The 10 Greatest TV Theme Bass Lines
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- #bass #basshistory #tvthemes #paulthompson
Join me as I lay down my 10 favorite bass lines from iconic television shows from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s! Featuring the likes of Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, Alan Silvestri, Jack Elliott, Abe Laboriel, Carol Kaye, and Chuck Rainey.
I've combed through 50 years of TV history to find (and RECREATE) the 10 most amazing bass lines (+3 runner-ups), who composed them, AND who played them. Maybe one of your favorites from ABC, NBC, CBS, or HBO is on the list.
00:00 Intro
00:41 #10
01:13 #9
01:45 #8
02:28 #7
03:07 #6
03:50 #5
04:28 #4
05:01 #3
05:51 #2
06:39 3rd Runner-Up
07:22 2nd Runner-Up
08:13 1st Runner-Up
08:57 #1
10:02 Outro
Did I leave your favorite TV Bass Line out? Let me know in the comments!
Website: www.paulthompson.us
Instagram @pdbass74
Twitter @pdbass74 
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Appreciate the shoutout. Good list. Thanks for including my Seinfeld theme. Still consider the day I created (in 1989) a #gooddayatwork
Before I earned the title of full-time composer, I performed on sessions as a studio musician for other composers. So I have recorded with each of the bassists you mentioned. That’s also how I first met Allyn Ferguson and Jack Elliott. On a break, I told them how much their work had influenced me.
Rock on, Paul 🎸
Thank YOU, Mr. Wolff!! As you can probably see in the comments, there were MANY people that thought YOUR iconic theme should have been #1--but I deferred on the side of telling a good story by saving you for the penultimate. Thanks for the Great music!!!
@@pdbass I snooped through your videos. Good stuff! 🤟😎🤟
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Stellar work, my man. Hearing your bip-boing improv matched to the tempo of Jerry’s standup is my favorite part of every episode. When he says a line and it goes wanaba wabana I fall apart. You really augmented the spirit of the comedy.
@@TheCapedWanderer Thanks. I named my chicken after you 😁
Barney Miller MUST be the top if not top three!
Gotta be...and "The Theme From Sanford & Son".
@@jazzpunk still plays in my head regularly
@@jazzpunk Barney Miller and Sanford and Son are #1 and #2 (swappable depending on the day). Any other order is just blasphemous.
100%
Agreed!
The Barney Miller bass line has lived rent free in my head for over 45 years.
Yep. As soon as he said what he was doing, it started playing in my head. I couldn't remember the show it went to but I remember the bass line. I wish I could remember my fathers laugh that well. Not as catchy but, more beautiful, to me.
@@LambentLark Lost my Dad too. He was a fan!
I attribute that theme song & the music from the peanuts specials for my love of jazz. 😊
yes, I catch myself with that one and Sandford and Son stuck in my head quite often in the last 50 years
WAS Really Enjoying re-watching Barney Miller episodes with dinner THAT is until Amazon Prime PULLED IT after a miserly 30-days.
Barney Miller always had my top spot. Bass line was great and the entire theme song was fantastic. Doesn’t hurt that it’s also my favorite TV show of all time.
John, I agree with you in regard to the bass line from Barney Miller, and the entire theme song is worthy of actual air play as a single - but what seals me to this bass line is that it was improvised by the legendary Chuck Berghofer of the "Wrecking Crew" - and it was Chuck who performed the descending bass line of that notorious Number One hit from 1966, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'", by Nancy Sinatra. Truly, Chuck has made - and still makes - music history.
I have heard a lot of cops say its the most realistic cop show on TV
In my book, the Barney Miller theme song has more funk in it than all of the others and it really reached me back in the day. That it isn’t the most requested one doesn’t mean anything, it clearly has the most soul.
It's a Different World my favorite
It was probably the most requested in the 80's!
Yeah! The B section kicks it to the end!
An amazing Bass line and the anticipation of the keyboards coming in is so good!
The theme was the best part of the show. It sticks with you even if you forget everything else.
Barney Miller will always be my #1. It sounds like something that would start a concert. There's groove and the entire band truly leans on the bass. Special mention for the Fraggle Rock theme! I'll often play the opening bars while idling, just to see who catches it.
down at fraggle rock!
To those who play bass. You play a big roll in the music of our time. Don't take this instrument for granted.
RÔLE
How could you leave out Knight Rider? That opening bass riff that leads into the synth is oh so infectious! Composed by Stu Philips and Glen Larson.
totally agree
Knight Rider's theme is ABSOLUTELY iconic, but it's dominated by a guitar, not a base, even if it is a bass-styled stoccato. The bass is very simple
I really love the theme song for "Taxi" aka Angela. The combination of keyboards with that smooth bass sounds incredible.
Another nice choice!
that's bob james
IMHO Taxi theme (Angela by Bob James) is the best TV theme tune of all time. Closely followed by Hill Street Blues.
bob later on, went on to join lee ritenour,,harvey mason,,,nathan east,to frorm the jazz supergroup,,,,fourplay
I have the LP and it is such a great tune.
Lee Sklar played bass on The White Shadow. Just about any Mike Post TV theme outside Law & Order featured Sklar on bass.
Not much out there that Lee has not contributed to. He is a legend.
He also laid down the bass on the first 4 Motley Crue albums.
Not sure this one is Leland. He played on tons of Mike Post sessions, but he doesn't really do slap bass.
@@WoefulMinion You're probably right. I thought Lee took credit for one version on his RUclips channel, but I can't find that episode now. Wouldn't be the first time that a theme was done using one set of musicians initially then re-done by a collection with Lee on bass.
@@iblockpuncheswithmyface1490 Not according to any database I've ever seen, although that would be cool if true. All credit goes to Nikki Sixx for bass. No mention of Leland, even for selected tracks. I do know that he has crossed paths with Tommy Lee on other artists' projects, though.
Any great TV theme list featuring an iconic bass line has to include Henry Mancini's " Peter Gunn". The show also featured some live jazz performances in most stories.
I used to have the album of that show's soundtrack (two, I wore one out). Great sound from all and I wish I had been old enough to hear and appreciate it when it first aired.
First time I heart Peter Gunn was playing Spy Hunter on my Atari and thought it was a cool sound (albeit 8-bit version). A few years later, I hear an actual recording and fell in love. Opened my ears up to many of Mancini's other masterpieces.
@@ptrinch It's been decades since I owned that album. I'm an old geezer and can still hear that music in my head and it never gets old. Mancini was a genius.
@@ptrinch You might enjoy The Consouls doing vgm jazz covers - unlocking 'acoustic' sound from the 8-bit. Their cover of Dr Wily theme from Mega Man 2 is one of my favourites and also With Mila's Divine Protection from Fire Emblem Gaiden Edit: I also love Mancini music with Baby Elephant Walk being a fond childhood memory and of course the Pink Panther theme. Fun fact: Mancini's Moon River was a tune included in Bayonetta 2
TV WAS great. Now it sucks. I haven't watched network TV in four years and I don't miss it a bit. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. It was nice to relive, if just for a moment, a simpler, happier time.
Thank you for giving Carol Kaye her due! Greatest and most influential bass player!
I'm a child of the 70's/80's so the theme from Fat Albert (Buster Williams) is STILL stuck in my head....
that was the most memorable bass opening in my my mind
Yes! 🤗❤️💫✨
Hikky Burr from the original 70’s Bill Cosby show had a sick bass performance by Carol Kaye on a Quincy Jones score.
Barney Miller and Fat Albert jumped in my mind immediately. Now I can stop hearing them, Thanks
Me too.
That was so much fun! I immediately thought of Barney Miller and Sanford and Son, but had forgotten about Fish. So funky for such a droll character! And Sammy Davis, Jr. singing the theme from Baretta? Classic! More of these, please!
...i immediately thought of barney miller first too ha
All so true - my childhood was incredibly well represented! All the ones off the top of my head were there!
Carol Kaye is incomparable and a true innovator but they’re all brilliant, and you’re pretty good too!😂.
I always liked the menacing bass line from “The People’s Court” theme.
Barney Miller is not only the best bass line and theme song, in my opinion, but it is also the greatest sitcom ever!
@boneinferno truer words have never been spoken, my friend. And may I just add "mushy mushy"
@@JudyGurl”Hash” episode I think? That is a funny one. Gotta go watch it.
@@markeastridge9649 You would be correct sir. Possibly the funniest single sit-com episode EVER!
@@JudyGurl That episode and the Taxi episode where all the guys go camping! "So you're saying I've mistaken blue berries for blueberries?"
@@boneinferno What's happening, baby?
An often underrated 70s theme was The Bob Newhart Show. The bass in that theme is very funky.
that's one of the greatest themes period. I love that horn solo toward the end!!!
I feel like the bass in that theme gets overlooked because the horns section but that bass is going insane.
Agreed. As a bassist I must disagree here. Barney Miller and Night Court ALL THE WAY!!!
@@brettfuller6603Agree
I was going to mention this one... so great... tempo changes and the mode of the song swings. I don't play brass instruments but I can "mouth trumpet" that solo anytime!
"Sanford and Son" theme is my all time favorite. Killer bass.
The ALF TV theme's bass part was played by producer, songwriter, and studio musician, Mark Miller. In fact, Mark just shared with me that he is going to be interviewed by Paul Thompson. Great channel!!
Here to double-confirm that Marc (not Mark! C'mon Ed, you should know that!) Miller was the bassist on ALF, and also that, to his memory, this and Night Court were actually recorded as part of the same session, and both on a borrowed Ken Smith bass.
Nice list (though Barney Miller will always be #1 in my heart). Fame, Good Times, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids also had some great bass work in their themes.
Had met that bass player years ago, he did a lot of musical work for Hanna Barbera studios. He Only met B Cosby once in the hallway as he passed by
@@joekurtz8303 Joe, in regard to the bass player on the Barney Miller theme, I take it you elude to one Chuck Berghofer, a member of the immortal "Wrecking Crew" - in addition to this theme, Chjuck also performed the descending bass notes of doom on that notorious Number One hit from 1966, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", by Nancy Sinatra.
Man that Night Court theme is really killing.
That was the first bass line I thought of when I saw the title.
Of my absolute favorite theme songs.
@@RJBurleme too. Was wondering if it would make the list
Barney Miller theme is clearly the best Bass theme ever. It is my all time favorite bass playing ever. I would love to hear an extended version of that song. I love it so much. If I ever learn to play bass, that will be the 1st song I would like to learn.
RUclips has a compilation of different versions of the Barney Miller opening theme.
You can get a bass and amp for just a few hundred dollars to get started. I didn’t start until I was 35 , so it’s never too late.
As others have said, "The Jefferson's" was always one of my favorites, but the opening theme to "Ren and Stimpy" was just amazing.
Will, the opening theme from "Ren and Stimpy" is known as "Dog Pound Hop" - truly a classic riff.
Not a theme tune, but the "1 - 12" song from the Sesame Street pinball animation blew my tiny mind as a child, and continues to live rent-free in my head 40 years later. It is an absolute, foundational banger, and honestly might be worth a video all of its own. Altogether now: "Twelve!!!"
I was thinking that too! It was performed by The Pointer Sisters! Sesame Street actually had a lot of funky jams in the ‘70s, especially the closing music “Funky Chimes”
@@KevyNovaThe “Funky Chimes” definitely. That will forever be in my head. 🤗You should mention this in a separate comment.
I had to INSTANTLY sing it aloud when I read this!,
The Barney Miller theme bass line by Chuck Berghofer is what inspired a young Clif Burton to become a bassist. I so hope Chuck knows his riffs made the world a better place
Yes, Eli - Chuck's riffs have made the world a better place, I believe; in fact, my favorite bass riff is from a certain Number One hit from 1966, and is a Lee Hazlewood-penned number which turned a certain style of footwear into a symbol of female empowerment and independence - I speak of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra.
Of the ones listed here, I have to go with Night Court. But my all time favorite, with a bass line that may not be the most musically challenging or complex, will always be the theme from Peter Gunn.
Yep My personal theme song. Also, 80's kids got that theme drilled into their heads playing Spy Hunter in the arcades and/or bars.
@@mkvv5687 Ahhh Craig Stephens and that slaping bass. Delight.
My favorite wasn't neglected, it was #2!
However, I was surprised not to hear the upright bass intro of the classic "Tossed Salads & Scrambled Eggs" theme from 'Frasier'.
Mercy!, What is a boy to do?
I love Northern Exposure. That show is an overlooked classic. And yeah, the theme song always gets you hyped for the show. It has such an infectious upbeat feel. Reminds me of something from Paul Simon's Graceland.
And yes, The Wire is the greatest crime drama ever and one of the greatest shows ever.
oh yeah it's that fretless sound, never fails to make me think of bakithi kumalo
A bummer that it's the music rights that keep it from being hosted on streaming service. They need to sort that out! One of the most underrated shows of its era.
@@terrywho22 It was great. Last couple seasons not so much to me, still enjoyed it.
I used to bing Northern Exposure in my teens..such a good show, they don't make em like that anymore.
@@nbrowser I think it was one of the greatest shows in the history of television.
great video! Hikky Burr, the theme From "The Bill Cosby Show" by Quincy Jones is my favorite
Carol Kaye at her finest!
Man, you’re right, TV shows were our world. Fascinating how this music permeates our nostalgia for the genre. Awesome video.
The 70s was a great decade for all things Bass. Great show.
What a trip down memory lane for me. I remember watching Barney Miller as young Irish kid. I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. That bass line and arrangement was so funky. I love your play in this video, serious musicianship
What part of the ol' Emerald Isle you from?
Great vid, Paul! What a fun and interesting way to reminisce. "Those were the days." 🎵😊 Surprised to not hear the Fat Albert theme on your list though.
Oooo! Good point!
Has that theme ever been released anywhere on LP or CD?
More honorable mentions should go to the bass line from Wild Wild West and the simple but iconic bass line from Mission Impossible, both played by the iconic Carol Kaye. She also played the Kojak bass line and nearly all other TV bass lines from the late 60's through the mid 70's.
It's only really two notes, but the bassline from the Knight Rider theme by Stu Phillips is pretty iconic. Possibly the easiest to play as well!
Quincy Jones had a ton of tv and movie themes. You could do a whole show just on his tunes. I'm waxing nostalgic. Thanks for the vid.
Chump Change is amazing!
Sanford & Son and the 70s Bill Cosby Show.
Maybe just a video on Quincy Jones and another video on Jack Elliott themes.
I weaned my jazz ears on Dave Grusin. I could tell in an instant if a film score or series was one of his and would watch a film just for that reason. My son’s an Abe Laboriel fan due to growing up with Wii and Switch Mario games. Legends.
Sanford and son should be in the top 5. Especially if you include the bass sax as part of "bass line"... Although he would have to have recreated it on a
synth maybe. The combo definitely makes for one of the most distinctive and memorable bass lines or sections in TV history, or music history period !
Chuck Rainey did the Fish theme around the same time as Steely Dan’s Aja. Noticed elements of his work on Peg and Josie in there.
Great list, thank you!
I can see it.
Great list! My favorite is from a show long be fore you were born. Peter Gunn was on the air from 1959 to 1961. The theme was composed by Henry Mancini and the bass was played by Rolly Bundock.
Stumbled upon this video just now. Some very good stuff here. The best part, watching you work the strings. Thank You!
The nostalgia hits hard with this one especially the 70's shows!!! 👏👏👏👏
Hello and thank you for honoring these great TV theme Bass Lines . Leland Sklar did many of the Mike Post TV Stuff, between 1976 and 1985 , David Hungate from Toto also did a lot of TV Themes back in the day!
Not 100%sure , but I these are the first that occurred to me thinking Studio work in the mid70's to mid 80's.
Greetz from Germany !
Leland started with Mike Post in 1974 with The Rockford Files.
No doubt. Barney Miller at 5 is blasphemy!😄. It’s #1. Loved the video, the bass playing is great!
It's not about how good the song is but how iconic it is. Seinfeld has to be #1 since it's the most recognizable bass line of all time (probably alongside Another One Bites The Dust). The fact that the spinoff was #1 is bull as just because it's good doesn't mean it should be #1 because it's not iconic at all.
The Original Ducktales from Disney should be on that list. That was a killer baseline
This is one of the greatest RUclips videos I've ever seen and I don't even play bass. Thank you.
Now's a good time to start, then!
Opening theme song to "The Jefferson's" is one of my favorites! Also, Night Court is one of the reasons that I love slap bass and wanted to play.
Oh, agree!!! ❤
This 70s kid showed up for Rainey and was NOT disappointed
Thank you for including the theme from one of my absolute favorite tv shows of all time, Cowboy Bebop! The music throughout the season is awesome each episode.
Great list! My #1 is the theme to Northern Exposure. Two you left out: Twin Peaks and Knight Rider.
That's not a bass on Twin Peaks though. It's a synth guitar sound pitched down an octave.
@@rome8180 True it wasn't a bass, but since he included Seinfeld, I figured that one deserved a mention. Plus it sounds pretty good played on bass using a chorus: ruclips.net/video/jpaCgZg9RVY/видео.html
I can trace all of my funky knowledge back to the Sanford and Son theme. It has it all!
I am watching this at 10 in the morning. A couple of these made me sleepy. Not because you didn't play them well because you did but, because they were the sign for bed time. I can almost taste the tooth paste.
Your channel is delightful, thanks for the company
My all time favourite TV theme is the one of The Streets of San Francisco. The bass and clavinet driven opening riff is so powerful even if very simple.
Speaking of simple bass lines I think the Knight Rider theme also worth mentioning. Such an iconic groove!
You beat me to the punch- I realized I forgot to add that and went scrolling down the comments to see if it was already mentioned- great call!
the sax duet in Cagney and Lacey always gets me
Theme from S.W.A.T. excellent bass presence throughout, its the backbone! Funky break down in the middle! One of the best theme songs of all time!
I thought about that one as well, although the horn’s definitely overshadow it. But the bass in that theme is 🔥
I’m glad I’m not the only on who loves to play along to TV themes,I’m a drummer,played Night Court and Tic Tac Dough during sound check with my bassist back in 90’s 😊
The Sanford & Son theme is the GOAT... I loved all of his choices
God I loved
Night Court!!!
ALF!!!
CHiPs!!!
Sanford and Son!!!
I'm glad I grew up when I did. But I miss those days 😢
Please do more of this!!!
The Kids in the Hall opening was one of the first songs I figured out how to play by ear when I started playing bass
Having An Average Weekend by Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet. So good, takes me right back to the '90's as soon as I hear it.
Northern Exposure was one of my fave's. A true "ear worm". But all of these outstanding. Chuck Rainey, I mean, come on!
Fun list. Watched and loved almost all of these shows and loved the theme music to them.
For my money, it will always be Barney Miller. I even found the theme song and added it to my music collection so I hear it from time to time in my car.
Barney Miller is my #1. Thanks so much for the bass blasts from the past!
Fantastic memories. The old tv themes were the absolute best!
What caught my ear was the Basslines on the cartoons growing up in the 60s-70s. I was torn between wanting to play those bass lines and the cartoon voice overs. I ended up switching over from trombone to Electric bass in 1975 and then ended up starting on double- Bass in 1981 in college playing in the orchestra and Jazz combos. A hand injury took me to a doctor who said I have no idea how many years you got left in these hands. I got very depressed and ended up leaving the program even though they were calling me prodigy. I went from having never seen a double bass to my recital in 3 years. What a rhino I was 24 I ended up working as a professional stage ad in my union to 31 years so I guess my hands did last awhile sometimes we just make the wrong choices. My Czechoslovakian flat back double bass is 172 years old now and I wish I still had it. I really enjoy your videos brother
There's so many cool intro baselines. As a keyboardist I can't help but think of taxi and all those cool 70's shows.
Gary King on bass...
I was sad that the theme song from Taxi wasn't included too :(
Streets of San Francisco had a pretty great theme. The signature bass part is a keyboard, but when the whole band kicks in, the bass is still solid
Damn... I never watched that show, but looked it and you're right! kicks some solid ass!
Love, love, love the inclusion of "Alf" and also love knowing who these players were. As a Steely Dan fan, I know all about Chuck Rainey's brilliance. And I love knowing that the guy who did "These Boots Are Made For Walking" also did "Barney Miller".
How very true, my friend - Chuck Berghofer Forever!
I remember all of these. Classic television was GREAT! My favorite themes were Barney Miller, Night Court, and one that wasn’t on here was Taxi. Taxi was soothing like easy listening. Great video!
Oh wow Cowboy Bebop got a mention, I often wondered how much Yoko Kanno's works are acknowledged by professionals, and not just anime fans.
Is the name of the song "Tank"? For some reason I was thinking it is.
@@scottbubb2946 Yup, Tank! is the name (I believe the exclamation mark is required).
A lot of anime themes have some really great bass lines - most of them not funky in the way that Tank! is, but J-pop in general has some filthy bass playing. I especially recommend Ready Steady Go from the first season of Full Metal Alchemist (by L'arc~en~Ciel, tetsu on bass), About a Voyage from the fourth season of My Hero Academia (by Sayuri, never been able to figure out who the bassist is but Sayuri's stuff in general always has killer bass parts), and Tutti! from the first season of Sound! Euphonium (another one where I haven't been able to figure out who exactly played on it).
There's just some fantastic music coming out of Japan these days, and not just J-pop. Look up Juna Serita for a bassist who's got the funk thing down perfectly. Or the all-star band she plays with headed by world class drummer Senri Kawaguchi and featuring amazing guitarist Chizuru Segawa. And this doesn't even mention the whole amazing saxophone section and Marie Takeda on keyboards.
OK, 3, 2, 1 let's jam
Hicky Burr has to be up there for me as well, another Carol Kaye masterclass!
Mission impossible? Another carol kaye belter. Excellent list. Thanks. 💚☘️
The Barney Miller theme is the first thing I learned on bass in 1982.
So much respect for including Cowboy Bebop! All the music for that show is great!
wow! Had no idea Pentangle bassplayer Danny Thompson did the Wire theme! Very cool!
Danny Thompson got around to all corners. Brilliant player.
You nailed it. 1st 2 that came to mind were Barney Miller and Nightcourt. Can’t believe Silvestri did Chips. Predator was his greatest work.
Blind Boys absolutely nailed it with the Season 1 theme for the wire 😍
This is pure gold if you ever needed to SEE the way to play all your favorite TV Bass riffs. I was dying, waiting for Barney Miller. And Night Court!
Three that immediately come to mind- Name of the Game, Starsky & Hutch (Seasons 2 and 4), Mannix (my fav not just for bass but all around tune).
Ah, I just mentioned Starsky and Hutch. Either theme is killer in their own way.
Damn...Mannix. Remember Barnaby Jones?
@@lorenzodicapo6305 Absolutely!
@@heirling25 ok, this could hey ugly:
Chopper One
The Ren and Stimpy opening theme.. the guitar licks and bass line are superb...
Congratulations on the 100k subs🎉🎉🎉
Great list! S.W.A.T. & The Six Million Dollar Man had some cool bass lines as well.
Yes.
Johnathan Wolff was a classmate of mine (same homeroom!) back at Atherton High School, Louisville, KY, class of 1976. Even back then we all knew that he was talented, but when he told us (his friends & classmates) that his plan was to move to Hollywood and seek a career in show business (rather than college), we were skeptical, but wished him well. SUPER nice, easy-going guy. GREAT to see him have such success!
great list and great playing as well.!!!
I've always enjoyed the theme for "Welcome Back, Kotter" by the folk artist John Sebastian. The bass is hidden, but my god is it good... I just did a cover on my channel and had a blast learning and playing it
Amazing list. I was hoping that Barney Miller would be in it. BTW, the 70s-80s TV series had some amazing bass tones in their themes. Thanks.
TV was great, but stumbling on fun and interesting videos (like this one) every day is why RUclips is even better
Pretty much any cop show from the 70's had great basslines. Thanks for the memories.
1000 thumbs up! Sounds like you and I are about the same age. I graduated in 1989 and LOVED Night Court!! What a blast from the past!
'Hill Street Blues', Mike Post.!!! Turned me onto the bass
I love the CHiPS theme so much, it's been my ring tone for years.
Fun fact...,I was out of country during Alf years. Oh dude you are bringing stuff back!
It’s interesting how many jazz musicians found session jobs in the 80s and 90s. In both film, Tv , commercials
CHIPS was also my fav show back in the 80s. I was really into it about age 5 to 10. Thats the first time I've heard it mentioned it in years! 😅
My favorite TV theme song is the 1982 Grammy Award winning Hill Street Blues; and Leland Sklar played bass on the song. Neil Stubenhaus played bass on the TV theme song for The White Shadow. Mike Post also enlisted Larry Carlton formerly of The Crusaders and FourPlay on guitar for both songs too.
Thanks for uploading this! I lament the loss of theme songs from modern TV. Even where they still exist, we usually skip them to get into the show. I've often felt that TV themes helped Americans bond over a common theme. You might love classical music, he might like hip-hop, she might like heavy metal, but we *ALL* knew theme songs back in the day, because you *had* to learn them. It was a style of music that was across-the-board relatable. There were many times when I'd be on a bus trip with a group and everybody would sing the Good Times theme or The Jeffersons (two of the greatest themes) or even themes like the Flintstones or the Jetsons. And the best thing was: the songs were short. You could sing tons of different songs without getting bored. Forget that 99 Bottles of Beer mess!
Loved all of your selections. One of my favourites might have been before your time but has an iconic bass line - the theme from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
I was praying you didn't forget Night Court and Alf! Those themes are main reasons I fell in love with bass as a kid.
Brilliant dossier - had NO idea Chuck Rainey played Fish and Sanford and Son. Outstanding 🙌
Really hard to not make the street beater number one.... excellent episode. Thanks
Bill Cosby had a show that he played a coach”Chet Kincaid”. The theme song was the best part of the show, I think Karol Kaye played bass on it.
The Bill Cosby Show (1969) Theme by Quincy Jones. I was hoping someone would mention it.