I have a soft spot for music from tv show intros from the 70s and early 80s. The compositions and memorable melodies were something else.
I think maybe it was a legacy from the 70s movie soundtracks, where Ennio Morricone really showed how important soundtracks were to movies, but then TV shows had to do it in 30 seconds. I love the craftsmanship of it.
I have a soft spot for music from tv show intros from the 70s and early 80s. The compositions and memorable melodies were something else.
I think maybe it was a legacy from the 70s movie soundtracks, where Ennio Morricone really showed how important soundtracks were to movies, but then TV shows had to do it in 30 seconds. I love the craftsmanship of it.
Some of my favorites:
Benson
Taxi
Soap
Airwolf
Dallas
Airwolf’s opening I’ve seen before; and the Dallas one is pretty great. Here are a couple I’ll throw in to the mix:
Rupert note the interesting time signatures
Gormenghast the first and second books are excellent. The third is… different…
The Prisoner possibly the greatest (and surely the longest!) opening
“The prisoner” is quite wild from a music perspective and way ahead of it’s time. Looks more like a 60s/70s series. Never saw it myself.
I guess it’s not so decade dependent, but more about someone caring enough to make a good intro song.
Here are more TV themes that you didn’t know you already knew:
Hill Street Blues
Round the Twist (this is the Epitome of early 1990s)