Top Five Songs Used as TV Theme Tunes (by Joanna)

Two things I love most: Music and TV. (Don’t worry, this is old news to my hubby and children.) So in my opinion one of the best things ever is when a TV show uses a great song as theme music. The 80’s spring to mind first because let’s face it, the 80’s rocked in every way. But in trying to be somewhat up to date I am limiting myself to shows that aired in this century. So apologies to everyone who was thinking you were about to get a link to the classic Greatest American Hero blast from the past….

You’re not. My Top 5 TV Theme Songs of this Century starts now!

05 Friends (The Rembrandts – I’ll Be There For You)
Let’s get the obvious over with first. Friends aired 1994-2004 and featured the now famous theme song, “I’ll Be There For You” performed by The Rembrandts, music and lyrics by Michael Skloff & Alee Willis. This song spent a total of 12 weeks in the US charts peaking at #3. Friends, of course is one of the most successful television shows in history.

04 C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (The Who – Who Are You)
C.S.I: Crime Scene Investigation first aired in 2000 and was recently renewed for its upcoming 12th season. The theme song used from the start was “Who Are You” written by Pete Townshend with vocals by Roger Daltrey of The Who. It was originally a hit for the band in 1978.

03 The Wire (Tom Waits – Way Down In The Hole)
I am pretty sure that no matter what musical Top 5 one writes, you can always find a way to include Tom Waits. This is no exception. The Wire aired for five seasons with the opening theme “Way Down In The Hole” originally written by Waits for his 1987 album, Frank’s Wild Years. Each season of the Emmy Award winning series featured a different recording of this same song by a different performer. Season two scored with Waits himself singing.

02 Scrubs (Lazlo Bane – Superman)
California band Lazlo Bane wrote “Superman” for inclusion on their 2002 album, All The Time In The World. Scrubs star Zach Braff found the song and pushed for its use as the show’s theme. Both the original recording as well as a specially recorded faster tempo version were used for seasons 1-8. A new version of the same song was used in the show’s 9th and final season.

01 The Good Guys (Locksley – Slink (A Hymn))
If you know me at all, you know I absolutely cannot leave out my favourite theme song of all time, “Slink (A Hymn)” written and performed by the wonderful boys of Locksley especially for the FOX comedy The Good Guys. The show itself never really took root and lasted only one season in 2010, but the catchy theme song led me to discover Locksley who quickly became one of my favourite bands. In 2011, the band released “The Whip” which borrows the rhythm and feel from “Slink (A Hymn).”

Joanna lives in Texas and enjoys British music, possibly more than is healthy. Joanna drinks a lot of wine (in fact, she is probably drunk right now). Joanna once played the triangle in an all-girl polka band. Joanna might be Rupert Murdoch, but that hasn’t been proven yet. We like Joanna.