Tuesdays are Top 10 Tuesdays where I count down a topic in the TV realm. This week is Top 10 Theme Songs of the 80s! 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 (for example, The Wonder Years wouldn't count).
Close Calls
Who's the Boss?
The Cosby Show
Newhart
It's a long theme song but a good one. There's something so earnest about these hopeful 80s theme songs and this one is super hopeful. As both Balki and Larry makes their way to Chicago from Mypos and Wisconsin respectively, it's hard to not feel a lot of optimism.
9. The Greatest American Hero (1981-1983)
I've never seen an episode of The Greatest American Hero but its theme song has transcended the show and become a great 80s classic. It feels epic and you instantly want to sing along. In fact, I want to sing along right now as I think about it.
8. Roseanne (1988-1997)
This song ranks very high on the list of "perfect fits for the show." The blue collar sitcom that didn't worry about being proper or cute had a brassy, sometimes annoying theme song that helped get the audience in the mood for the show that followed.
7. Full House (1987-1995)
The theme song to Full House is so cheesy but so is the show. It's also extremely catchy and sure to put you in a good mood. The original is also far superior to the terrible incarnation that came with Netflix's revival Fuller House.
I've always loved this simple instrumental opening to the Boston-set medical drama. It has a serene feeling but also a small sense of urgency that would befit a hospital show. It also has a little bit of a dream like feeling which is fitting for how the show ended.
5. Reading Rainbow (1983-2009)
There are probably very few people from the age of 20-40 who can't sing along to this theme song (or at least some lines like "I can go anywhere" and "Take a look, it's in a book.") The show was a hallmark of elementary schools and the theme at least got kids excited about a topic that sadly might not always make them excited.
4. Family Matters (1989-1997)
I'm not a fan of Family Matters as a show and especially have never understood the love for Urkel. But I do have a lot of love for this theme song which I consider the best of the Miller-Boyett themes. It's very upbeat and very fun and worth watching even when you don't want to watch the show.
3. Growing Pains (1985-1992)
Another show I don't really watch with a killer theme song. I find something incredibly nostalgic about this song and it has nothing to do with the show itself. It just is very heartwarming and sweet without veering too far on the sappy side.
2. Hill Street Blues (1981-1987)
It was tough to put this one at #2 and not #1 but it had to happen. The police show that changed the TV drama landscape forever didn't have a heart-thumping theme. It had a beautifully written piano theme that went so nicely with the images of police cars driving through a never named US city. Let's be careful out there.
You can't make a list of top theme songs and not have this on there. And you really can't make a list of the Top 80s Theme Songs and not have this at #1. Maybe the most iconic theme song of all time for good reason, it's a song that has lasting power and might even outlast the show itself in public consciousness. Who doesn't want to go where everybody knows your name?
Tomorrow: A look at 1980s flop The Ellen Burstyn Show!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 Theme Songs of the 90s!
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