Tuesdays are Top 10 Tuesdays where I count down a topic in the TV realm. This week is Top 10 Theme Songs of the 70s! A reminder, it had to be any show that premiered in that timeframe even if it ran well into another decade. Also, the song had to have been written for the show.
Close Calls
Dallas
The Odd Couple
Taxi
This song, titled "Suicide is Painless" is a really nice piece of music. It's a little bit haunting and a little bit wistful and it fits perfectly for a show that incorporated just as much drama as comedy during its run. One of the better purely instrumental themes.
9. The Partridge Family (1970-1974)
I have only watched a small handful of episodes of The Partridge Family but I've always enjoyed the theme song and the clever little intro with the egg. It's one that is hard to get out of your head and has a happy feeling to it. I mean, it tells us to get happy after all.
8. Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983)
"Schlemiel, Schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!" is a pretty memorable start to a theme song. The song itself is nice but I don't know if it would have made the list without the chant at the beginning. It's sheer uniqueness gets it on this list.
7. The Jeffersons (1975-1985)
The Jeffersons moved on up from All in the Family with this great gospel-tinged song that continues to be part of pop culture to this day. How many of us have sang the first few lines or last few lines of this song at some point? It has fun lyrics and gets you ready to go for a brash sitcom.
6. Rhoda (1974-1978)
There were a lot of different versions of the Rhoda theme song. I love Rhoda's speech in the first season, but that's not really a theme. The second season with the "la la la" is a little annoying but the third season is just great with a really nice tune.
This isn't as clear cut as Welcome Back, Kotter but it's another incident of a song possibly being better than the show that follows (though WKRP does have its moments for me). But the theme is just great with a hint of wistfulness and a radio sounding ending.
4. The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978)
There were a lot of different versions of this theme song (titled "Home to Emily") in its six season run. Each was great with jazzy and brassy sounds. I think I like the first season the best that starts with Bob answering the phone and then making his way through the streets of Chicago and, you guessed it, home to Emily.
3. Welcome Back, Kotter (1975-1979)
I don't like the show Welcome Back, Kotter at all. I think it's incredibly stupid. But darn it, I just love that theme song. One that had crossover success, it works just as well (if not better) as a radio hit than as a TV theme song. If only it had a better show attached to it.
2. Happy Days (1974-1984)
Happy Days originally used "Rock Around the Clock" for the first couple seasons (which wouldn't be eligible) but it's own theme adopted starting in the third season was instantly recognizable. It had a great feel for a show that aired in the 70s and was set in the 50s. Probably one of the most joyful theme songs of all time.
Of course this had to be #1. It's one of the best theme songs with an instantly iconic beginning (Mary Tyler Moore in all those colors and the line "who can turn the world on with her smile?") The theme is optimistic and classy, just like the show. And it's great that the line changed from "you might just make it after all" in the first season to "you're gonna make it after all" the rest of the way.
Tomorrow: A look at 1979 flop The Associates!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 Theme Songs of the 80s!
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