3/26/2019

Classic Tv Shows Theme Songs

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The best TV theme songs and TV intros of all time will take you back to some of the greatest moments in TV. Television theme songs set the tone for the entire series, and for the beginning of each episode. We all have a special connection to what we think are the best TV themes. They get stuck in our head, we sing them without noticing, and we remember them fondly after a series has ended. These are the most famous opening theme songs from the most popular TV shows.

What are the best TV theme songs? Vote on the best TV show theme songs here and make sure your favorite gets the attention it deserves. If you think The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song was the coolest or you loved the Friends intro song...by all means, vote! Help improve this list of the best TV theme songs of all time.1CheersTed Danson, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger
Cheers is an American sitcom that ran for eleven seasons between 1982 and 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Network Television for ...more
2The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirWill Smith, James Avery, Alfonso Ribeiro
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of ...more
3The Addams FamilyJohn Astin, Carolyn Jones, Ted Cassidy
The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons on ...more
4FriendsJennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow
Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which originally aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. It lasted ten seasons and is now in ...more
5The FlintstonesAlan Reed, Mel Blanc, Jean Vander Pyl
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that was broadcast from September 30, 1960, to April 1, 1966, on ABC. The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera. The ...more
6Happy DaysRon Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that aired first-run from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life ...more
7Mission: ImpossiblePeter Graves, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the ...more
8Gilligan's IslandBob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus
Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz via United Artists Television. The show had an ensemble cast that featured Bob Denver, Alan Hale, Jr., Jim ...more
9M*A*S*HAlan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Loretta Swi
M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH. The series, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ...more
10Scooby-DooCasey Kasem, Don Messick, Heather North
Scooby-Doo is an American animated cartoon franchise, comprising several animated television series produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was ...more
11Hawaii Five-OJack Lord, James MacArthur, Kam Fong
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and ...more
12The Pink Panther ShowPaul Frees, Rich Little, Dave Barry
The Pink Panther Show is a showcase of cartoon shorts produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng between 1969 and 1979, starring the animated Pink Panther character from the opening credits ...more
13The SimpsonsDan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by the ...more
14The Muppet ShowJim Henson, Frank Oz, Richard Hunt
The Muppet Show is a family-oriented comedy-variety television series that was produced by puppeteer Jim Henson and features The Muppets. After two pilot episodes produced in 1974 and 1975 ...more
15The Beverly HillbilliesBuddy Ebsen, Donna Douglas, Irene Ryan
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American sitcom originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from September 26, 1962 to March 23, 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max ...more
16The MonkeesDavy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock ...more
17The Brady BunchRobert Reed, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that originally aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with ...more
18BatmanAdam West, Burt Ward, Alan Napier
Batman is a 1960s American live action television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two heroes who defend ...more
19The JeffersonsIsabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Marla Gibbs
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. ...more
20WKRP in CincinnatiGary Sandy, Gordon Jump, Howard Hesseman
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy television series that features the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was ...more
21Welcome Back, KotterGabe Kaplan, Ron Palillo, John Travolta
Welcome Back, Kotter (ABC, 1975) is an American television sitcom. Gabe Kotter (Gabe Kaplan) is a sardonic high school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial class ...more
22The Andy Griffith ShowAndy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom, which originally ran on CBS from October 3, 1960 to April 1, 1968. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show, starred Andy ...more
23Sesame StreetJim Henson, Frank Oz, Caroll Spinney
Sesame Street is a long-running American children's television series created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. The program is known for its educational content, and images communicated ...more
24The Dukes of HazzardTom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, ...more
25The X-FilesDavid Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi
The X-Files is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by Chris Carter. The program originally aired from September 10, 1993 to May 19, 2002 on Fox, spanning nine ...more
SWAT, Sesame Street, Twilight Zone, Dr. Who... Which is your favorite? We count them down.
By IGN Staff

Popular music comes in all forms, but none of it is as far-reaching and as oft-heard as the themes that introduce our favorite TV shows. Whether it's the haunting, echoing opening passage of or the iconic spy theme of Mission: Impossible, TV themes frame the viewing experience, setting us up for what we are about to watch.

So many TV theme songs have us singing along and recalling the good ol' days that we felt we needed to honor these musical tidbits with a selection of our very favorites. Plus, we're giving IGN readers a sneak peek at the Beta version of IGN's newest channel… IGN TV! What better way to celebrate everything that is TV than with a list of the best themes throughout the ages?

For this list, we decided not to include cartoons or Saturday morning themes… that will get its own due in the coming months. Everything else was fair game. Several factors were taken into account when ranking them: quality, relevance, historic significance and lasting appeal. It all starts here…

[reviews were penned by Spence Abbott, Chris Carle, Eric Goldberg, Dan Iverson, and Brian Zoromski]

50. Beverly Hills 90210

It's hard to believe that the early version of the theme to this hugely successful 1990's teen soap was even more synthesizer fueled then the one in later seasons. Who could forget Jason Priestly pumping his fist to the two beats that open this keyboard and sax-filled melody to rich kids and their tangled love lives? -EG

49. Rawhide If the Blues Brothers never had to resort to covering this theme in the rowdy country (and) western bar, it would still be a classic. Whip-cracks and all, you can almost smell the doagies with your ears. A seminal TV western theme, it isn't quite as 'git along' as Bonanza, but it comes close. -CC

48. The Odd Couple 'Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo…' The opening bounce of the theme song to Neil Simon's dysfunctional buddy comedy is one of the most unmistakable theme songs in all of television history. That it expertly captures the nebbish, obsessive/compulsive tendencies of Felix Unger as well as the slob, king slacker personality of Oscar Madison is not only a tribute to the show, but also to composer Neil Hefti's (the man also responsible for the raucous Batman TV theme, no less) grasp of the material. -SA

47. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 'Now... this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down, and I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air.' If you are in your yearly to mid-twenties and cannot recite at least this much of the theme, then shame on you. Where were you when Will Smith sat on his throne as the prince of Bel Air? All kidding aside, whether you know the lyrics or not, you cannot deny the simple rhymes that help make this jingle stay in your head long after the opening credits end. -DI

46. The A-Team As everybody knows, all heroes need a theme song. To this end, the spoken word intro leading into the blaring horns and pounding percussion that were laced throughout this theme brought to mind the glory cinematic war/western days of John Wayne and an overwhelming sense of American/national pride. It's like a pomp and circumstance revelry tailor made for jovial mercenaries for hire. Plus it made you want to jump out of a moving van and shoot the bad guys something fierce. -SA

45. Dallas Most of the songs on this list will have lyrics, as it is easier for a jingle with lyrics to get stuck in your head. But every so often a television theme song will represent the mood of the show, and be catchy enough that it will be moving in your head years after the show has been cancelled. Dallas is like that. While listening to the theme song you know that you are getting a large dramatic show, which will have a more grandiose nature. Dallas' theme song is a memorable song that more than represented one of the most popular primetime dramas of the Eighties. -DI

44. Barney Miller Jack Elliot and Allyn Ferguson's theme encapsulated the funky vibe of the mid-'70s to a T. It also molded itself perfectly to the funky, almost off-the-cuff nature of this ensemble police buddy comedy that took place almost entirely in the precinct station house. Driven by loping bass and a staccato horn section this is one of those songs that just way too short. The duo would later reprise their undeniably funky inclinations with the equally rump shaking theme to Fish, the Abe Vigoda spin-off that followed in 1977. -SA

43. Twin Peaks Angelo Badalamenti's eerie, hollow theme was an amazing appetizer for a show that consistently lived on the fringe, outside of expectation. Like the banks of fog that blanket the show's opening, Twin Peaks' theme shrouds the series in mystery and gets the viewer primed for the chilling, sometimes horrifying proceedings. The off-kilter vibe and the empty tone matches the open expanse of Pacific Northwest, where the show is set. -CC

42. Bonanza This rollicking Western track has been used and over-used a ton since its debut on the Sixties series. Conjuring up wagons rolling, and life on the frontier, it is every bit as iconic as some of the traditional American folk sings. In fact, it may already be considered one by many forward-thinking historians. -CC

41. All in the Family What more can you ask for than Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton singing off-key and craggy (totally pre-karaoke, too) 'Those Were The Days'? Charles Strouse, the composer/writer of the opening theme song has no less than three Tony Awards under his belt for Best Musical (among them one for Bye, Bye Birdie), so it's no wonder that the song was not only quirky, but damn catchy in that Broadway type of way. -SA