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The Best Sitcom Theme Songs

Author Steve Vassalotti

Television legend Norman Lear passed away at the age of 101 (12/6). He was instrumental in so many amazing television sitcoms through the 70’s and 80’s. Look at some of these titles he’s involved with. The list is amazing.

Sanford and Son

The Jeffersons

All in the Family

Good Times

Maude

The Facts of Life (uncredited exec producer).

Silver Spoons (uncredited exec producer).

Television has changed a lot over the years, but something that is missing from good TV sitcoms now is the really good theme song that gets stuck in your head. Some of the best shows were made even better because they had a banger of an earworm theme song.

Facts of Life – An earworm. The late Alan Thicke is credited as one of the composers of this theme. He surprisingly has a hand in a lot of these sitcom theme songs.

The Jefferson’s – A phenomenal theme song. “Well we’re movin’ on up!” right away you know what it is even if you were born after the show came to an end. Ja’Net Dubois is the voice behind the theme. She also starred as the neighbor in another Norman Lear show, Good Times.

The Golden Girls – Betty White, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty living their best life in their golden years. I love that Estelle Getty is the youngest of the actresses, but plays the oldest in the show.

Let’s jump to the late 80’s early 90’s for 4 more awesome themes. Really I’m going to list my favorites from the TGIF lineup that I grew up watching!

Family Matters – “Did I do that?!”

Full House – This was one of my entire generation’s go to shows. TGIF lineup on Friday nights. I mean come on. Just so damn good. The theme for full house really hit it’s stride in season 3. They slightly shortened it and got to the good parts faster.

Boy Meets World – Another one that was a favorite growing up. The theme gets better as the show goes on and the characters age. I loved this show growing up. LOVED IT!

Drew Carey Show – Cleveland Rocks and so does this theme song.

For more great TV theme songs check out this list of the top 100 voted by Rolling Stone writers.

10 Great Existing Songs Used As TV Themes

Some of the best TV themes are songs that existed before a show premiered. The best TV themes are the ones that set the tone for a show. They paint that picture of the world in which a show takes place and help transport you there alongside the characters.

In the history of television, there have truly been countless memorable theme songs that are just as important as the shows themselves. Here’s a look at ten great existing songs used as TV themes.

  • "Superhero" - 'Entourage'

    Few shows captured the energy of the aughts quite like HBO’s Entourage. Even fewer shows can say that Jane’s Addiction — one of the coolest, most influential bands of all time — helped set the tone for their show with a song like “Superhero.”

  • "Forever Young" - 'Parenthood'

    Before This is Us and the Pearsons, there was Parenthood and the Bravermans, an equally emotional rollercoaster of a family. Dylan’s “Forever Young” often brought some much-needed levity to the show.

  • "A Little Help From My Friends" - 'The Wonder Years'

    Between the iconic Joe Cocker cover and the home video imagery, this might be one of the best opening title sequences in TV history. It’s hard not to feel the tug on the heartstrings with this one.

  • "My Life" - 'Bosom Buddies'

    Who could forget about Bosom Buddies?! Not only was it Tom Hanks’ first big acting gig, but it also featured Billy Joel’s “My Life” as the theme. Like Hanks, The Piano Man was just dying for his big break in 1980. (Kidding, of course!)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UI_JwF3cnA

  • "Bad Reputation" - 'Freaks & Geeks'

    A cult classic that was criminally canceled after one season, Joan Jett & the Blackheart’s “Bad Reputation” helped set the tone for this coming-of-age series. Just looking at the opening credits and seeing this young cast of future stars is really incredible.

  • "Love and Marriage" - 'Married...with Children'

    This is probably the best example of a TV theme song/TV series juxtaposition. For that, we say, “Whoa, Bundy!”

  • "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" - 'Chuck'

    A spy romp that also highlights a classic tune from Cake? Oh yeah, this had “cult classic” written all over it from day one.

  • "Boss of Me" - 'Malcolm in the Middle'

    A sort of Married…with Children for the new millennium, Malcolm in the Middle has quite the earworm of a theme song with this tune from They Might Be Giants. Plus, any excuse to shout out the show that really gave the world the first major look at Bryan Cranston is a great excuse.

  • "C'mon C'mon" - 'Rescue Me'

    A tense show needs a tense theme song. Rescue Me was about New York City firefighters in the aftermath of 9/11. While the show had plenty of humorous moments, the underlying PTSD theme is perfectly soundtracked by this song from The Von Bondies.

  • "Woke Up This Morning" - 'The Sopranos'

    It’s only fitting that one of the greatest, most-beloved TV shows of all time has an utter banger of a theme song. Alabama 3 may still be a cult band, but we sincerely hope they’re still collecting solid residuals off of this song for its use as the theme for The Sopranos.

Steve Vassalotti is co-host of “The Matt Cord Show with Steve Vassalotti” weekday mornings 6a-10a on 102.9 WMGK. He has been with the station since 2015. For WMGK he writes about inane nonsense that surrounds our daily lives, sports, food and other various topics. Steve writes about Philadelphia lifestyle content, the Philadelphia Eagles culture and trending topics.

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Author Steve Vassalotti
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