrote the stunning piece of music and of course, its value to the title is so formidable it still sets a flame in the heart every time you hear it.

1) The Mary Tyler Moore Show - We have hit the number one spot for best television theme song of all-time. The Mary Tyler Moore show premiered in September, 1970 and concluded its seven year run in the spring of 1977.  Love Is All Around is a highly memorable, downright make you feel good song. Sonny Curtis was a talented musician and songwriter who had a God-given gift for writing feel good tunes. He composed the music and lyrics for Love Is All Around; and he sings the vocals on this magnificent television theme.  He wrote pop tune classics I Fought the Law for the Bobby Fuller Four and the even more classic Walk Right Back for the legendary Everly Brothers. The Mary Tyler Moore theme song defined her show and the character of Mary Richards. Yes, she could indeed turn the world on with her smile. Note the change of lyrics from season one to the following six seasons. Sonny Curtis was asked to rewrite the lyrical content.  Mary was going to make it!

Just for a bit of additional pop culture fun here's Joan Jett's rockin' rendition! 

SPECIAL BONUS TRACK!

** Mister Ed - Mister Ed was a series for eight seasons and as a horse lover I could only hope horses could speak to us, although in a way they do speak to us.  Ray Evans and Jay Livingston wrote the theme for Mister Ed. A horse is a horse...By the way, all horses are not created equally and Mister Ed was certainly a superior member of the equine family.

Thanks for reading and be sure to leave us your favorites in our comments!

Copyright (C) 2018 by The Flaming Nose 

Goodbye, Cuddly Toy: Monkee Davy Jones Passed Away Today

This one really hurts.  As a Monkees fan from the very beginning -- and I do mean beginning, from the first show of The Monkees on NBC back in September of 1966 until today -- it was shocking to learn of the fatal heart attack of  Davy Jones, who died this morning in a Florida hospital at the too-young age of 66.  Davy was nominally the "cute one" of the Monkees, an almost-diminutive (he trained as a jockey) but super-talented Brit who prior to becoming part of what wags dubbed "The Pre-Fab Four" was an acclaimed performer on the Broadway stage and British TV.  Davy, along with Micky Dolenz -- he was the other show biz veteran in the group, starring in his own TV show as a youth -- was a performing dynamo and a consistently adorable presence whose accent made him even more delightful. 

It's always interesting to ask ladies of a certain age who was their favorite Monkee. I went for Micky who was the most traditionally comedic of the lads -- I've always gravitated towards the funny -- but I'm sure that most young girls set their sights on Davy.  I can easily imagine what a huge mountain all the Pee Chee folders of yesterday adorned with Davy's name in little hearts would make.  He was probably the ultimate teen idol -- sweet, enthusiastic and talented until the end -- and the hearts he won more than forty years ago never stopped loving him.  (Even a few years after the initial craze of Monkee Mania, Davy Jones was still a powerful force, famously setting Marcia Brady's heart aflutter on the "Getting Davy Jones" episode of The Brady Bunch in December of 1971; clips below.) 

Despite only having a two-year 58 episode run, The Monkees series has been a TV favorite for decades.  Syndication kept Monkee magic alive during the 1970s and early 1980s, then in 19

86 MTV scooped up the series and enabled a full-on revival of Monkee Mania thru marathons and special events.  Since that time the show has truly never left the air, always keeping faithful fans happy and constantly winning over more hearts, each new fan discovering the tremendous goodwill that emanated from Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith as The Monkees.

The Monkees, singly and together in various iterations, have continued to make their music for loyal followers, too.  Davy, particularly, had a full schedule of personal appearances all over this country and abroad, delighting audiences with his non-stop energy and genuine joie de vivre wherever he went. Fans lined up to hear him revisit his collection of hits such as "Daydream Believer," "She Hangs Out," "I Wanna Be Free," "When Love Comes Knockin' At Your Door," "Cuddly Toy," "Star Collector," "Valleri," "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" and also all the Monkees hits where he wasn't the lead singer.  (We highly recommend reading this thoughtful article from Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone for an appreciation of Davy's pop star status.)  Relax a while and revisit the marvelous music of The Monkees:























Davy Jones left us too soon.  There were still songs to be sung, audiences to be entertained, new memories to be made and old ones remembered.  The Flaming Nose TV Blog offers our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Davy Jones.  We will carry his enthusiasm with us always, and we will never forget how much we -- and the world -- loved this consummate entertainer. 

Happy Birthday, Lisa Mateas!

In case you do not know her name, it's Lisa Mateas.

She's one of the progenitors of THE FLAMING NOSE, but she is SO SO much more than that. I won't go on and on about her achievements. This would embarrass her. Still, I will say she's been a champion of TV for a long time. She's been in there, punching for fandom and for pure love of television so much that, if I told you all how much she's done, you'd be sending her copious e-mails in complete thanks. This is easy to say, but, believe me, you would be sending those e-mails (the Babylon 5 people alone would be turning out full force)!

I met Lisa in 1994, when I was applying for the job of Programming Coordinator at Turner Network Television, where she was the network's longtime Vice-President (and, thus, a progenitor of both Turner Network Television and Turner Classic Movies). I showed up on time, and I got the job, and I knew it immediately because both she and her cohort, Phil Oppenheim, acted like they had just won the lottery after they had met me. How many people can say THAT about people they've interviewed with? To work with Lisa and Phil was like working for the Wright Brothers: they knew it all, and I never questioned it. The astronomical plus was that these two were vastly funnier and more joyous that the Wright Brothers probably ever were. They were, for me, the king bosses of all time. If you can imagine your managers spending time blackening in the shiny white teeth belonging to celebrities on the covers on TV Guide while STILL remaining the smartest people in the building, then you'll know what I mean. Can't imagine it? No? Thank you. It was a one-of-a-kind job.

I was, I thought, strictly a movie guy when I met Lisa. But she saw something else in me. And she made me realize that TV was just as close to my soul as the movies were. It took me a while to understand this, but it happened. Now, I get the difference, and the nuances, that separate the mediums. And I have to say: after meeting Lisa (and Phil), my love of TV and movies are running neck-and-neck. In fact, I don't think one can exist without the other.

My tribute to Lisa was going to be, originally, a series of posts on Facebook. But I thought that was much more ephemeral than I could stand.

Lisa and I are still kindred spirits; we played VIDEO GAMES together, for God's sake. Even though we now live far apart, I will always carry her with me in my heart. And, clearly, this is the case with her, too; she is still always keeping up with my doings on FILMICABILITY, and constantly comments--in complete, loving, and authentic allegiance--on my articles. She has said, and I believe, that she is my #1 fan. And so, as HER #1 fan, I offer a single article in tribute to her wisdom and magnificence.

Even so, I respect her privacy. But I still feel I have to say how much I love her. And so I'll do it through television--her FIRST and TRUEST love. I think she'll groove on this.

So now I offer, for my dearest friend, a tribute through television. The following top ten clips--even though we may not have talked about them ALL straightforwardly--are still each sublime TV moments that will make me, forever, undoubtedly recall Lisa Mateas, and all the great times, and all the great loves, we've shared together. Happy birthday, Lisa! You make every world shine!

(The Andy Griffith Show; "Mr. McBeeVee" Season 3, episode 1, part 3; written by Harvey Bullock, directed by Bob Sweeney; this scene requires Opie's father, Andy, to believe in something that was unbelievable. Lisa and I still share a love of this series; I may be speaking out of turn for her, but I think that we agree this series, and perhaps this very series of scenes, are amongst TV's sweetest moments in time. Lisa is all about sweetness but, as you will later see, darkness plays a role as well).

(The insanely amazing opening credits to The Wild Wild West, with Richard Markowicz's unforgettable theme, and those beautiful animations; TNT played The Wild Wild West daily up until the late 1990s; Lisa named one of her cat Artemus!).

(The opening credits to the greatest one-season TV show of all time: Freaks and Geeks, created by Paul Feig and Judd Apatow; I think that if Lisa had had the power at the time, Freaks and Geeks would have gone on to a second season, and beyond; and we were THIS close...).

(From The Twilight Zone: "To Serve Man." Season 3, episode 14. Written by Damon Knight and directed by John Braham).

(From The Outer Limits: "The Zanti Misfits." Season 1, episode 14. Written by Joseph Stefano and directed by Leonard Horn).

(I Love Lucy, "Job Switching," season 2, episode 1, written by Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Pugh and Jess Oppenheimer; directed by William Asher; Lucy is the avatar for this very site, which should tell you something).

(Leave It To Beaver, "Beaver Gets Spelled," season 1, episode 1, part 3; written by Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly; directed by Norman Tokar; I never knew how smart the Beaver was until I met Lisa).

(Joe Flaherty as Count Floyd, tubthumbing for "The Bloodsucking Monkeys of West Miffland, PA," from 1980 on Second City Television; Lisa and I both share a massive crush on Mr. Flaherty, who I think we agree is a genius).

She's a hilarious, wonderful lady. Lisa Mateas is my hero. How I adore her so! And she is the one and only person I know who is totally, completely, all about love. And here's a bonus clip, too!

(Joe Bob Briggs singing the Monstervision song, 1997; they'd be no Joe Bob hosting Monstervision without Lisa!)

Sending Get Well Wishes to Peter Tork, of the Monkees

The Flaming Nose offers our heartfelt hopes for a speedy recovery to former Monkee Peter Tork, who has just been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. His treatment will begin immediately and he hopes to be back performing with his band Shoe Suede Blues as soon as possible.

The sunny-faced and amiable Peter Tork was always a charming presence on The Monkees -- of course you remember that the series won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1967! -- and we will keep him in our thoughts as he does battle with the Big C.

Here's a cute clip of Peter during the amazing "Monkees on Tour" episode, a crazy cinema-verite segment of the series following the boys as they went on a concert tour.

We love you, Peter!