#83

One Day at a Time

Title: “This is It”

Composed: Jeff and Nancy Barry

Performed: Polly Cutter

One Day at a Time is another of those catchy, 70s/80s themes that sticks in your head after you see it. I watched One Day at a Time, but I did not love it. It was fine. The theme sticks with me more than the show did.

#84

Who’s the Boss

Season one

Season three

Season 8

Title: “Brand New Life”

Composed: Larry Carlton and Robert Kraft.

Lyrics: Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, the show’s creators.

Performed: Larry Weiss: Seasons 1–2; Steve Wariner: Seasons 3–6; Jonathan Wolff: Season 6–8

Musicians: Notable features included Larry Carlton on guitar and Jeff Porcaro on drums. 

The ABC sitcom, Who’s the Boss, had one of those catchy themes that stuck in your head after you hear it. I enjoyed the show and the theme helped with it.

#85

Maude

Theme title: “And Then There’s Maude“

Composed by Dave Grusin. Lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Performed by Donny Hathaway.

Maude was a TV show that I never watched regularly. Heck, I do not think that I even watched it a little bit. I may have seen a few episodes here and there. However, I saw Bea Arthur appearing on the Rosie O’Donnell talk show and Rosie sang the theme song to Bea Arthur’s face. I enjoy the clip and it helped place “And Then There’s Maude” at #85.

Here is the YouTube clip from The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

#86

Picket Fences

The theme song for Picket Fences was composed by Stewart Levin.

The theme is a whimsical piano piece that, as with most successful themes, gives you the feel of the tone of the show with its music.

This is one of those themes that gets into your brain and stays there. It is a simple and sweet theme for an unconventional TV show.

#87

Transformers

The original theme for the Transformers animated series was written by Ford Kinder and Anne Bryant.

The line “More than meets the eye” is a line that I will use to this day. The theme was adjusted and changed over the different iterations of the franchise, but “Robots in Disguise” found its way into most of them.

The original theme also gave us the Transform sound that would become iconic in the world of entertainment. When you hear the sound, you know what it is. It is like the starting up of a light saber. Everyone knows what that sound means.

#88

Taxi

The Taxi theme song was composed by Bob James.

Entitled “Angela”, it was originally intended as background music for episode three and a character named Angela. It was so liked by the producers that it became the shows permanent theme.

The song was jazz-fusion and used Rhodes electric piano, a soft, high-pitched recorder (or flute/oboe) lead melody, and a smooth rhythm section.

#89

IT: Welcome to Derry

Theme Song:  “A Smile and a Ribbon” by Patience and Prudence (1956). 

The song was written by Mark McIntyre and Robert Wells.

The song originally served as a B-side to Patience and Prudence’s smash hit “Tonight You Belong to Me.”

The song is the most recent additions to the list as IT: Welcome to Derry has just aired on HBO Max, finishing its 8-episode season. The theme was so weird the first week, but grew on me as each week progressed. It is so creepy and odd for this sweet, little song to be placed on this horror series with images of Derry’s dark history behind it. The use of this theme is genius and this is an example of a theme that, if I redid this list in a year or two, would be way higher than it is now.

#90

The A-Team

Composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter. Arranged by Paul Murta.

The voice over that started the theme off was spoken by John Ashley.

According to Google, the them was “known for its military-inspired, lighthearted tone, the theme was designed to reflect the show’s action-comedy nature rather than pure reality. “

The A-Team was fun and the beginning worked to get the viewer into the show. I was always the biggest fan of Murdock, as I felt he was the most original character around.

#91

Hawaii Five-O

The Hawaii Five-O theme song was composed by Morton Stevens.

Originally performed by the Ventures.

The theme spent 14 weeks in the Billboard Top 100 chart, reaching as high as #4.

This is an example of a show that I never watched, but a show that had a theme song that I knew and enjoyed. The theme is as iconic of a TV show theme as you will find.

#92

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams

Written, composed and performed by Thom Pace.

Theme song was titled “Maybe.”

Originally written as a theme for a movie, “Maybe” was a hit in Europe. It spent nine weeks in the number one spot on the charts in Germany in 1979/1980.

The opening is one of the most memorable parts of the series. The beginning narration by the character Mad Jack, played by Denver Pyle, added that little bit to the theme and it worked so well with the song.

#93

Hogan’s Heroes

Known as the “Hogan’s Heroes March” this theme was composed by Jerry Fielding.

It is one of the most remembered instrumental themes of all time. Who would guess that a TV COMEDY about a prison camp in Nazi Germany would work? Portraying the Nazis as bumbling idiots helped, I guess. Still….

The theme outlasted the show, as it has been used and performed many times over the years. And you cannot deny the catchiness of the tune.

#94

Roseanne

The theme was primarily composed by Dan Foliart & Howard Pearl.

Some listings added W. G. Snuffy Walden and John Popper to the credits.

The start off with the harmonica is iconic and helps set the feel for this series.

#95

Night Court

Theme song was composed by Jack Elliot.

The theme to Night Court is one of the many instrumental themes appearing in the Top 100.

Notable musicians who played on the theme included Ernie Watts (Saxophone), Dave Hamlin (Drums), Kip Sophos (Bass).

#96

American Horror Story

Theme originally written by César Dávila-Irizarry and then reworked by former Nine Inch Nails keyboardist Charlie Clouser.

The theme of AHS was extremely creepy and fit right into the tone that the show was going for. The iconic movie Se7en was an inspiration for the theme and what creator Ryan Murphy wanted to get across.

#97

Inspector Gadget

Theme written and composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban.

Performance often credited to the Towenda Choir Orchestra

Here is an interesting tidbit for this theme. I never watched this show. I bet you could count the number of Inspector Gadget episodes I watched on one hand. Yet, the theme song has entered the zeitgeist enough for it to be in my Top 100 TV Theme Songs list. Wild.

There are other TV shows on this list that would not be considered my favorite TV shows, or even something that I would like. The only qualification for this list is the theme song, and Inspector Gadget’s theme is fun and entertaining.