Top Ten TV Theme Songs

As I said yesterday, I found this feature at www.pastemagazine.com and think it will be fun to look at. Let's explore what song comes in at #9:


9. Gilligan's Isle - "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle" by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle

It's a sea shanty with foreshadowing ("A three-hour tour"), suspense ("The Minnow would be lost"), a key change when they make it through the storm and a convenient way to introduce the characters—though the original reduced The Professor and Mary Ann to "the rest."

I would bet that almost anyone over 40 could sing along with this tune and not miss a word. Me, never liked the show, seemed silly to me; although I will confess that I did watch it (my Mother liked it and she ruled the TV set!)




There were two versions of the theme during the run of the show: one for the first season and another for the second and third. In the original theme song, the Professor and Mary Ann were referred to as "and the rest". Actors Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were originally considered "second-billed co-stars", but with the growing popularity of their characters, their names were inserted into the lyrics. Wells has stated that it was Denver who went to the studio executives to get them added to the opening credits. The studio originally refused, stating that it would cost too much to re-shoot and re-score the opening. Denver pointed out that it was in his contract that he could have his name anywhere he wanted in the credits, so they could move it to the end credits along with Johnson and Wells. The studio capitulated. Wells said that Denver never mentioned this to anyone in the cast, and she did not find out until years after the show ended what he had done.

The first season version was recorded by The Wellingtons and had a folk music sound. It starts with an acoustic guitar strumming for two bars before the lyrics start. The instrumentation, which includes a slide guitar, is subdued and very Hawaiian sounding.

The second and third season version was not credited to a particular group in the credits, but according to Russell Johnson in his book Here on Gilligan's Isle, it was performed by a group called The Eligibles. It begins with a mini-fanfare, and has a more traditional pop music sound but with spaghetti western-like underpinnings. The instrumentation is much more prominent in this version, and it does not have any slide guitar.

Here is a version that they didn't air:



interesting tidbits:

The show's original pilot episode featured a calypso theme song by John Williams with different lyrics. Notably, the original length of the voyage was "a six-hour ride", not "a three-hour tour".

The theme song has been covered by many bands, most notably Bowling for Soup for the TBS show The Real Gilligan's Island.

In a 1978 made-for-TV movie, Rescue From Gilligan's Island, the castaways did successfully leave the island, but had difficulty reintegrating into society. During a reunion cruise on the first Christmas after their rescue, fate intervened and they found themselves marooned on the same island at the end of the film. It starred the original cast except for Tina Louise, who refused to participate and was replaced as Ginger by Judith Baldwin. The plot involved Soviet agents seeking a memory disc from a spy satellite that landed on the island and facilitated their rescue. Gilligan and the Skipper "rescue" Mary Ann right as she is to marry her long time fiance, which contradicts the series where it was established that Mary Ann had no boyfriend after having made up a story about a boyfriend to keep the others from feeling sorry for her.

In a 1979 sequel, The Castaways on Gilligan's Island, they were rescued once again, and the Howells converted the island into a getaway resort, with the other five castaways as "silent partners". Ginger was again played by Judith Baldwin. This sequel was intended as a pilot for a possible new series in which the castaways would host new groups of tourists each week, using the all-star cast anthology format made popular by The Love Boat. The series never materialized, though the premise was the basis of a short-lived 1981 series titled Aloha Paradise.

Note to everyone- they are still on the island!