TUBE TUNES TUBE TUNES

This episode, packed with 34 opening and closing theme tunes, will focus on the theme music of seven representative military sitcoms from the 1950s up to the present, some of them well-known, some of them forgotten. Here are the series and theme tunes included in this episode:

YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH/THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW/SERGEANT BILCO

(1955-1959)

1955-1959 syndicated reruns opening and closing titles

Music composed by John Strauss; opening voice-over by Phil Silvers

BONUS THEMES:

CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?

1961-1963 opening titles

Music composed by John Strauss; lyrics written by Nat Hiken









McHALE'S NAVY

(1962-1966)

1962-1963 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Axel Stordahl

1963-1964 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Axel Stordahl

1964-1966 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Axel Stordahl; arranged by Jerry Fielding

BONUS THEMES:

BROADSIDE

1964-1965 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Jerry Fielding

DAY BY DAY

1988-1989 opening titles

Music and lyrics written by Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston and Sammy Cahn (based on their song "Day by Day," composed in 1946)







GOMER PYLE - USMC

(1964-1969)

1964-1969 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Earle Hagen







-Commercial Break-







M*A*S*H

(1972-1983)

1972-1983 opening and closing titles

"Suicide is Painless"

Music and lyrics (never used) written by Johnny Mandel (based on his music for the 1970 film "M*A*S*H")

BONUS THEMES:

BANYON

1972-1973 opening titles

Music composed by Johnny Mandel

TRAPPER JOHN, M.D.

1979-1986 opening titles

Music composed by John Parker

AfterMASH

1983-September 1984 opening titles

Music composed by Patrick Williams (based loosely on "Suicide is Painless" by Johnny Mandel)

September-December 1984 opening titles

Music composed by Patrick Williams (based loosely on "Suicide is Painless" by Johnny Mandel)







ROLL OUT!

(1973-1974)

1973-1974 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Dave Grusin

BONUS THEMES:

THE GHOST & MRS. MUIR

1968-1970 opening titles

Music composed by Dave Grusin

IT TAKES A THIEF

September 1968-1970 opening titles

Music composed by Dave Grusin; voice-over by Robert Wagner

THE NAME OF THE GAME

1968-1971 opening titles

Music composed by Dave Grusin

DAN AUGUST

1970-1971 opening titles

Music composed by Dave Grusin

ST. ELSEWHERE

1986-1987 opening titles

Music composed by Dave Grusin







-Commercial Break-







OPERATION PETTICOAT

(1977-1979)

1977-1979 opening titles

Music composed by Artie Butler

BONUS THEMES:

GRANDPA GOES TO WASHINGTON

1978-1979 opening titles

Music composed by Artie Butler







THE ARMY SHOW

(1998)

1998 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Jonathan Wolff

BONUS THEMES:

SEINFELD

1990-1998 closing titles

Music composed by Jonathan Wolff

CAROLINE IN THE CITY

1995-1999 closing titles

Music composed by Jonathan Wolff

WILL & GRACE

1998-1999 closing titles

Music composed by Jonathan Wolff

Also included are vintage promos for many of the series featured in this episode, as well as some ads that my podcasting friends provided to me to promote their own great podcasts; be sure to check them out.

Many, many thanks to Zerbinator for his continued support.

To commemorate the extraordinary life and career of comedian Don Rickles, who died today at age 90, I'm posting this TUBE TUNES TURBO TUNE episode about the TV series for which he'll probably be best remembered: CPO SHARKEY, which ran on NBC from 1976 to 1978. The theme music for CPO SHARKEY was composed by Peter Matz, a veteran of THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW. I hope you enjoy this brief look at (and listen to) the theme music of a very funny show with a very funny man.

This episode, packed with 46 opening and closing theme tunes, will focus on the theme music to seven series, each from a different decade from the 1950s up to the present, and all of them with titles beginning with the letter B. Here are the series and theme tunes included in this episode:

BLONDIE

(1957)

1957 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Leon Klatzkin; opening screeching by Arthur Lake

BONUS THEMES:

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN

1952-1958 opening titles

Music composed by Leon Klatzkin

BLONDIE (1968 revival)

1968-1969 opening titles

Music composed by Al Brodax & Bernard Green; lyrics written by Dennis Marks; performed by Patricia Harty and Will Hutchins







BURKE'S LAW/AMOS BURKE-SECRET AGENT

(1963-1966)

1963-1965 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Herschel Burke Gilbert

1965-1966 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Herschel Burke Gilbert

BONUS THEMES:

HONEY WEST

1965-1966 opening titles

Music composed by Herschel Burke Gilbert

BURKE'S LAW (1994 revival)

1994-1994 opening titles

Music composed by John E. Davis







-Commercial Break-







BARNEY MILLER

(1975-1982)

January 1975-September 1975 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott & Allyn Ferguson

September 1975-1976 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott & Allyn Ferguson

1976-1977 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott & Allyn Ferguson

1977-1982 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott & Ferguson

BONUS THEMES:

FISH

1977-1978 opening and closing titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott & Allyn Ferguson

PISTOLS 'N' PETTICOATS

1966-1967 opening titles

Music and lyrics written by Jack Elliott

THE NEW DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

1971-1972 opening titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott & Allyn Ferguson

LOTSA LUCK!

1973-1974 opening titles

Music and lyrics written by Jack Elliott & Allyn Ferguson, with Bill Persky & Sam Denoff; voice-overs by Dom DeLuise, Kathleen Freeman, Wynn Irwin, Beverly Sanders & Jack Knight

CHARLIE'S ANGELS

1976-1977 opening titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott & Allyn Ferguson; narrated by John Forsythe

NIGHT COURT

1984-1992 opening titles

Music composed by Jack Elliott







BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

(1987-1990)

1987-1989 opening titles

Music composed by Lee Holdridge; dialogue by Ron Perlman & Linda Hamilton

BONUS THEMES:

GEMINI MAN

1976 opening titles

Music composed by Lee Holdridge and Mark Snow

CODE R

1977 opening titles

Music composed by Lee Holdridge

EIGHT IS ENOUGH

1978-1981 opening titles

Music composed by Lee Holdridge; lyrics written by Molly-Ann Leikin; performed by Grant Goodeve

MOONLIGHTING

1985-1988 opening titles

Music composed by Lee Holdridge; lyrics written and theme performed by Al Jarreau







-Commercial Break-







BEVERLY HILLS, 90210

(1990-2000)

1990-1991 opening titles

Music composed by John E. Davis

1991-1992 opening titles

Music composed by John E. Davis

1992-1993 opening titles

Music composed by John E. Davis

1993-1994 opening titles

Music composed by John E. Davis

1994-2000 opening titles

Music composed by John E. Davis

1994-1995 closing titles

Music composed by John E. Davis

BONUS THEMES:

MELROSE PLACE

1992-1999 opening titles

Music composed by Tim Truman

90210

2008-2009 opening titles

Brought to you by the letter A, this episode will focus on the theme music to seven series, each from a different decade from the 1950s up to the present, and all of them with titles beginning with A. Here are the series included in this episode:

THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW

(1952-1954)

[1952-1953 opening titles]

[1953-1954 opening titles]

ADAM-12

(1968-1975)

[1968-1969 opening titles]

[1969-1970 opening titles]

-Commercial Break-

ALL IN THE FAMILY

(1971-1979)

[January 1971-September 1971 opening titles]

[September 1971-1975 opening titles]

[1975-1978 opening titles]

[1978-1979 opening titles]

[1971-1979 closing titles]

ALF

(1986-1990)

[1986-1988 opening titles]

[1988-1990 opening titles]

ALLY McBEAL

(1997-2002)

[1997-2002 opening titles]

-Commercial Break-

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

(2003-2006; 2013)

[2003-2005/2013 opening titles]

[2003-2006/2013 closing titles]

THE AMERICANS

(2013-present)

[2013-present opening and closing titles]

Also included is bonus theme music to FRACTURED FAIRY TALE and PEABODY'S IMPROBABLE HISTORY (both segments of ROCKY & HIS FRIENDS/THE BULLWINKLE SHOW), DRAGNET '67-'70, MAUDE, THE JEFFERSONS, ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE, GLORIA, THE CRITIC, NORTHERN EXPOSURE, and DEADWOOD. And I've included vintage promos for many of the series featured in this episode, as well as some ads that my podcasting friends provided to me to promote their own great podcasts; be sure to check them out.

Many, many thanks to Zerbinator for his continued support. His encouragement and expertise are very much appreciated by me. You can find all of his fun-to-listen-to podcasts here, including my favorite, "Please Stand By." And I'd also like especially to thank him for providing the opening and closing theme music for Tube Tunes; all of his fantastic music can be found here. And, again, thanks are in order for him for providing TUBE TUNES with the "We'll Be Right Back" drops heard during the podcast. Thanks, Burford.

I would also like to again thank Rob "Flack" O'Hara and Sean Johnson for adding TUBE TUNES to The Throwback Network. It's a great place to find just about any retro-themed podcast you can think of. Please check out the network here.



I also need to thank the Free Music Archive for the following musical artists and songs that were used in this episode under the Creative Commons License: "Jingle Time" and "Smiling Cars" by David Szestay, "Maybe" and "So Far So Close" by Jahzzer, and "Little Tomcat (Instrumental Version)" by Josh Woodward.



Finally, my thanks to Ferg of The Atari 2600 Game by Game Podcast. His inspiration and dedication to covering every game cartridge ever made for the Atari 2600 (I think over 1000 of them!) is what gave me the courage to begin this podcast. And his continued support and promotion of TUBE TUNES on his excellent podcast is greatly appreciated by yours truly. Please, check out his podcast, even if you're not an Atari 2600 collector; or at least visit his website here.



Next Episode: "S02E07: Please 'B' Mine" (available March 2017)

In this episode, I briefly explore 20 classic television series from the 1950s through the 1980s with memorable theme music composed and/or co-composed by prolific theme tune writer Earle Hagen. Here are the series included in this episode:

MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY/THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW

(1953-1964)

[1956-1964 opening main titles: an arrangement of "Londonderry Air," a.k.a. "Danny Boy"]

[1956-1964 syndicated reruns opening and closing main titles: an arrangement of "Londonderry Air," a.k.a. "Danny Boy"]

with Herbert W. Spencer for MSI Spencer-Hagen

WHERE'S RAYMOND/THE RAY BOLGER SHOW

(1953-1955)

[1953-1955 opening and closing main titles]

with Herbert W. Spencer for MSI Spencer-Hagen

IT'S ALWAYS JAN

(1955-1956)

[1955-1956 opening and closing main titles]

with Herbert W. Spencer for MSI Spencer-Hagen

MY SISTER EILEEN

(1960-1961)

[1960-1961 opening and closing main titles]

with Herbert W. Spencer for MSI Spencer-Hagen

THE BARBARA STANWYCK SHOW

(1960-1961)

[1960-1961 opening and closing main titles]

with Herbert W. Spencer for MSI Spencer-Hagen

-Commercial Break-

THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW

(1960-1968)

[1960-1965 opening and closing main titles: "The Fishin' Hole"]

[1965-1968 opening and closing main titles: "The Fishin' Hole"]

THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW

(1961-1966)

[1961 (episodes 1-14) opening and closing main titles]

[1962 (episodes 15-30) opening and closing main titles]

[1962-1963; 1964-1965 opening main titles]

[1963-1964; 1965-1966 opening main titles]

GOMER PYLE - USMC

(1964-1969)

[1964-1969 opening and closing main titles]

I SPY

(1965-1968)

[1965-1968 opening and closing main titles]

THAT GIRL

(1966-1971)

[1966-1967 opening and closing main titles]

[1967-1970 opening and closing main titles]

[1970-1971 opening and closing main titles]

-Commercial Break-

RANGO

(1967)

[1967 opening and closing main titles]

THE GUNS OF WILL SONNETT

(1967-1969)

[1967-1969 opening and closing main titles]

THE DANNY THOMAS HOUR

(1967-1968)

[SORRY, NO THEME AVAILABLE]

MAYBERRY, R.F.D.

(1968-1971)

[1969-1971 opening and closing main titles]

THE MOD SQUAD

(1968-1973)

[1968-1973 opening and closing main titles]

-Commercial Break-

MAKE ROOM FOR GRANDDADDY

(1970-1971)

[1970-1971 opening and closing main titles: an arrangement of "Londonderry Air," a.k.a. "Danny Boy"]

THE NEW PERRY MASON

(1973-1974)

[1973-1974 opening main titles]

BIG EDDIE

(1975)

[1975 closing main titles]

YOUNG DAN'L BOONE

(1977)

[1977 opening main titles (excerpt only)]

MICKEY SPILLANE'S MIKE HAMMER/THE NEW MIKE HAMMER/MIKE HAMMER, PRIVATE EYE

(1984-1987; 1997-1998)

[1984-1986 opening main titles: "Harlem Nocturne" (composed in 1939)]

[1986-1987 opening main titles: "Harlem Nocturne" (composed in 1939)]

[1997-1998 opening main titles: "Harlem Nocturne" (composed in 1939)]

I've included vintage promos and commercials for many of the series featured in this themeography episode. And you'll also have fun listening to some ads that my podcasting friends provided to me to promote their own great podcasts; be sure to check them out.

Many, many thanks to Zerbinator for his continued support. His encouragement and expertise are very much appreciated by me. You can find all of his fun-to-listen-to podcasts here, including my favorite, "Please Stand By." And I'd also like especially to thank him for providing the opening and closing theme music for Tube Tunes; all of his fantastic music can be found here. And, again,

In this episode I present eight Emmy-winning theme tunes (along with lots of trivia) from seven selected series that aired during the New Millennium (between 1999 and the present). Here are the shows and theme music featured:

THE WEST WING

(1999-2006)

[1999-2000 opening and closing main titles]

[2000-2006 opening and closing main titles]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2000

for composer W.G. Snuffy Walden

MONK

(2002-2009)

[2002-2003 opening main titles]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2003

for composer Jeff Beal

[2003-2009 opening main titles: "It's a Jungle Out There"]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2004

for composer Randy Newman

-Commercial Break-

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

(2004-2012)

[opening and closing main titles]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2005

for composer Danny Elfman

THE TUDORS

(2007-2010)

[opening and closing main titles]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2008

for composer Trevor Morris

NURSE JACKIE

(2009-2015)

[opening and closing main titles]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2010

for composers Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman

-Commercial Break-

THE BORGIAS

(2011-2013)

[opening and closing main titles]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2012

for composer Trevor Morris

JESSICA JONES

(2015-present)

[opening and closing main titles]

Winner of Prime Time Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2016

for composer Sean Callery

During the commercial breaks, I've included promos for the show MILLENNIUM starring Lance Henriksen; it ran on Fox between 1996 and 1999, and also starred Megan Gallagher and a pre-LOST Terry O'Quinn. And you'll also have fun listening to some ads that my podcasting friends provided to me to promote their own great podcasts; be sure to check them out.

Many, many thanks to Zerbinator for his continued support. His encouragement and expertise are very much appreciated by me. You can find all of his fun-to-listen-to podcasts here, including my favorite, "Please Stand By." And I'd also like especially to thank him for providing the opening and closing theme music for Tube Tunes; all of his fantastic music can be found here. And, again, thanks are in order for him for providing TUBE TUNES with the "We'll Be Right Back" drops heard during the podcast. Thanks, Burford.

I would also like to again thank Rob "Flack" O'Hara and Sean Johnson for adding TUBE TUNES to The Throwback Network. It's a great place to find just about any retro-themed podcast you can think of. Please check out the network here.



I also need to thank the Free Music Archive for the following musical artists and songs that were used in this episode under the Creative Commons License: "Dancing On the Edge," "Endless Story of Sun and Moon," and "The Flames of Rome," all by Kai Engel; and "Sense the Wind" by Lee Rosevere.



Finally, my thanks to Ferg of The Atari 2600 Game by Game Podcast. His inspiration and dedication to covering every game cartridge ever made for the Atari 2600 (I think over 1000 of them!) is what gave me the courage to begin this podcast. And his continued support and promotion of TUBE TUNES on his excellent podcast is greatly appreciated by yours truly. Please, check out his podcast, even if you're not an Atari 2600 collector; or at least visit his website here.



Next Episode: "S02E05: The Earle Hagen Themeography" (available January 2017)