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From: jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson)
Newsgroups: net.tv
Subject: Re: More old TV! (Secret Agent Man)
Message-ID: <311@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Aug-83 09:30:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: dciem.311
Posted: Tue Aug 23 09:30:23 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Aug-83 14:25:54 EDT
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Organization: D.C.I.E.M, Toronto, Canada
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Here are the hit singles I can remember that were TV show themes:

Hawaii Five-O
The Rockford Files
SWAT  (hit version was done differently by a different group)
Welcome Back Kotter
Happy Days  (I'm not counting "Rock Around The Clock", since it was
             already a hit before the TV series)
The Greatest American Hero
Hill Street Blues  (by Mike Post, same guy who did Rockford)

I think Hawaii Five-O became a hit around the time the series began.
The other series were all on for a couple of years before somebody
saw the potential for a hit song.

I'm sure the westerns of the fifties produced a few hit themes.
I'm pretty sure Rawhide was a hit, and I think Frankie Laine had
another hit from a TV western.  My father would know, in fact he
probably has the records, but it's a little before my time.

The "Rock Around The Clock" example produces another question.
Are there any other TV shows that used songs that had already been
hit singles for their themes?  There are a couple of movies inspired
by hit songs ("The Gambler", for example) but are there any TV series
so inspired?  I can't think of any examples of either.

                                       Jeff Richardson
                                       DCIEM, Toronto