DAILY DIRT: Best theme songs for TV shows? Any such list has to start with ‘Happy Days,’ ‘Cheers’ and ‘Friends’

December 14, 2024 | By Steve Eighinger Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Daily Dirt for Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024

It’s still hard to believe that Fonzie is now old and gray, Richie Cunningham has no hair and Potsie is 75 … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,141 of The Daily Dirt.

1. How many of you have been pulled into a TV show simply by hearing the theme song?

I appreciate the theme songs with lyrics the most, and through the years there have been a few such songs that have stood out the most by both standing the test of time and becoming a part of our pop culture.

Here are my 10 favorite themes from TV programs:

1. “Happy Days” (ABC): Pratt and McClain’s version (which was used beginning with the third season) peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
2. “Cheers (Where Everybody Knows Your Name)” (NBC): Performed by Gary Portnoy, the first few bars always brought a smile to my face. And still does.
3. “Friends” (NBC): The Rembrandts’ theme song was modeled from R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
4. “All In The Family” (CBS):“Boy, the way Glenn Miller played, songs that made the hit parade … “
5. “The Jeffersons” (CBS): “We’re Movin’ On Up” was, for me, much better than the show itself.
6. “Welcome Back Kotter” (ABC): I immediately recognized the voice of John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful, and enjoy singing along to this day.
7. “The Rockford Files” (NBC): Although I prefer lyrics for my theme songs, this is one of the best instrumental openings of them all.
8. “Miami Vice” (NBC): And this one is a close second. Nothing says the ’80s like Don Johnson and this theme music.
9. “Hawaii Five-O (CBS)”: Admit it, you just mouthed the words, “Book ’em, Dan-O.”
10. “Mission Impossible” (CBS): This is the other instrumental that deserves to be in some sort of hall of fame.

2. Did you know (Part 216)

That Americans spend about $60 billion each year on their pets. That’s BILLION.
That the average person spends about two years of their life in the bathroom. Wives, I presume, spend the most.
That your heart beats around 100,000 times per day.
That mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue twice as much as any other color.
That those popular Chi-Chi’s sit-down, casual Mexican restaurants will be re-emerging starting in 2025 — along with the famous fried ice cream (which was simply unbelievable). Bankruptcy claimed the franchise about 20 years ago. At its peak, Chi-Chi’s had about 250 locations sprinkled across the country. The original Chi-Chi’s was founded in 1975.

3. Big pro wrestling fan, eh? Thinking about going to WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 19-20, eh?

Well, here’s the latest on ticket prices:

Front-row seating: $50,000 per ticket, including a variety of perks such as photo ops with WWE superstars, all-inclusive hospitality and premium merchandise. (In case you’re interested, all of the front-row seating is already sold out.)
Rows 2 and 3 are going for a slightly reduced $27,000 to $30,000.
The cheapest seats? They’re found is in the upper deck “well away from the ring” for about $4,600 per ticket.
How much have times — and prices — changed? At the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a front-row ticket went for $100. By 2004, for WrestleMania 20, fans were paying around $1,000 for the same prime seating.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – I once had ring-side seating for a WWE extravaganza in Columbus, Ohio. The main match featured Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and an opponent I have long forgotten. During the match, The Hammer went to throw a pizza at his opponent and missed — hitting me instead. To this day, that remains one of the proudest moments of my life. The Hammer even winked at me, which I took to say, “Sorry about that, dude.”