In an era gone by, TV series had theme songs that were as familiar as the characters themselves. With titles and lyrics crafted specifically for the show, these theme songs often provided a snapshot of the show’s overarching theme.
During the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, many beloved TV theme songs had extended versions featured on singers’ albums or even received airplay on the radio. The opening credits, accompanied by these theme songs, usually spanned up to a minute, introducing both the characters and the actors portraying them
Here are some of the most popular TV theme songs you likely know by heart and a few fun facts about each. (And here are some of the most popular movie soundtracks of all time.)
The Jeffersons: “Movin’ on Up”
- Composed and sung by Ja’Net DuBois
- Ja’Net DuBois played Willona Woods on “Good Times”
- Listen to “The Jeffersons” theme song here
The Facts of Life: “The Facts of Life”
- Co-written by Alan Thicke, who played Mike Seaver on “Growing Pains”
- Sung by Gloria Loring, Thicke’s wife and an actor who played Liz Chandler on “Days of Our Lives”
- Listen to “The Facts of Life” here
The Brady Bunch: “The Brady Bunch”
- Written by “The Brady Bunch” creator Sherwood Schwartz
- Composed by Frank De Vol, an actor and composer
- Season 1’s theme song was sung by John Beland, Paul Parrish and Lois Fletcher
- The remaining seasons were sung by the actors who played the Brady children
- Listen to “The Brady Bunch” theme song here
Family Ties: “Without Us”
- The first 10 episodes, the theme song was sung by Dennis Rufano and Mindy Sterling
- For the remaining episodes, Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams performed it
- Composed by Jeff Barry and Tom Scott
- Listen to “Without Us” here
Silver Spoons: “Together”
- Written by Bob Wirth and Rik Howard
- Three versions of the song were used throughout the show’s run
- Two of the versions were sung by Ron Dante, lead singer of cartoon band The Archies
- Listen to “Together” here
Gilligan’s Island: “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island”
- Music and lyrics were written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle, who co-wrote “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” with Andy Williams
- There were three versions of the theme song
- Listen to the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song here
Lavergne & Shirley: “Making Our Dreams Come True”
- Widely considered a female empowerment song
- Charles Fox and the late lyricist Norman Gimbel (“The Girl from Ipanema”)
- Performed by Cyndi Grecco, a singer at Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park
- Listen to the theme song here
One Day at a Time: “This is It”
- Composed by husband/wife duo Jeff and Nancy Barry
- Performed by Polly Cutter
- Listen to “This is It”
Three’s Company: “Come and Knock on Our Door”
- Written by Don Nicholl, an executive producer on the show
- Composed by Joe Raposo, who also composed the “Sesame Street” theme song
- Performed by Ray Charles and Julia Rinker
- Listen to “Come and Knock on Our Door”
The Love Boat: “The Love Boat”
- Sung by Jack Jones, a Grammy Award-winning singer, for the first eight seasons
- Dionne Warwick sang the theme song for the ninth season
- Listen to “The Love Boat” theme song
Welcome Back, Kotter: “Welcome Back”
- Written and sung by John Sebastian of Lovin’ Spoonful
- Was Billboard’s #1 song in the country in May 1976
- Listen to “Welcome Back”
Happy Days: “Happy Days” / “Rock Around the Clock”
- “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets was used for the first two seasons’ opening credits
- “Happy Days” was used only for the closing credits for the first two seasons before being used for both in season 3 and beyond
- “Happy Days” was written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, who also wrote “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
- Originally sung by Jim Haas
- Listen to the “Happy Days” theme song here
Diff’rent Strokes: “It Takes Diff’rent Strokes”
- Written by Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton
- Performed by Alan Thicke
- Listen to the theme song of “Diff’rent Strokes”
Alice: “There’s a New Girl in Town”
- Written by David Shire and Marilyn Bergman, who also wrote the lyrics for the “Maude” and “Good Times” theme songs
- Sung by Linda Lavin, who played Alice on the series
- The lyrics changed twice during the show’s nine seasons
- Listen to the “Alice” theme song
The Dukes of Hazzard: “Good Ol’ Boys”
- Written and performed by country music legend Waylon Jennings
- Was #1 on Billboard’s country singles chart for 17 weeks in 1980
- Sold 1 million ringtone versions following the release of The Dukes of Hazzard movie starring Johnny Knoxville
- Listen to “Good Ol’ Boys” here
Growing Pains: “As Long as We Got Each Other”
- Composed by Steve Dorff and John Bettis
- Season 1’s version was performed by B.J. Thomas
- Season 2 and later was a duet with Thomas and Jennifer Warnes
- A full-length version was later released and performed by Thomas and Dusty Springfield
- Listen to the “Growing Pains” theme song
Cheers: “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”
- Co-written by Judy Hart-Angelo and Gary Portnoy
- Performed by Portnoy, who was paid just $150 to do so
- He now lives off the residuals, which he receives for every time it’s played
- Listen to the “Cheers” theme song
Who’s the Boss: “Brand New Life”
- Written by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter
- Music composed by Larry Carlton and Robert Kraft
- Three versions were used throughout the show’s run
- Singers for each of the three versions were Larry Weiss, Steve Wariner and Jonathan Wolff, who created the “Seinfeld” theme song
- Listen to “Brand New Life”