Ah, the great Betty White.

Hot in Cleveland is the first all-original series of the cable network TV Land; given that, they’re doing quite good—already renewed for a third season.

It has a very short, 10-second title sequence that shows nothing but a play in the show’s logo—from “LA” to “CLEVELAND” (L.A. being the setting of the leads’ backgrounds).

The song is quite catchy though, and it makes you wish it was part of a full song. However, it is not. Not officially credited (as the composer of the title tune), composers Ron Wasserman and Emerson Swinford are the only known composers of the series to date.

We have encountered Mr. Wasserman before, most notably for the theme to Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. He also goes by his aliases Aaron Waters and The Mighty RAW.

Lyrics?

Yes, well, I guess it’s nothing buy “Pa, pa, pa, pa. Pa, pa, pa, pa. Hey!”

As for the performers, no information yet.

See below for the short title sequence.

This is primarily for the American series and partly for the Danish series.

American – AMC

Here’s a fairly new series from AMC. First season is done and did quite well, and the order for a 13-episode second season has already been made official.

The Killing features a short and dark 30-second introduction sequence that features more of a background music than a catchy, series-defining theme song. The song is by a band called We Fell to Earth from London, England. I don’t think the song is titled and included in any commercial releases, as it perhaps was made especially for the show.

We may not be that familiar with We Fell to Earth but their songs have been featured in American television series such as Gossip Girl, CSI: NY, and Numb3rs.

YouTube users are weary of getting banned from uploading copyrighted material from AMC, so most of the videos you’ll see are distorted in some way. Like the one below, which plays the sequence in mirror image. Good thing the song is intact.

Denmark

If you don’t know yet, the U.S. The Killing is a remake of a Danish series that is entitled Forbrydelsen, meaning “The Crime”. As I do not know a word of Danish, I trust that this YouTube upload featured the correct theme song. It says it was composed by a certain Frans Bak. See below.

Man, this is just a fun theme song. Actually, I don’t know if its that good or they just play the crap out of it everyday, but, it’s catchy for sure. I’ve been contemplating on writing about this for sometime now, with all the crap that has been happening to this site, plus I didn’t think someone would actually upload it on YouTube.

But lo and behold, the composer has an online presence.

Let’s get to it. The theme, or for this matter, the “station ID” for Jack TV, was written by Filipino musician and producer Reev Robledo. He has a YouTube channel and an official site.

To tell you the truth, this is the first time I’ve heard of him—even though I consider myself quite learned in the local music industry (so I guess I’m really not). As it turns out, he has written a number of local television scores, including, among others, the themes for ABS-CBN’s Krusada, GMA’s Mel & Jay and i-Witness, and TV5′s Balitaang Tapat. Quite impressive.

Well, what else? Oh, here’s what he looks like for those interested.

So, without further ado, here’s the very catchy Jack TV theme.

I rarely watch local shows but this one is an exception. I’ve always loved The Biggest Loser franchise so when I found out the Philippines (there was already an Asian version) was coming up with one—and in a time slot that is quite convenient for me—I could not help but watch. At the time of posting this, the show is about to enter the top 10.

The theme for the show is very catchy. Its actual title is “Sabay Tayo“, and not “Magpapayat” as I (and I’m sure some of you did) originally thought. The song is by the band Mayonnaise; quite funny actually as I’m sure there’s an inside joke there somewhere (lead singer Monty Macalino can be a contestant—no offense and I actually do know Monty personally). I’m pretty sure he also is responsible for the writing.

The song is not (yet?) part of any commercial release.

In addition, knowing Monty, I’m sure it’s no coincidence the riff sounds exactly like Rivermaya’s “Elesi” (see video below).

Below is the official video of “Sabay Tayo”.

Below is Riveramaya’s “Elesi”.

The Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition theme song lyrics

Kamusta ka, aking kaibigan?
O pwede mo ba akong samahan na?

Tumalon (nang mataas)
Sumigaw (nang malakas)
Yumugyog (sumayaw)
Tumakbo (at gumalaw)
Tara na (sumama ka)
Wag kanang (mag-alala)
Eto na, sabay tayo magpapayat

Wag kanang mag dahilan
Kasi lalo lang lumalaki ang ating tiyan

Tumalon (nang mataas)
Sumigaw (nang malakas)
Yumugyog (sumayaw)
Tumakbo (at gumalaw)
Tara na (sumama ka)
Wag kanang (mag-alala)
Eto na, sabay tayo magpapayat

O di ba kayang kaya
Basta’t dapat lang laging masaya ka

Tumalon (nang mataas)
Sumigaw (nang malakas)
Yumugyog (sumayaw)
Tumakbo (at gumalaw)
Tara na (sumama ka)
Sa mundo (na kay ganda)
Wag kanang (mag-alala)
Di kita iiwan

Tumalon (nang mataas)
Sumigaw (nang malakas)
Yumugyog (sumayaw)
Tumakbo (at gumalaw)
Tara na (sumama ka)
Wag kanang (mag-alala)
Heto na, sabay tayo magpapayat
Magpapayat

And you know why? Because it is by one of the top metal vocalists of all time—Dee Snider from the band Twisted Sister. That’s right. How many shows—some don’t even consider this a show really, as it was just a segment of Eek! The Cat—can brag about such a thing?

Free to catch the two humans
They’re gonna make your day
Here comes Doc Squat and Cutter
You best get out of their way

The Terrible Thunderlizards
The Terrible Thunderlizards

However, as cool a theme as this is, I don’t think Mr. Snider put much thought into it. The guitar riff sounds awfully like Alice in Chain’s “Man in the Box”.

Grunge f-in’ rules!

So, remember in my Rainbow Brite post I said I don’t remember the last time I searched for an animated series without the names Shuki Levy and Haim Saban? So now guess who composed this theme? That’s right.

However, like most great cartoons of old, information regarding performers—vocalists, instrumentalists—is very hard to find. I hope someday this blog will be a medium for discussion regarding those “unsung” heroes.

So, let’s just enjoy the lyrics for now.

Pole Position theme song lyrics

[*spoken]

[From now on, like your parents were,
you are the secret force of Pole Position!]

They’re movin’ real fast
They’re the only ones who can get there on time
[Let's go Dan. Okay sis']

They’re never too far behind, they’re always fighting crime
[It's stunt time Dan]
[Ready when you are Rhodie]

On the curve or a face in adventure in the danger zone
Pretty soon they’ll be off on a mission, come and watch them go!

[Hydrofoil mode, Rhodie]
[Hydrofoil engaged, Dan]

Pole Position! What’s behind this stunt show
[Wheels—hovercraft, quick]
[Anything you say, Tess]
Pole Position! What’s behind this stunt show
Pole Position! Only they’re on the road
Pole Position!

Sit back and watch them go
Hey-o, Hey-o, Hey-o, Hey-o, Hey-o

And of course, the theme song and opening.

Let’s start with the opening sequence and theme—what else?

Sorry for the long and irritating intro.

Here are the lyrics.

ProStars theme song lyrics

Michael’s prime is slam time
ProStars, show stars
Wayne’s hot slam shot
Bo knows where to go
ProStars, ProStars, all stars, ProStars

Jordan jams in your face, gonna put them in their place
ProStars, go stars
ProStars
Blue line crunch time, Wayne will score just in time

ProStars, all stars
Show stop
Big swing Bo’s the man, gonna hit a grand slam

Spoken: ProStars, it’s all about helping kids

Of course, if you’d remember, this wasn’t always the theme. It started out as a ripoff of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, replaced with the words “We are, we are ProStars.” Unfortunately, no video of that yet is available.

Performers of the theme are still unknown, but original music writing is credited to a certain Eric Allaman.

So that’s it, only the performer of the tune is lacking. Hopefully we’ll sort that out in the future.

Bonus video

Closing credits.

Here’s the narration:

In 2086, two peaceful aliens journey to Earth seeking our help. In return, they gave us the plans for our first hyperdrive, allowing mankind to open the doors to the stars. We have assembled a team of unique individuals to protect Earth and our allies. Courageous pioneers committed to the highest ideals of justice and dedicated to preserving law and order across the new frontier. These are the adventures of the Galaxy Rangers.

Narrator is still unknown, sorry, so hit the comments if you have information.

But, here’s the good part—the theme song has a full version. The song is actually entitled “No Guts No Glory”. It was included in The Collection Volume 1 DVD. Someone extracted it and uploaded the video.

Unfortunately, I do not own the DVD so I don’t know who the performers were (nor if it were stated in the DVD). But, I know for a fact that all original music for the series is credited to Peter Wetzler. There’s a good chance he wrote this song.

Finally, the lyrics.

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers theme song lyrics

Somewhere in the future
Far away from here
Trouble is waiting
On the last frontier

Into these worlds of unknown danger they ride
They’re the galaxy rangers
Heroes in the sky

No guts, no glory
No pain, no gain
One for all, all for one
Riders on the range

No guts no glory
We’re taking a stand
Ready to prove it again

There you go.

There has been a long-time, ongoing mystery behind this theme, and the question remains unanswered: Who were the performers? Besides the chants from the turtles, of course. In fact, there is an ongoing open thread at IMDb regarding this one. (Damn, I lost the link.)

Composers are no mystery though, Dennis C. Brown and Chuck Lorre. Yes, Chuck Lorre, as in the creator of Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory. On the other hand, Dennis C. Brown or D.C. Brown, is a known composer who also composed for the former two.

Below is the theme with the original and unedited intro.

Yeah, sorry for the “Hero” (Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles), it’s the Brit version. There’s a high-def version here, but uploader chose not to embed.

And the lyrics.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song lyrics

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Heroes in a half-shell
Turtle power!

They’re the world’s most fearsome fighting team (We’re really hip!)
They’re heroes in a half-shell and they’re green (Hey – get a grip!)
When the evil Shredder attacks
These Turtle boys don’t cut him no slack!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Splinter taught them to be ninja teens (He’s a radical rat!)
Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines (That’s a fact, Jack!)
Raphael is cool but crude (Gimme a break!)
Michaelangelo is a party dude (Party!)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Heroes in a half shell
Turtle power!

Research tells me that there was no commercial release of this song. (Even though there were a bunch of soundtracks for the not-so-useful movies.)

That’s it. Hey, did you know that there was a TMNT concert tour back in 1990? The in-costume turtles played:

• Donatello: keyboards
• Leonardo: bass guitar
• Raphael: drums & sax
• Michelangelo: guitar

It was also sponsored by Pizza Hut and was very commercial-y.

So, guess what? There are some very familiar names in this theme tune once again—possibly the biggest names in animation music. Shuki Levy and Haim Saban ring a bell? Yes, once again, they are the composers of this theme—and all music for the thirteen-episode series. Frankly, I don’t even remember the last time I posted something for a cartoon show wherein I didn’t encounter their names (seriously). And, listing what they’ve done so far is getting tiring, so, as with the previous posts, simply click on their names beside “Tags” at the end of this post to see a list of their work.

The short intro was able to squeeze in some lyrics, but actually, the longer version of the theme can be heard on the original closing credits (below we have videos of both). But first, let’s look at the complete and correct lyrics.

Rainbow Brite theme song lyrics

Rainbow Brite
See the shining light
Yes, I’m gonna take you to Rainbow Brite

[opening sequence edit here]

Starlite flies
Right before your eyes
And rainbow colors will cheer you up

Magic light
Come, I’ll take you for a ride

Rainbow Brite
See the shining light
Yes, I’m gonna take you to Rainbow Brite

It sounds to me like the singer is the same as the one voicing the character, isn’t it? (Please correct me on this one.) But if it were true, then the singer would be voice actress Bettina Bush.

Update: According to Bettina Bush’s Wikipedia entry, she is also a singer by profession. Chances are, she’s really the one behind the voice.

Anyway, here are the videos.

And the longer end credits featuring the full theme.

On a related not, it is said that in home releases of the series (VHS), the end credits were changed to the “Rainbow Brite and Me” song. Same song was used in the Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer movie. Below is the song.

That’s it for this one. Hit the comments for additional information and/or corrections.