There was a time, not all that long ago, when the opening of a TV show was an event in itself. You didn’t reach for your remote to skip it. You sang along, clapped along, maybe even danced a little in your living room. The 1970s were the golden age of the television theme song, a decade when composers and songwriters poured real craft into those sixty-to-ninety seconds of airtime. Some of those melodies burrowed so deep into the cultural memory that they’re still circling in people’s heads more than fifty years later.
Most shows had a ninety-second introduction that not only had to be catchy, it had to introduce the characters and the subject of the show. A number of these themes were extended into three-minute recordings and released as singles, some of which became Top 40 hits. That crossover from TV to radio was no small thing. It tells you something real about how powerful that era of television music was. So, let’s take a walk through ten of the most unforgettable ones. Be ready to hum.
1. “Welcome Back” – Welcome Back, Kotter (1975)
Written and recorded by former Lovin’ Spoonful frontman John Sebastian, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1976, after only five weeks on the chart. Honestly, that’s a jaw-dropping achievement for what was technically a TV theme song. Sebastian was unable to rhyme anything with “Kotter” except “otter,” so he chose a different approach. The producers liked the song, and changed the title of the show to reference the song title. That’s right, the show was renamed to fit the song, not the other way around. Viewers loved the song and related to the message about returning to the place where you laughed and your dreams were born. It became clear that there was demand for a full-length song, so Sebastian wrote a second verse and it was released as a single.
2. “The Streetbeater” – Sanford and Son (1972)
photo front
photo back, Public domain)
The “Theme from Sanford and Son” might be the funkiest TV theme song ever. Woven by the illustrious Quincy Jones, “The Streetbeater” sets the stage for the shenanigans of junk dealer Sanford, played by the inimitable comedian Redd Foxx. Let’s be real: Quincy Jones composing your show’s theme is like getting a Michelin-starred chef to cater a backyard barbecue. Flavorwire described Sanford and Son as having perhaps the best theme song of the 1970s, perhaps in all of television. The great Quincy Jones composed this first-class slab of gut-bucket blues funk, also known as “The Streetbeater”; though it was released as a single, it surprisingly did not dent the charts. It didn’t need to chart to matter. There have never been any official lyrics, though some of us formed some in our heads over the years. And that wordless groove still gets stuck in your head decades later.
3. “Those Were the Days” – All in the Family (1971)
photo front
photo back, Public domain)
Composed by Charles Strouse with lyrics by Lee Adams, “Those Were the Days” played at the beginning of every episode beginning with the first in 1971. It was performed right there on screen, sitting at a piano, by the show’s stars themselves. Performed by stars Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, “Those Were the Days” featured lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. The track became one of the decade’s most renowned themes, and was even released as a single via Atlantic Records. It reached number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 30 on the Adult Contemporary chart in early 1972. What made it genius was how slyly it worked. The joke in “Those Were the Days” was that it slyly mocked Archie’s worldview, at the same time that it showed how his fury toward all the New People and New Ideas was rooted in his rose-colored sentiment and bewilderment at how so much had changed, so quickly. A theme song that was simultaneously sincere and satirical. That’s some serious writing.
4. “The Rockford Files Theme” – The Rockford Files (1974)
photo front
press release, Public domain)
Viewers who tuned in to The Rockford Files when it premiered on NBC in 1974 were met with a detective series that blended grit, humor, and character-driven storytelling. The theme music became equally memorable, composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter, who crafted an instrumental track built around electric guitar, synthesizers, and a rhythmic groove that set the tone for the show’s contemporary style. This theme to the James Garner show is immediately recognizable not only for its distinctive melody, but also for the Minimoog synthesizer that plays said melody. The Minimoog was invented in 1970 and was still relatively new, and expensive, when this instrumental was recorded. The track spent 44 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10, and won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement. Forty-four weeks. Think about that. This instrumental theme hung around the pop charts longer than most full pop songs did.
5. “Love Is All Around” – The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
Debuting on CBS in 1970, The Mary Tyler Moore Show centered on Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards. Its theme song, “Love Is All Around,” was written and performed by Sonny Curtis, whose warm vocal delivery and memorable melody helped define the show’s uplifting tone. The song itself evolved over the show’s run in a wonderfully deliberate way. Though the musical composition remained mostly the same throughout the series’ seven seasons, the lyrics were eventually altered. In Season 1, the theme sang, “How will you make it on your own?” and ended with “You might just make it after all.” Beginning in Season 2, the lyrics took a more optimistic turn. The tweak reflected Mary Richards’ life changes, having moved and settled into her new life. A theme that grew with its character. That’s rare and it’s beautiful.
6. “Theme from S.W.A.T.” – S.W.A.T. (1975)
The “Theme from S.W.A.T.” is an instrumental song written by Barry De Vorzon and performed by American funk group Rhythm Heritage. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States on the chart date of February 28, 1976. No words. No chorus. Just a pounding, muscular funk groove that somehow topped the American pop charts. The popular cop show’s chart-topping theme didn’t even have any lyrics. Half a century ago, an instrumental theme song for a popular, yet short-lived, police show called S.W.A.T. officially became a No. 1 hit song. With a sturdy funk bass line washed in bright, exciting horns, the “Theme from S.W.A.T.,” written by Barry De Vorzon and performed by American funk group Rhythm Heritage, matched the series’ adventurous nature. There’s a reason people still use it in action movie trailers today. It just hits different.
7. “Happy Days” – Happy Days (1974)
In the original opening, a version of Bill Haley and His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” played over American Graffiti-style vignettes. Starting with Season 3, as a way to dodge expensive royalty fees, the comedy’s closing theme, “Happy Days,” which was composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel, and which producer Paramount owned, was refashioned to open the show. The duo Pratt and McClain re-recorded “Happy Days” with new lyrics in late 1975. The new version was used in seasons three through ten’s opening and closing credits. Pratt and McClain released the updated version as a single and featured it on their 1976 album. The Pratt and McClain rendition hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 7 on the Easy Listening chart. It’s practically impossible to hear without smiling. I think that’s the whole point.
8. “Making Our Dreams Come True” – Laverne and Shirley (1976)
photo front
photo back, Public domain)
Composer Charles Fox and lyricist Norman Gimbel were hired by Laverne and Shirley creator Garry Marshall to write the show’s theme song. While Fox was visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in California, Grecco caught his attention when she was singing in a pop group at the park. Fox shared the Laverne and Shirley song with Grecco and offered her the opportunity to audition. It’s one of those stranger-than-fiction origin stories that Hollywood couldn’t have scripted better. The song was originally titled “Hoping Our Dreams Come True.” However, when Gimbel and Fox presented it to Laverne and Shirley’s producers, they received some feedback. The producers felt the word “hoping” sounded too passive for characters like Laverne and Shirley, who were bold and determined. So, the writers revised the lyrics, changing “hoping” to “making.” It was released as a single on Private Stock Records label and spent two weeks at No. 25 in the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked July 4 through July 10, 1976.
9. “Good Ol’ Boys” – The Dukes of Hazzard (1979)
Outlaw Country legend Waylon Jennings not only provided the theme song for the hit series The Dukes of Hazzard, which debuted in 1979, he appeared weekly as the show’s narrator. The whole setup was perfectly matched. Waylon Jennings was a natural choice to croon the opening song for The Dukes of Hazzard; not only was his noted outlaw image an easy fit for the tune, but he narrated the show every week, credited as “The Balladeer.” He also wrote the theme song, and when the show got popular, he went back into the studio to record a new, longer version to release as a single. “Good Ol’ Boys” was Jennings’ 12th No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, and reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song and the show were practically the same thing, boots, dust, and a banjo, wrapped up in two minutes of country attitude.
10. “Movin’ On Up” – The Jeffersons (1975)
The most successful of All in the Family’s many spin-offs was The Jeffersons, which took Bunker neighbors George and Louise Jefferson and moved them on up to the East side for eleven seasons, starting in 1975. Its theme song, the rollicking, gospel-tinged “Movin’ On Up,” was composed by Jeff Barry and Ja’net Dubois, who also sang it. It was worth it to be in front of the television on Sunday nights before The Jeffersons aired just so you could clap and sing along with the high-spirited gospel romp that celebrated George and Louise’s ascent to a posh life in NYC. There was sheer joy in the choir call-and-response vocals and gospel arrangements that made the song feel like it could have been an authentic church tune adapted as a TV show theme. It may not have made the charts, but it definitely made an impression, appearing in later episodes of The Simpsons, Friends, and 30 Rock as musical shorthand that viewers were sure to recognize. Chart positions can’t measure that kind of staying power.
A Legacy That Never Hit Skip
What’s remarkable about all ten of these songs is not just that they were catchy. It’s that they were crafted with real intention, to tell a story, set a mood, and invite the viewer into a world in under two minutes. TV show themes hit the pop charts with decreasing frequency through the ’80s and ’90s. With the proliferation of cable and eventually the internet, network TV shows no longer delivered the mass audiences and shared cultural experiences that once boosted theme songs onto the singles charts. Today, streaming has given us the skip button, and we’ve largely lost that shared ritual of the theme song entirely.
There’s something worth sitting with there. These melodies weren’t just music. They were the signal that said the whole family was together, the TV was on, and for the next thirty or sixty minutes, the rest of the world could wait. Which one of these are you still humming? Tell us in the comments.
Besides founding Festivaltopia, Luca is the co founder of trib, an art and fashion collectiv you find on several regional events and online. Also he is part of the management board at HORiZONTE, a group travel provider in Germany.
