# TV theme songs you assumed were sung by a cast member, but weren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959 "2015-02-17T22:28:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/21 "2015-02-18T13:53:40Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > To be fair, David Cassidy does sing the lead in the show’s theme song, and the studio musicians that sang back-up no doubt varied, but always went for the same type of sound. I can confirm that for Shirley Jones. I know the woman who sang all of Shirley Partridge’s parts. She also sang the well-known ditty: Rice-a-roni, the San Francisco Treat! Those ads are (were?) the longest running in history and she gets royalties ever time it airs. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/22 "2015-02-18T14:19:53Z")
I believe Holly Robinson sang the theme to 21 Jump Street. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/23 "2015-02-18T15:32:49Z")
diving into filth. many people think that Two and a Half Men is sung by the actors, it is not. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/24 "2015-02-18T15:49:59Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I always imagined Janet Dubios sang the theme to Good Times. There’s no reason why I imagined that. You imagined that because it was true - the male singer wasn’t part of the cast, but DuBois sang the female part. The one I originally thought was cast-sung but wasn’t: _One Day at a Time_. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/25 "2015-02-18T16:27:21Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > diving into filth. > > many people think that Two and a Half Men is sung by the actors, it is not. I don’t know who sings the main part of it, but back when Jake was on it (and small), his last line “men” was sung by Bernadette Peters. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/26 "2015-02-18T16:56:13Z")
I always felt the _Three’s Company_ song sounded like the main actors were singing it, and it definitely didn’t sound like the real singer (Ray Charles) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/27 "2015-02-18T19:19:25Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I don’t know who sings the main part of it, but back when Jake was on it (and small), his last line “men” was sung by Bernadette Peters. Sorry, [Elizabeth](http://twohalfmen.wikia.com/wiki/Two_and_a_Half_Men_%28theme_song%29) (E.G.) [Daily](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197354/?ref_=nv_sr_2). > [@xizor](#): > > I always felt the _Three’s Company_ song sounded like the main actors were singing it, and it definitely didn’t sound like the real singer (Ray Charles) A different [Ray](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153127/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm) [Charles](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153127/?ref_=tt_trv_snd) (thank Frith!). Look under Alternate Names in Personal Details. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/28 "2015-02-18T19:29:56Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > I recall seeing a TV interview with Shirley Jones in which she said all throughout the run of the series, people kept coming to her telling her “You and those kids have to go out on the road and really MILK it! Look at how much those Brady Bunch kids are making!” And Jones had to explain again and again that “there really ISN"T a Partridge Family.” Actually, there was. It was [The Cowsills](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cowsills) . > [@](#): > > Joined by their mother Barbara (née Russell), the Cowsills were the inspiration for the 1970 launch of the television show The Partridge Family. There was a Showtime documentary on them not long ago. Very sad. > **[Daddy Dearest: The Dark Backbeat of 'The Cowsills' Family Band](http://www.tvworthwatching.com/post/Daddy-Dearest-The-Dark-Backbeat-of-The-Cowsills-Family-Band.aspx)** > > Daddy Dearest: The Dark Backbeat of 'The Cowsills' Family Band ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/29 "2015-02-18T19:42:13Z")
I always imagined that Mrs. Garrett sang the theme song to “The Facts of Life.” > [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > The one I originally thought was cast-sung but wasn’t: _One Day at a Time_. One of the great theme songs of all time! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/30 "2015-02-18T19:47:13Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > \ The one I originally thought was cast-sung but wasn’t: _One Day at a Time_. > [@Rodgers01](#): > > \ One of the great theme songs of all time! You must hear [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdhUKWRyzu4). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/31 "2015-02-18T19:55:32Z")
A lot of people thought that the theme from _Welcome Back, Kotter_ was sung by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, the actor who played Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington (the black Sweathog). He said he often got asked to sing it. I saw him perform it once, and he sounded nothing like the TV show. Actually, the theme was sung by John Sebastian, the former frontman for The Lovin’ Spoonful. (And one of the whitest guys in show biz.) ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/32 "2015-02-18T21:32:37Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > I always imagined that Mrs. Garrett sang the theme song to “The Facts of Life.” In the first season, when there were different lyrics, Charlotte Rae actually did sing a few lines of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/33 "2015-02-19T00:44:45Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > You must hear [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdhUKWRyzu4). 😃 :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/34 "2015-02-19T01:51:28Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > A lot of people thought that the theme from _Welcome Back, Kotter_ was sung by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, the actor who played Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington (the black Sweathog). He said he often got asked to sing it. I saw him perform it once, and he sounded nothing like the TV show. > > Actually, the theme was sung by John Sebastian, the former frontman for The Lovin’ Spoonful. (And one of the whitest guys in show biz.) A lot of people? I thought it was mostly common knowledge that it was John Sebastian singing. It was a #1 song and got lots of airplay when it came out. The first card of the [closing credits of Welcome Back, Kotter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPaed8I3V1A) listed “Music Composed and Performed by John B. Sebastian.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/35 "2015-02-19T01:59:24Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > A lot of people? I thought it was mostly common knowledge that it was John Sebastian singing. It was a #1 song and got lots of airplay when it came out. The first card of the [closing credits of Welcome Back, Kotter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPaed8I3V1A) listed “Music Composed and Performed by John B. Sebastian.” Also–John Sebastian sang “Welcome Back” (and played guitar, natch) on the very first Saturday Night Live (which was called “NBC’s Saturday Night” at the time) in 1975; George Carlin was the guest host IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/36 "2015-02-19T16:06:11Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I had always assumed that Andy Griffith did the whistling on the Andy Griffith theme, but do we even know who did it? Nope, not Andy - [Earle Hagen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earle_Hagen), who also co-wrote it. Did you know it had lyrics? Here is Andy singing the song: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVUit1-0Ck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVUit1-0Ck) ---
**Author:** ![Jude77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@Jude77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jude77)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/37 "2016-05-28T06:24:49Z")
I know it’s been a long time since the OP started this thread but I couldn’t help but write because I thought the same exact thing about both shows! When I was a kid, I thought Woody sang the Cheers theme and Blanche sang the Golden Girls theme. I also thought John Ritter sang the Three’s Company theme, the parents on Family Ties sang their theme, and Nicole Eggert sang Charles in Charge. I guess when you’re young it’s just a natural inclination to associate the voice with one of the faces you associate with the show. Such a strange phenomenon. I thought it was just me! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/38 "2016-05-29T03:09:16Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Also–John Sebastian sang “Welcome Back” (and played guitar, natch) on the very first Saturday Night Live (which was called “NBC’s Saturday Night” at the time) in 1975; George Carlin was the guest host IIRC. Actually, he sang it on the 18th episode. He and Phoebe Snow were the musical guests, and Raquel Welch was the guest host. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/39 "2016-05-29T12:22:39Z")
Many people assume that the opening theme and closing theme tunes (especially the closing theme tune) to British sitcom _Only Fools and Horses_ is sung by cast member Nicholas Lyndhurst, when it was actually the show’s writer John Sullivan who sang them. The reason is the voices of the two are uncannily similar. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959/40 "2016-05-29T21:39:53Z")
People think Alan Thicke sang the theme song to _Growing Pains_. Thicke was the father on the show, but the theme was sung by B. J. Thomas. However, Thicke DID sing the theme to _Diff’rent Strokes_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-theme-songs-you-assumed-were-sung-by-a-cast-member-but-werent/712959.md?page=1)