Theme Songs...

[Kevin Prather]

[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' date=\'Jun 17 2005, 04:57 AM\']Monopoly.  Sounded like the lady was having sex with someone.

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You mean she wasn't?

[FeudDude]

[quote name=\'MCArroyo1\' date=\'Jun 17 2005, 06:43 PM\']There's a difference between "out of place" and "crap."  I really don't think the Osmond Pyramid theme would've fit well on ANY show...

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Well, maybe if they made A Night At The Roxbury into a TV series...

*shudders at the thought*

[davemackey]

[quote name=\'wschmrdr\' date=\'Jun 17 2005, 01:51 PM\']I think the current Wheel of Fortune theme song is out of place. There's no catchy tune; what they use now seems more fitting for a big money show, not a "solve the puzzle and win about $20,000" show.

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I really didn't have a lot of respect for the Kaplan theme, until I heard it in the clear and really appreciated what Steve was trying to do there. I think someone at Sony figured "Hell, Merv's already got all the money in the world; why should we keep paying him royalties?"

[joey7879]

As much as I love the BtB theme, the instrumentation seems too "grand" for the show. The section used for introducing the celebs is hella groovy, though... :p

[BrownBoyUT]

I think that the Rafferty Blockbusters theme sounds like it should be leading into a sitcom rather than a game show.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Brown Boy,
Greg Vallejo

[ChrisLambert!]

[quote name=\'joey7879\' date=\'Jun 17 2005, 10:07 PM\']As much as I love the BtB theme, the instrumentation seems too "grand" for the show. The section used for introducing the celebs is hella groovy, though... :p

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The theme did fit a lot better when TJW used it for the $1,000,000 Dollar Tournament in '78.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'Modor\']Some songs don't seem to fit the song they're associated with--such as the 70s "Break the Bank".[/quote]

I was under the impression that it was up to the music director to make sure that the music package fits the show to a glove.  (Russian Roulette, for example)  For the most part, they hit the mark.

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\']What about "Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour"?  I've heard people say it's too "bombastic". [/quote]  Wha?  Too bombastic?  They do realize what game show music is about, right?  MG/HS screams out "get ready for an exciting fun show."

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Jun 18 2005, 01:05 PM\']MG/HS screams out "get ready for an exciting fun show."
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Or, apparently, "get ready to play Super Ball."

[tyshaun1]

IMO, the more I listen to Blockbusters '80's theme music, the more I wonder what in the world was Bob Cobert smoking? I don't think there is a much stronger case of a composer losing control of a song than that one, which probably explains why the show never used more than the first "verse". BTW, is this the theme that Cobert says he hated the most?

Tyshaun

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'tyshaun1\' date=\'Jun 18 2005, 01:18 PM\']BTW, is this the theme that Cobert says he hated the most?
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Yes, but I still think it's superb.

[Jimmy Owen]

Were there any Bob Stewart shows that had "music packages."?  For example, I envision Bob Stewart calling Bob Cobert..

Bob S: "Hey Bob, I've got this new show Chain Reaction starting next week, got any music?"

Bob C.: "Well, I've got this disco piece I wrote for that dog Supertrain"

Bob S: "Perfect!"

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'ChrisLambert!\' date=\'Jun 18 2005, 12:23 PM\']The theme did fit a lot better when TJW used it for the $1,000,000 Dollar Tournament in '78.

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The $1,000,000 tournament was in 1980. The one in 1978 was for a pittance--$100,000 and won by Frank Dillon in the supreme moment of his life.

[Ian Wallis]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 18 2005, 03:20 PM\'][quote name=\'tyshaun1\' date=\'Jun 18 2005, 01:18 PM\']BTW, is this the theme that Cobert says he hated the most?
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Yes, but I still think it's superb.

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I do too.  It's one of those themes I think fit the show perfectly.  Just for the record, there were one or two episodes where they let the whole them play, rather than repeating the first "verse" after the fee plugs.  I remember seeing them during the first couple of years of GSN, but unfortunatly didn't get them on tape.  Would that kind of decision be totally up to the music supervisor, or would the director have some input into that?

[HairMetalLives]

[quote name=\'davemackey\' date=\'Jun 17 2005, 06:41 PM\']I really didn't have a lot of respect for the Kaplan ["Wheel"] theme, until I heard it in the clear and really appreciated what Steve was trying to do there. I think someone at Sony figured "Hell, Merv's already got all the money in the world; why should we keep paying him royalties?"

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Then bring back the Thicke theme! (Just kidding... I think)

[uncamark]

...And am I right that Kaplan changed *one* note of the "J!" theme (if I could only write music to show you), or if it just me?

(Precedent:  Richard Rodgers allowed WABC in New York to use the first line of "Manhattan" in their jingles as "Seventy-seven...", but Larry Hart before he died expressly said that they couldn't use the actual lyric of "I'll take Manhattan..."  Some years later, PAMS used "I'll take Manhattan..." in a jingle, the Hart estate got livid and PAMS was ordered to change one note in the "Seventy-seven..." line--later sung as "Musicradio" and maybe today as "Talkradio"--to get the Hart estate out of it.)