# TV Show theme songs that are not just "Theme from\_\_\_\_\_" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337 "2009-03-13T15:49:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/41 "2009-03-13T22:47:26Z")
Wasn’t the theme from “Taxi” called “Angela” or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/42 "2009-03-14T00:31:56Z")
Cops – _Bad Boys_ Laverne and Shirley – _Making Our Dreams Come True_ Andy Griffith Show – _The Fishin’ Hole_ In its early episodes Happy Days used _Rock Around the Clock_ as a theme before switching to its own music. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/43 "2009-03-14T01:17:34Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > And by the same token: Three’s Company = Three’s Company. A more wretched piece of music does not exist. For some reason I thought that song preceded the series, but I’m probably thinking of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. I’ve heard instrumental jazz versions of “Bewitched” that aren’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/44 "2009-03-14T01:37:07Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > Wasn’t the theme from “Taxi” called “Angela” or something like that? Yes. Angela. By Bob James. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/45 "2009-03-14T01:44:38Z")
Cold Case’s theme song is Nara by E.S. Posthumus Friends is I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/46 "2009-03-14T02:12:12Z")
The original theme song for _Happy Days_ was a little known ditty called “Rock Around the Clock.” And yes, I’m being sarcastic. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/47 "2009-03-14T03:38:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > For some reason I thought that song preceded the series, but I’m probably thinking of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. I’ve heard instrumental jazz versions of “Bewitched” that aren’t bad. Oh, yes. BB&B is fine. It’s that 3’s Co. that inhales. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/48 "2009-03-14T04:21:03Z")
The theme song to _The Beverly Hillbillies_ is titled _The Ballad of Jed Clampett_. I can’t think of any more that haven’t already been mentioned off the top of my head right now. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/49 "2009-03-14T04:45:27Z")
After the first coupla seasons, _Monk_’s theme is _It’s A Jungle Out There,_ written and performed by Randy Newman. A classic, if you don’t mind my saying so. ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/50 "2009-03-14T05:35:55Z")
“Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer” (with Stacy Keach) – _Harlem Nocturne_, written by Earle Hagen (one of the great themes) "M.A.S.H " – _Suicide is Painless_ ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/51 "2009-03-14T11:44:31Z")
As a total obscurity from Scotland, the current sitcom, [The Old Guys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Guys), has an [Ivor Cutler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivor_Cutler) song as it’s theme - [I’m Happy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5fA184R6EA), which he first recorded in 1967! Not your conventional theme music! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/52 "2009-03-14T12:18:08Z")
**The Adventures of Pete & Pete** had _Hey Sandy_, by Polaris, notorious for the unintelligibility of some of its lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/53 "2009-03-14T12:21:21Z")
> [@MisterThyristor](#): > > “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer” (with Stacy Keach) – _Harlem Nocturne_, written by Earle Hagen (one of the great themes) > > "M.A.S.H " – _Suicide is Painless_ Thanks for the Spillane mention. I used to listen to Mike Hammer – before TV days – on the radio. [Ted de Corsia](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0208125/)[(pictured here)](http://blogs.salon.com/0003139/images/decorsia.jpg)played Hammer and the music (at least as effective and evocative as Harlem Nocturne) was the opening credits theme to _A Streetcar Named Desire_ by Alex North. Having never been able to locate the theme elsewhere, imagine my thrill locating [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMWdvWR\_Z28&feature=PlayList&p=09F74BDFF0E596DD&index=0&playnext=1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMWdvWR_Z28&feature=PlayList&p=09F74BDFF0E596DD&index=0&playnext=1) (you can see the whole movie in ten-minute chunks if you wish). First minute of this clip is the radio show’s music. I had been hoping for a way to share this jewel with The Dope, but now’s the time! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/54 "2009-03-14T16:25:34Z")
From the “Drew Carey Show” - _Cleveland Rocks_, a fine song in its own right (first recorded by Ian Hunter) and a semi-anthem for the city. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/55 "2009-03-15T21:56:26Z")
“Take Ten” composed by Merv Griffin - Jeopardy! (1964) “Time for Tony” composed by Merv Griffin - Jeopardy! (1983) and Final Jeopardy think music “Chump Change” by Quincy Jones - The New Bill Cosby Show and Now You See It “Changing Keys” composed by Merv Griffin - Wheel of Fortune (1975) “Bicentennial Funk” - Password (1976) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/56 "2009-03-15T22:53:40Z")
On a different note, anime does this a lot…I’d wager most of the time - certainly on the series I find the music interesting enough to look… A random sampling of some of my favourites: Neon Genesis Evangelion’s OP (opening theme) was called Cruel Angel’s Thesis, and for an ED (Ending), they used covers of Fly Me To The Moon, which changed as the series progressed. Death Note had 2 OP/ED combos, the better of the two being What’s Up People!/Zetsubou Billy by Maximum the Hormone (both on their album Buiikikaesu). Naruto’s first OP was Rocks, the first ED Wind. Tenjou Tenge’s OP was called Bomb-a-Head! by MC.a.T (and was the best part of the series). At least one season of Dragonball Z had a song called Cha-La Head-Cha-La as an OP - not a great song, really, but the cover of it used as an ED for Lucky Star (which used anime OPs sung by the characters, for EDs of the first half of the TV series) was pretty damn awesome (specifically the full version on the ED album). Speaking of Lucky Star, their OP was called Mokette! Sailor Fuku (Take it! Sailor Fuku (typical sailor-style girl’s school uniform)). Their EDs, aside from Cha-La Head-Cha-La included a terribly entertaining rendition\* of Monkey Magic, the OP for the UK-made English dub of one of the various (live action) Japanese series based on The Journey to the West, called Monkey in English. - Sung by Konata (who also does Cha-La Head-Cha-La), who gives up when she realizes it’s in English on the show, but soldiers through on the album. Konata does not know English, and she is terrible at it. Full Metal Alchemist had 4 each OP and ED in Japan (2 each in NA, due to deals with the bands that did them) - my favourites being the second set, the OP, Ready Steady Go!, by L’Arc~en~Ciel, and ED, Tobira no Mukou He, by Yellow Generation. Chokotto Sister had the OP Doki Doki My Sister Soul and ED Neko Nyan Dance, both by Harenchi Punch. And I’ll leave it at that…it’s clear enough I’m a geek and a half as it is. \>\_\> ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/57 "2009-03-16T01:17:48Z")
Third Watch had a Crystal Method tune, “Keep Hope Alive,” as its theme song. Never saw an episode all the way through, as the show came on right when I was heading off for my own third-shift job, but I did enjoy getting a to hear the Crystal Method. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337/58 "2009-03-16T01:18:41Z")
The Soprano’s theme is _Woke up this Morning_ by **Alabama 3**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-theme-songs-that-are-not-just-theme-from_____/489337.md?page=2)