Theme music

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The phrase theme music usually refers to that of a radio program, television program, or movie. It is a piece that is written specifically for that show and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits. If it is accompanied by lyrics, most often associated with the show, it is a theme song.

1 Purpose
2 Popularity
- 2.1 Hit Songs as themes
- 2.2 Remixes
3 Minimization of importance
4 See also

Purpose

The purpose of the music is to establish a mood for the show and to provide an audible cue that a particular show is beginning, which was especially useful in the early days of radio (See also interval signal). In some cases, including The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, and The Beverly Hillbillies the lyrics of the theme song provide some necessary exposition for people unfamiliar with the show.

In addition, some theme music uses orchestra scores or original music set mood for the show. One of the most notable of these is the Batman: The Animated Series theme song, which was drawn from the theme for the 1989 Batman film created by Danny Elfman. Others uses remixes or covers of older songs, such as the theme song of Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998), which featured a reworked cover of the theme song from the classic Spider-Man cartoon from the 1960s. The song was performed by Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry.

Popularity

Theme music has been a feature of the majority of television programs since the medium's inception, as it was for the ancestral radio shows that provided their inspiration. Programs have used theme music in a huge variety of styles, sometimes adapted from existing tunes, some composed specifically for the purpose. A few have been released commercially and become popular hits; examples would include the title theme from Rawhide, performed and recorded by popular singer Frankie Laine; the theme tune to Friends, "I'll Be There For You", which was a hit for The Rembrandts; the theme from S.W.A.T.; which was a hit for Rhythm Heritage; and the theme song from Drake and Josh, which was a hit for Drake Bell. Jan Hammer had a major hit with the theme from Miami Vice in the 1980s. The Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight), recorded by Richard Chamberlain, the star of the television series, was in 1962 a top 10 hit in the US and a top 20 hit in the UK.

Other themes, like the music for The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, and Coronation Street have become iconic mostly due to the shows' respective longevities. Unlike others, these serials have not strayed from the original theme mix much, if at all, allowing them to be known by multiple generations of television viewers.

In the United Kingdom, iconic sports shows have such strong associations with their theme music that the sports themselves are synonymous with the theme tunes, for example soccer (Match of the Day theme), cricket (Booker T. & the M.G.'s, 'Soul Limbo'), motor racing (Roger Barsotti's Motor Sport and the bassline from Fleetwood Mac's The Chain), tennis (Keith Mansfield's Light and Tuneful), snooker (Drag Racer by the Doug Wood Band) and skiing (Pop Goes Bach, the theme to Ski Sunday).

Virtually every TV show has specific, melodic theme music, even if it's just a few notes (such as the snatch of eerie music that fades in and out in the title sequence for Lost). One famous exception is 60 Minutes, which features only the ticking hand of a Heuer stopwatch.

Hit Songs as themes

Some series use major hit songs that were popular before the shows' creation. A well known example is the CSI franchise, with each series having a popular song by The Who for their theme song. Another series, Murphy Brown, used a different classic Motown song each week as the show's opening theme, with the chosen song usually pertaining in some way to each episode's storyline. Happy Days used a newly recorded version of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley during its first season, resulting in the original 1954 recording of the song re-entering the American pop charts after 20 years. The show Life Goes On used a cover version of the Beatles' hit song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da".

Remixes

Also notable is the Law & Order series, which started out with one theme song for Law and Order, and remixed it for its three spinoffs (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Trial by Jury). The related reality show Crime and Punishment also aired with a remix of the theme.

Radio programs with notable theme music include Just a Minute, which uses a high-speed rendition of the "Minute Waltz" by Frédéric Chopin.

Minimization of importance

In the 1990s, American network television began reducing the importance of opening and closing themes in a drive to decrease intervals between programs (thereby discouraging channel switching) and to address reduced storytelling time due to increased commercials.^{[citation needed]} A number of themes, such as the theme to Law & Order, were rearranged in shorter formats (the current (1993) L&O theme runs about 1/3 the length of the theme as played during the first season of the series in 1990). Closing themes are now rarely heard during their original broadcast as networks instead show promos and advertisements with the credits squeezed to the side; some shows still have such themes, however they tend to only be heard on home video/DVD release or in syndication, a lot of shows now don't have ending theme tunes instead a final tag scene is played under the credits - this is usually not relevant to the episodes story. Some series, such as the 2005 series Threshold or Lost, have no opening credits theme music at all.