This is the one played by the band at the very beginning—when Wayne Brady is introduced by the announcer.
The tune is actually very short (in the show) as it is just a riff played over and over—but a memorable one at that. It is because it is a popular song by the band The Doobie Brothers, entitled “China Grove.” The song is over 40 years old; it was part of their 1973 album The Captain and Me.
In Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, of course it is played by the band led by Rickey Minor. We all know who Rickey Minor is, right? American Idol, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, etc.
First let’s listen to the original recording of “China Grove.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMX0ad8sfRw
Now the part where it is played in the show. (And maybe watch a little En Vogue at that.)
Oh, the “China Grove” was once featured as a song choice in the game. Very inside joke-y.
Alright, another new show with a proper opening theme. Things are looking good.
The theme song for The Chicago Code—that crime series starring Flashdance goddess Jennifer Beals—is a piece by Canadian composer Robert Duncan. So far we have credited Mr. Duncan for the themes of The Unit, Terriers, and Castle, for which he received an Emmy nomination.
Now, about that where-did-I-hear-that-before voice. Still don’t know? That distinct voice is Billy Corgan’s—Smashing Pumpkins; Billy is an Illinois native.
I know for a fact that the Billy Corgan opening theme is already an updated version, but for now we don’t have any references to the original one.
Below is the Chicago-montage opening sequence and the theme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81RRN9tvl10
And the lyrics.
The Chicago Code theme song lyrics
Who’s gonna hear you cry,
when there’s more of them than there are of you?
Who’s gonna hear you cry,
when the high winds come and it takes your breath?
Who’s gonna hear your voice,
when fallen men wanna cut you down,
and the sun is gone in the dead of night in this town?
Who’s gonna hear you cry?
People have asked for it, but no, there is still no full version of this song, nor is it properly titled yet. As always, I will be updating this post when anything new comes to light.
1997–2010; also “Hank of the Hill theme song“ and “King Hank theme song”
R.I.P. Brittany Murphy.
The theme song from King of the Hill is officially entitled “Yahoos and Triangles.” It is by the Arizona-based band The Refreshments—known in the nineties for their hit single “Banditos.” It is said that the band often played the theme song at soundchecks for their shows.
Now, while even the band calls their own song “Yahoos and Triangles,” the song is credited as “King Of The Hill Theme” in the official soundtrack of the series. The full version of the song lasts a little more than two minutes.
Below is the full/extended version of the song.
And because FOX is unreasonably (stupidly) strict with copyright issues, below is the only decent official opening sequence we can find—uploader had to make silly modifications.
Which is also why there are hoards of intro parodies for the KOTH intro like the one below.
Here we go. The main theme song for Prison Break was composed by German-born Ramin Djawadi. On this blog we know him for his work on the FlashForward theme song, but he may well be more known for scoring the film Iron Man. Mr. Djawadi is the lone composer for the series, which means everything you heard during its run was composed by him (incidental music).
The theme song was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music in 2005 but lost to the theme from Masters of Horror.
The franchise was able to release two official soundtracks. The first, released August 2007, included scores from seasons 1 and 2. The first song in the disc is the theme song, credited as “Main Titles” and lasts 2:30. Below is the full version found in the soundtrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMB7ICxl3yM
The second original television soundtrack included scores for seasons 3 and 4. It included a 35-second version of the theme song credited as “Main Titles Season 3”. Below is the exact track found in the disc.
In 2006, Fox Music released a Ferry Corsten remix of the theme, entitled “Prison Break Theme (Ferry Corsten Breakout Mix)”. I am not sure if this track is part of an album or compilation though. Below is said remix.
What else? Right, theme songs for releases in other countries. Let me just present this in a linked-list format.
Oh well, too bad for those who do not know of this era—this is where the whole Johnny Depp phenomenon started, you know?
Anyway, so much for the poster-totting 90s teenage girl in me. After all, I’m a man.
Possibly as memorable as the “Jump Street” spray paint sequence in the intro is the theme song that jumps right after it. The song is simply called “21 Jump Street Theme”. It was composed by Liam Sternberg—not by series scorer Peter Bernstein, as commonly mistaken. Additional arrangement and production was contributed by Jay Gruska.
The song was performed by Holly Robinson who we all know played Officer Judy Hoffs in the show. She is now, and possibly more known as, Holly Robinson Peete, after she married NFL quarterback Rodney Peete. Ms. Peete is currently one of the hosts of CBS talk show The Talk.
The theme is part of the official soundtrack of the show—good thing it made it to the compact disc era.
Now for the classic opening.
21 Jump Street theme song lyrics
We never thought we’d find a place where we belong
Don’t have to stand alone, we’ll never let you fall
Don’t need permission to decide what you believe
I said jump, down on Jump Street
I said jump, down on Jump Street
Your friends will be there when your back is to the wall
You’ll find you’ll need us cause there’s no one else to call
When it was hopeless a decision is what you need
You’d better be ready to, be ready to jump
21 Jump Street
And below, some more versions of the opening sequence.
Interesting, interesting comment below — from the composer, which answered all our questions! Thank you, Mr. Smith.
Original post starts here
I just saw this the other day and I do think it has promise.
It does have an apt theme song though to say the least. Or is it just because of the song’s title? “Daddy-O” is the opening theme song for Raising Hope. It is by The Freelance Economy. For the life of me I could not find any information on The Freelance Economy. It seems like they’re a band, but they might just be one of those impromptu groups started by the show’s producers or something. I do not know. Any information will be welcomed.
And, either this show does not have that much fans or FOX is just super strict on copyright issues, but they do not have one decent fan video on YouTube. Although below, maybe it really is about copyright issues, but some dude uploaded the sequence mirror imaged. It’s good enough for now. At least we can hear the song.
This was a really, really good show. Unfortunately (I think), it was not picked up by the masses.
As for the opening theme song, well, it was short, apt and simple. And, there is really not much to say about it except that it was composed by known television composer David Schwartz. We just recently encountered Mr. Schwartz for the Northern Exposure theme. The theme song is the ukulele-based background music for the opening sequence narrative about the premise of the show. Below is the complete and correct narrative.
“Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It’s Arrested Development.”
The above (and all of the show’s narration) is narrated by one of the show’s producers—The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons director Ron Howard.
Below is the original opening sequence.
The theme is also used by the character Lindsay Fünke as her cell phone ringtone.
This is the original, the one that started it all, the godfather.
Alright, let’s proceed. Whichever Beverly Hills, 90210 theme song version or remix you know of, only remember one name—composer John E. Davis.
Of course there is the one main theme that we all know and love—which has been remixed and re-recorded throughout the show’s 10 seasons—but research has led me to believe there was another song. More on that later. As for the opening video sequence, it changed here and there with the advent of new cast members, so just see some examples below.
First, what I deem the most popular and known version of the theme song and introduction—the one used through seasons two to four.
Next, CBS’ take on “the classic opening title sequence.” Yes the show was shown on FOX but CBS did a lot for its distribution. I believe this was used in the first season. The video below is from CBS’ official YouTube channel.
Next, the classic mailman scene. Originally I thought the mailman scene transitioned to the sequence and song above, but there is a different song to this one. This is the “other song” I mentioned earlier. This version could only have been used in the first season. Song also composed by John E. Davis.
Season 5 experienced a major change as the song and titles were cut from 1 minute 38 seconds to 58 seconds.
Finally, let’s just skip to the show’s latter years. The opening below is the opening used in the last ever show—year 2000, season 10.
As for soundtracks, I have seen 3. There is the original soundtrack, which is the one you should get if the theme song is your thing, the one labeled The College Years, and the one labeled Songs from the Peach Pit, which also contains the theme.
In the soundtracks, the main title theme lasts 3+ minutes. Below is the full/extended version found in the albums.
Phew. Now we’re done. An epic post for an epic show.
This is why it is never a good idea to put a bunch of attractive people in one place, let alone one show.
The 2009 version should never have been, just like the new 90210.
Anyway, as we all know, we are in that time where 5-second opening sequences seem to be the new trend—it sucks, I know. Version two of Melrose Place is a victim, so let’s get it over and done with.
Below is the super-short title sequence for 2009 Melrose Place. Music is credited solely to Danny Lux, a regular here on Theme Songs.
Now on to the 1990s Melrose Place, the one with the definitive theme song.
On YouTube, the opening credits was uploaded by none other than CBS’ official channel, so it doesn’t get more official than that. (I realize the series was shown of FOX, but CBS released the DVD.) Below is their upload.
Of course, the video clips changed throughout the seasons, with the advent of new characters and actors, but the song remained.
The franchise released two official soundtracks. The first is Melrose Place: The Music, which for some reason did not include the theme song, and the second Melrose Place Jazz, which has the theme, where it is simply credited as “Melrose Place” (track 1).
The theme song is credited to composer Tim Truman.
Among the careers this show helped launch include Matthew Fox, Neve Campbell, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. But we’re not here for them.
We’re here simply for the theme song, and its theme song, as with nearly all successful 90s shows, is an integral part of the show. For Party of Five, the theme song is “Closer To Free” by the band BoDeans from Wisconsin. While it is true that “Closer To Free” is what they are best known for, they have been around (and still are) since 1983.
Party of Five had a rare and different opening that featured a different song. Early episodes used “Climb on (A Back That’s Strong)” by Shawn Colvin from her album Fat City as the intro song. The song was only used on network airings so you cannot find it on DVDs. The song is also part of the aforementioned soundtrack.
Below is an original opening sequence from season one featuring “Closer To Free”.
Party of Five theme song lyrics (“Closer To Free”)
Show edit.
Everybody wants to live
How they wanna live
And everybody wants to love
Like they wanna love
And everybody wants to be
Closer to free
Everybody wants to live
How they wanna live
And everybody wants to love
Like they wanna love
And everybody wants to be
Closer to free
Below, and I’m glad they caught this on tape, is one of the rare Shawn Colvin openings.
Party of Five theme song lyrics (“Climb on (A Back That’s Strong)”)
Show edit.
Oh, my soul
Sometimes we don’t know what to do
We work so hard
Being tough on our own