Stuff You Never Knew About 6 Iconic Sitcom Theme Songs
Did you know the theme song from The Beverly Hillbillies spent three weeks at the top of Billboard’s country charts? Or that Sherwood Schwartz used the theme song from Gilligan’s Island to explain the show’s premise because the network worried new viewers wouldn’t understand why everyone was stuck on that island?
The Hollywood Reporter has compiled more “Hey, I never knew that” facts about iconic TV theme songs, including the bouncy opening numbers for these six classic sitcoms.
Friends
The ubiquitous clap-clap-clap-clap theme song has earned the Rembrandts more than $5 million in royalties. But shouldn’t some of the cash go to the cast for all the times they had to listen to “I’ll Be There for You”?
“No one was really a big fan of that theme song,” Jennifer Aniston told the BBC in 2016. “We felt it was a little... I don't know. Dancing in a pond? A fountain felt sort of odd. … We did it because we were told to.”
Cheers
“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” was originally written for the 1984 teen sex comedy Preppies, in which “three sexy young women are hired to ensure that three college students don’t pass their final exams.” The movie’s poster tells you everything you need to know:
For obvious reasons, producers required some lyric rewrites before the song became the official anthem for Cheers.
The Jeffersons
The catchy “Movin’ on Up” was performed and co-written by Ja’Net DuBois, a name you might recognize from another Norman Lear sitcom — she played gossipy neighbor Willona Woods on Good Times. DuBois based the lyrics to The Jeffersons theme song on her personal dream to earn enough cash to give her mother a comfortable retirement.
The Office
The Office producers had another song in mind for the show’s open — Electric Light Orchestra’s Mr. Blue Sky. But as the show neared its premiere, they discovered another NBC show, LAX, had recently claimed the song for its own theme. After a cast vote, ‘70s pop star Jay Ferguson recorded a substitute theme song about a week before the pilot aired with a group called The Scrantones. Kevin’s band, Scrantonicity, must not have been available.
That ‘70s Show
That ‘70s Show used a cover of an actual ‘70s song by Big Star, “In the Streets,” in its opening credits. To further authenticate the tune, ‘70s rockers Cheap Trick took over the vocals starting in Season Two. As for Alex Chilton, the song’s original writer? He got 70 bucks every time the song played on reruns. “It’s actually ironic that the amount is $70,” says Chilton. “To me, it's That $70 Show.”
The Golden Girls
Golden Girls famously recycled Andrew Gold’s “Thank You for Being a Friend,” a Top 40 hit back in 1978. But that song wasn’t the producers’ first choice. They wanted Bette Midler’s “Friends,” but that song was too expensive so they opted for a cover of Gold’s ditty. A Netherlands version of The Golden Girls also featured “Thank You for Being A Friend” — sung in Dutch.
Trust me, it’s worth a listen: