Thursday, October 23, 2014

Ask Mr. Music by Jerry Osborne

FOR THE WEEKS OF OCTOBER 20 & 27, 2014


DEAR JERRY: Occasionally, a catchy TV show theme song, or some variation of it, was also issued on records. 

I can only think of a few, but I would like to know of more. 

Can you put together such a list? 
—Jolene Henning, Garland, Texas 


DEAR JOLENE: Would a few hundred such TV themes help get you by for now?

Our list is alphabetical by program title, followed by a song title when it's something other than a variation of "Theme from." Next is the artist, and when their record came out, which is not always when the series aired.

We may identify one or two versions of a theme, but many others may exist. Not all can be listed here.

Compilation albums of TV themes, usually issued long after the shows were in prime time, are not included.

Addams Family (Lawrence Welk, 1965)
Adventures in Paradise (Jerry Byrd, 1960)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents "The Funeral March of a Marionette" (Boston Promenade Orchestra, 1953)
All in the Family "Those Were the Days" (Carroll O'Connor & Jean Stapleton, 1971)
Ally McBeal "Searchin' My Soul" (Vonda Shepard, 1998)
American Bandstand "Bandstand Boogie" (Les Elgart, 1957)
American Chopper "Bad Reputation" (Joan Jett, 1980)
Amos 'n' Andy "Angel's Serenade" (Gaetano Braga, 1951)
Andy Griffith Show "The Fishin' Hole" (Andy Griffith/Earle Hagen, 1961)
Angie "Different Worlds" (Maureen McGovern, 1979)
Avengers (Marketts, 1966)
Baa Baa Black Sheep (Mike Post, 1977)
Baretta "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow" (Sammy Davis Jr., 1976)
Bat Masterson (Mike Stewart, 1958)
Batman (Neal Hefti, 1966)
Battlestar Galactica (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, 1978)
Ben Casey (Valjean, 1962)
Beverly Hillbillies "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" (Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, 1962)
Black Saddle (Buddy Morrow, 1959)
Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife" (Bobby Darin, 1959)
Bonanza (Al Caiola, 1961)
Bourbon Street Beat (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation "Who Are You" (The Who, 2000)
CSI: Miami "Won't Get Fooled Again" (The Who, 2002)
CSI: NY "Baba O'Riley" (The Who, 2004)
Captain & Tennille "Love Will Keep Us Together" (Captain & Tennille, 1975)
Charlie's Angels (Henry Mancini, 1977)
Checkmate (Johnny Williams, 1961)
Cheers "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" (Gary Portnoy, 1983)
Chico and the Man (Jose Feliciano, 1974)
Cops "Bad Boys" (Inner Circle, 1993)
Courtship of Eddie's Father "Best Friend" (Nilsson, 1969)
Crime Story "Runaway" (Del Shannon, 1986)
Dallas (Floyd Cramer, 1980)
Dark Shadows "Quentin's Theme" (Charles Randolph Grean Sounde, 1969)
Dean Martin Show "Everybody Loves Somebody" (Dean Martin, 1964)
Defenders (Nelson Riddle, 1962)
Deputy (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Dick Powell Show (Tony Hatch, 1963)
Dick Van Dyke Show (Lionel Newman, 1963)
Doctor Doctor "Good Lovin'" (Young Rascals, 1966)
Dr. Kildare "Three Stars Will Shine Tonight" (Richard Chamberlain, 1962)
Dragnet (Ray Anthony, 1953)
Dukes of Hazzard "Good Ol' Boys" (Waylon Jennings)
Dynasty (Bill Conti, 1982)
F Troop (Bob Crane, 1966)
Facts of Life (Gloria Loring, 1979)
Fame (Erica Gimpel, 1982)
Family Matters "What a Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong, 1968)
Family Ties "Without Us" (Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams, 1982)
Flintstones (Goldirocks and the Three Bearosauruses, 1962)
Freaks and Geeks "Bad Reputation" (Joan Jett, 1980)
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air "Yo Home to Bel-Air" (Fresh Prince, 1992
Friends: "I'll Be There for You" (Rembrandts, 1995)
Gidget (Johnny Tillotson; James Darren, 1965)
Golden Girls "Thank You for Being a Friend" (Andrew Gold, 1978)
Good Sports (Al Green, 1991)
Grace Under Fire "Lady Madonna" (Aretha Franklin, 1993)
Greatest American Hero "Believe It or Not" (Joey Scarbury, 1981)
Gunslinger (Frankie Laine, 1961)
Happy Days (Pratt & McClain, 1976)
Harper Valley P.T.A. (Jeannie C. Riley, 1968)
Have Gun, Will Travel "Ballad of Paladin" (Johnny Western, 1957)
Hawaii Five-O (Ventures, 1969)
Hawaiian Eye (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Heights "How Do You Talk to an Angel" (The Heights, 1992)
Here Come the Brides "Seattle" (Perry Como, 1969)
Highway Patrol (Buddy Morrow, 1959)
Hill Street Blues (Mike Post & Larry Carlton, 1981)
Hogan's Heroes (Bob Crane, 1966) B-side is "Theme from F Troup"
Honeymooners "Melancholy Serenade" (Jackie Gleason, 1953)
Hong Kong (Hank Levine, 1962)
Hotel (Henry Mancini/Andre Previn, 1967)
Huckleberry Hound (Scarlet Combo, 1961)
Hullabaloo (Hullabaloo Singers & Orchestra, 1965)
I Dream of Jeannie (World Artists Strings, 1965)
I Love Lucy (Desi Arnaz, 1953)
I Spy (Earle Hagen, 1968)
International Detective (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
I've Got a Secret "Plink, Plank, Plunk" (Leroy Anderson, 1952)
Jack Benny Show "Love in Bloom" (Henri Rene, 1952)
Jeffersons "Movin' on Up" (Boots Randolph, 1978)
Jetsons (Golden Orchestra & Chorus, 1962)
Johnny Cash Show "Folsom Prison Blues" (Johnny Cash, 1970)
Johnny Staccato (Elmer Bernstein, 1959)
Knots Landing (Frank Barber, 1980)
Kung-Fu "Caine's Theme" (Jim Helms with David Carradine, 1973)
L.A. Law (Mike Post, 1986)
Las Vegas "A Little Less Conversation (Remix)" (Elvis Presley, 2002)
LaVerne & Shirley "Making Our Dreams Come True" (Cyndi Grecco)
Leave It to Beaver (Sandpipers, 1960)
Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp "The Legend of Wyatt Earp" (Hugh O'Brian, 1957)
Lineup "San Francisco Blues" (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Lone Ranger "William Tell Overture" (Arturo Toscanini & NBC Symphony Orchestra, 1949)
Love Boat (Jack Jones, 1977)
M Squad (Red Garland, 1958)
M*A*S*H "Suicide Is Painless" (Johnny Mandel, 1972)
Mad About You "The Final Frontier" (Andrew Gold, 1992)
Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein, 1998)
Magnum P.I. (Mike Post, 1982)
Make Your Own Kind of Music (Mama Cass Elliott, 1969)
Makin' It (David Naughton, 1979)
Mama "Holberg Suite/The Last Spring" (Boyd Neel String Orchestra, 1950)
Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Challengers, 1965)
Man in the Family "When You're Smiling" (Louis Prima, 1991)
Mannix (Lalo Schifrin, 1969)
Marcus Welby (Charles Randolph Grean Sounde, 1970)
Markham (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Married … With Children "Love and Marriage" (Frank Sinatra, 1955)
Marshall Chronicles "Fallin' in Love" (Randy Newman, 1988)
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (Deadly Nightshade, 1976)
Mary Tyler Moore "Love Is All Around" (Sonny Curtis, 1970)
Masquerade (Crystal Gayle, 1983)
Maverick (Don Ralke, 1959)
Medic "Blue Star" (Les Baxter, 1955)
Medical Center (Lalo Schifrin, 1970)
Men (Isaac Hayes, 1972)
Men Into Space (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Men of Tomorrow (Robert Mitchell Boys Choir of Hollywood, 1954)
Miami Vice (Jan Hammer, 1985)
Mickie Finn's (Mickey Finn, 1966)
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1957) "Riff Blues" (Buddy Morrow, 1959)
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1984) "Harlem Nocturne" (Daniel Caine, 1984)
Mighty Jungle "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (Tokens, 1961)
Milton Berle Show "Near You" (Francis Craig, 1947)
Mission Impossible (Lalo Schifrin, 1968)
Mr. Belvedere (Leon Redbone, 1985)
Mister Ed (Mike Stewart and the Stable Hands, 1961)
Mr. Lucky (Henry Mancini, 1960)
Mr. Magoo (Dennis Farnon, 1957)
Mr. Novak (Ray Anthony, 1963)
Moesha (Brandy, 1990)
Monkees (Monkees, 1966)
Moonlighting (Al Jarreau, 1987)
Mork & Mindy (Bruno D'Andrea, 1979)
Movin' On (Merle Haggard, 1974)
Munsters (Milton DeLugg/Jack Marshall, 1964)
Murder She Wrote (Tairrie B., 1990)
Murphy's Law (Al Jarreau, 1988)
My Sister Sam "Room Enough for Two" (Kim Carnes, 1986)
My Three Sons (Bob Moore, 1959; Lawrence Welk, 1961)
My Two Dads (Greg Evigan, 1987)
N.Y.P.D. (Wooden Trumpet, 1967)
N.Y.P.D. Blue (Mike Post, 1994)
Naked City "Somewhere in the Night" (Joe Harnell, 1961; Nelson Riddle, 1962)
Nancy Walker Show "Nancy's Blues" (Marvin Hamlisch, 1976)
Nanny "The Nanny Named Fran" (Ann Hampton Callaway, 1994)
9 to 5 (Dolly Parton, 1980; Phoebe Snow, 1982)
North and South (Bill Conti and the London Symphony Orchestra, 1985)
Odd Couple (Marlene Ver Planck, 1967)
One Step Beyond (Harry Lubin, 1960)
Out of This World "Swinging on a Star" (Bing Crosby, 1944)
Outer Limits (Marketts, 1963)
Ozark Jubilee "Sugarfoot Rag" (Hank Garland, 1955)
P.S I Luv You (Greg Evigan & Suzanne Fountain, 1991)
Paper Chase "The First Years" (Seals & Crofts, 1978)
Paper Moon "It's Only a Paper Moon" (Paul Whiteman, 1933)
Partridge Family "When We're Singin'" (Partridge Family, 1970)
Party Girl ("It's My Life" (Carole Bayer Sager, 1996)
Party of Five "Everybody Wants to Be Closer to Me" (BoDeans, 1994)
Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue "Rhapsody in Blue" (Paul Whiteman, 1949)
Perfect Strangers "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" (David Pomeranz, 1986)
Perry Como Show "Dream Along with Me (I'm on My Way to a Star)" (Perry Como, 1956)
Perry Mason (Ray Conniff and His Orchestra, 1960)
Persuaders (John Barry, 1971)
Pete Kelly's Blues (Dick Cathcart, 1959)
Peter Gunn (Ray Anthony/Henry Mancini, 1959)
Petticoat Junction (Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, 1964)
Peyton Place (Vikki Carr/Stan Kenton, 1965)
Powers That Be (Stephen Bishop, 1992)
Princesses "Some Day My Prince Will Come" (Roaches, 1991)
Quantum Leap (Mike Post, 1989)
Rachel Gunn, R.N. "Workin' for a Livin'" (Huey Lewis, 1992)
Racket Squad "Parade of the Chessmen" (Buddy Morrow, 1959)
Rango (Frankie Laine, 1967)
Rawhide (Frankie Laine, 1958)
Rebel (Johnny Cash, 1959)
Redd Foxx Show (Kool and the Gang, 1986)
Restless Gun (Sandpipers, 1959)
Reunited (Peaches & Herb, 1979)
Rich Man, Poor Man (Alex North, 1976)
Richard Diamond, Private Detective (Buddy Morrow, 1959)
Riverboat (Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Roc "God Bless the Child" (Jerry Lawson, 1991)
Rockford Files (Mike Post, 1975)
Rocky and His Friends (Billy Joe and the Checkmates, 1961)
Roger Miller Show "King of the Road" (Roger Miller, 1965)
Roots (Quincy Jones, 1978)
Route 66 (Nelson Riddle, 1962)
Roy Rogers Show "Happy Trails" (Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, 1952)
S.W.A.T (Rhythm Heritage, 1976)
Saint (Danny Davis, 1965)
Sanford & Son "The Streetbeater" (Quincy Jones, 1972)
Sea Hunt (Buddy Morrow, 1959)
Second Noah (Stephen Stills, 1996)
Secret Agent "Secret Agent Man" (Ventures, 1965; Johnny Rivers, 1966)
Seinfeld (Jonathan Wolff, 1996)
77 Sunset Strip (Don Ralke, 1959)
Shaft (Isaac Hayes, 1971)
Chuck "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" (Cake, 2010)
Simpsons (Alf Clausen, 1990)
Sing Along with Mitch "Sing Along" (Mitch Miller, 1961)
Sister Kate "Maybe an Angel" (Amy Grant, 1989)
Snoops "Curiosity" (Ray Charles, 1989)
Soap (Geoff Love, 1978)
Sonny & Cher "The Beat Goes On" (Sonny & Cher, 1971)
Soul Train "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" (MFSB & Three Degrees, 1974)
Soupy Sales Show "Soupy's Theme" (Jimmie Haskell, 1961)
Square Pegs (Waitresses, 1982)
Stage Show "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" (Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, 1954)
Star Trek (Charles Randolph Grean Sounde/Leonard Nimoy, 1967)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Dennis McCarthy, 1993)
Star Trek: Enterprise (Brian Tyler, 2003)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Dennis McCarthy, 1988)
Star Trek: Voyager (Jerry Goldsmith, 1995)
Starsky & Hutch (Geoff Love, 1978)
Sunshine "Sunshine on My Shoulders" (John Denver, 1974)
Sweeney (Geoff Love, 1978)
Tales of Wells Fargo (Sandpipers, 1960)
Taxi "Angela" (Bob James, 1978)
Teech "Teach Me" (B.B. King, 1991)
Temporarily Yours (Branford Marsalis, 1997)
Texas Wheelers "Illegal Smile" (John Prine, 1974)
That '70s Show "In the Street" (Todd Griffin/Cheap Trick, 1998)
Thea (Freddie Washington, 1993)
Then Came Bronson "Long Lonesome Highway" (Michael Parks, 1970)
Thorns "We're All Right" (Dorothy Loudon, 1988)
Thriller (Pete Rugolo, 1961)
Throb (Nylons/Diana Canova, 1986)
Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson "Johnny's Theme" (Doc Severinsen & Tonight Show Band, 1986)
Top of the Heap "Puttin' on the Ritz" (Kenny Yarbrough, 1991)
Torkelsons (Judds, 1991)
Touched By an Angel "Walk with You" (Della Reese, 1994)
Tour of Duty "Paint It Black" (Rolling Stones, 1987)
Trials of O'Brien (Al Caiola, 1965)
Trials of Rosie O'Neill "I Wish I Knew" (Melissa Manchester, 1990)
Twilight Zone (Raymond Scott/Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Twilight Zone "Twilight Zone '85" (Grateful Dead, 1998)
Twin Peaks (Julee Cruise, 1989)
Uncle Buck (Ronnie Milsap, 1990)
Unhappily Ever After (Bobcat Goldthwait, 1995)
Untouchables (Nelson Riddle/Buddy Morrow, 1960)
Val Doonican Show "I Believe My Love Loves Me" (Tom Paxton, 1971)
Vaughn Monroe Show "Racing with the Moon" (Vaughn Monroe, 1950)
Virginian (Stanley Wilson/Gary Clark, 1963)
Walt Disney Presents/Disneyland/etc. "When You Wish Upon a Star" (Cliff Edwards, 1940)
Waltons (Bobby Patrick Band, 1980)
Waterfront (Buddy Morrow, 1959)
Webster "Then Came You" (Steve Nelson & Gail Lopata Lennon, 1983)
Welcome Back, Kotter "Welcome Back" (John Sebastian, 1976)
What's Happening! (Henry Mancini, 1976)
Where the Action Is "Action" (Freddy Cannon, 1965)
Who's the Boss? "Brand New Life" (Larry Carlton, 1984)
Will & Grace (Jonathan Wolff, 2004)
Wings (Anthony Cooke, 1990)
WKRP in Cincinnati (Steve Carlisle, 1981)
Women of the House "Something to Talk About" (Shirley Elkhard, 1995)
Wonder Years "With a Little Help from My Friends" (Joe Cocker, 1968)
Working "Working in a Coal Mine" (Mark Mothersbaugh, 1997)
X-files (Mark Snow, 1996)
You Bet Your Life "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" (Groucho Marx, 1952)
You Take the Kids "Nobody's Got It Easy" (Nell Carter, 1990)
Zorro (Chordettes, 1958)

If you know of a TV theme we don't have that was issued on a record, no matter who the artist is, please send it to us. We'll add it to the list.


IZ ZAT SO? When Tom T. Hall wrote "Harper Valley P.T.A." he could never have imagined what a cultural phenomenon he'd created.

Not only did Jeannie C. Riley's 1968 recording top both the pop and country charts in the U.S. and Canada — the first time ever accomplished by a female — but that one little phonograph record inspired a feature film (1978) AND a TV series (1981). That too had never happened before.


Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column.  Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368  E-mail: jpo@olympus.net   Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com

All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition. 

Copyright 2014 Osborne Enterprises - Reprinted By Exclusive Permission 

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