Classic TV Theme Music Challenge: Mike Post vs. Henry Mancini

 

Many great composers have contributed memorable songs to our classic TV heritage. What would The Addams Family be without Vic Mizzy’s finger-snapping introduction? How much excitement did Neil Hefti’s brassy Batman theme add to the anticipation of another colorful superhero adventure?  And has there ever been a more perfect match of music to series than what Lalo Schifrin composed for Mission: Impossible?

 

But if we’re assessing by quantity, the two most successful composers of television theme music are Mike Post and Henry Mancini. Mancini has the more distinguished reputation because of his equally impressive film scoring (The Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Days of Wine and Roses). But Post’s TV credits are untouchable – or are they?

 

Let’s have the two most prolific TV tunesmiths square off in a series of battles and see who comes out on top.

 

Battle of the Cop Shows: Hill Street Blues (Post) vs. Cade’s County (Mancini)

This one is no contest. With Hill Street Blues, Post opted to forego a driving, action-oriented theme that viewers may have expected for a series that depicted so many violent urban confrontations, and instead opened the show with a gentle, piano-driven melody that reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100.  

 

Cade’s County also has its admirers, but it sounds too much like too many other themes to long-forgotten shows.

 

Winner: Mike Post

 

Battle of the Sitcoms: Blossom (Post) vs. Newhart (Mancini)

What made the Blossom opening sequence memorable was Dr. John’s vocals and Mayim Bialik’s endearingly goofy dancing.

 

Which makes Newhart an easy choice – it has all the lush instrumentation one expects from Henry Mancini, and provides the ideal soundtrack for a summer drive through the Vermont woods.

 

Winner: Henry Mancini

 

 

Battle of the Detective Shows: Magnum P.I. (Post) vs. Remington Steele (Mancini)

Post’s music for Magnum P.I. boasts a memorable guitar riff and is quintessential ‘80s, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Remington Steele counters with a more classical-sounding strings section and a steady drum downbeat, followed by a sexy saxophone to accompany Steele kissing Laura’s hand. Close call, but the variations within the theme give the edge to Manci

Winner: Henry Mancini

 

 

Battle of the Superheroes: The Greatest American Hero (Post) vs. The Invisible Man (Mancini)

“Believe It Or Not” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and enjoyed an encore moment of notoriety thanks to Seinfeld’s George Costanza. But with its opening harp glissando and killer bass line, Mancini’s Invisible Man theme makes this a little closer than anticipated. Still, Post takes this round.

 

 

Winner: Mike Post

 

Battle of the Detective Shows, Pt. 2: The Rockford Files (Post) vs. Peter Gunn (Mancini)

 

This is easily the closest contest. The jazzy Peter Gunn theme is iconic; it earned Mancini both an Emmy and a Grammy, and has received praise as the best TV theme of all time. But The Rockford Files theme also won a Grammy and was a top ten hit. Two truly great and memorable pieces of music, but only one can win.

 

Winner: Henry Mancini

 

 

Battle of the George Peppard Series: The A-Team (Post) vs. The NBC Mystery Movie (Mancini)

The A-Team music is vintage Post, powerful military bombast perfect for a backdrop of never-ending explosions and carnage. But after just one listen the eerie, whistling theme that introduced Banacek and all the NBC Mystery installments is almost impossible to get out of your mind.

 

Winner: Henry Mancini

 

 

Battle of the Rogues: Hunter (Post) vs. Mr. Lucky (Mancini)

In this head-to-head between two shows about two guys unafraid to skirt the law, the winner is no contest. Mancini takes three in a row.

 

Winner: Henry Mancini

 

Battle of the Man Shows: Hooperman (Post) vs. Man of the World (Mancini)

Okay, this is starting to get embarrassing

 

Winner: Henry Mancini

 

Battle of the Forgotten Shows: Tales of the Gold Monkey (Post) vs. Kingston Confidential (Mancini)

At last, Post strikes back. His exotic, retro theme for Tales of the Gold Monkey hits the right notes for a series that claimed to be based on Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings, but really wanted audiences to think they were getting a weekly dose of Indiana Jones adventure. Kingston Confidential must have caught Mancini on an off day. 

 

 

Winner: Mike Post

 

Battle of the Los Angeles Based Shows: L.A. Law (Post) vs. What’s Happening! (Mancini)

It’s a testament to Mancini’s versatility that he could forego his jazzy, orchestral preferences for something as funky and bouncy as his work on What’s Happening!. 

 

 

And yet…I think Post deserves the win here. There’s a darker tone in this composition that fits a series that often explored the darker side of courtroom proceedings. And that pounding drum beat could be the pounding of a judge’s gavel. Both themes fit their respective shows well, but in this case the court rules for Post.

 

Winner: Mike Post

Bonus Round: Doogie Howser, M.D. (Post) vs. Hotel (Mancini)

I was ready to give one more to Mancini right away; Hotel boasts a sprawling, full-bodied theme worthy of a feature film, and it seems to have as many movements as a symphony. But Post was very clever with what he did for Doogie Howser, with a play of synth and electronic sounds that match Doogie’s computer entries and the beeps of hospital monitors. But, as I’ve always thought the best music should have a timeless quality, I’ll stick with my first choice.

 

 

Winner: Henry Mancini

 

And so, in this most unofficial, un-scientific and (arguably) unnecessary exercise, it is Henry Mancini who takes the title. Disagree? Let me know.

The Top 20 TV Theme Songs of the 1960s

 

By the 1960s, producers and networks recognized the value of a memorable theme song, ushering in the golden age of this singular musical genre.

The resulting embarrassment of riches means that some truly wonderful themes, from Bobby Sherman’s “Seattle” (Here Come the Brides) to Dave Brubeck’s jazzy intro to Mr. Broadway will not make the cut. I also couldn’t find room for Man in a Suitcase, Lost in Space, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, I Dream of Jeannie, T.H.E. Cat or many others that deserve recognition.

Some may argue that a few of my top 20 qualified not by musical merit, but on the enduring popularity of their respective series. I won’t completely dismiss the point. But consider that since these are also the shows rerun most frequently in the past 50 years, we should by all rights be weary of their songs by now. And still, before yet another encore presentation, I don’t hit the fast-forward button on the DVD player. That should count for something.

Mission: Impossible

Here’s the first of many inescapable selections. Lalo Schifrin’s propulsive theme provides the perfect introduction to the breakneck pace of this tension-filled espionage series. 

The Brady Bunch

Written by series creator Sherwood Schwartz, the song and its accompanying opening credits sequence has been embedded into the DNA of American baby boomers.

Bonanza

This is the one TV western theme that most closely captures the magic and majesty of a great western film score. Thankfully, the version with lyrics performed by the cast and shot for the series’ pilot was pulled before the episode aired. But it’s a fun curio now. 

The Munsters

Why would anyone think a surf rock theme would be appropriate for a sitcom about a family of horror movie monsters? Sometimes, genius ideas turn up in the strangest places. 

Route 66

The series shares its name with a 1940s song that was a hit for Nat King Cole and The Manhattan Transfer. But it didn’t have the right vibe for this portrayal of restless youth hitting the open road. Enter the famed composer and arranger Nelson Riddle, who delivered a smooth, jazzy instrumental that earned a Grammy nomination. 

Batman

How many generations of kids grew up running around a playground with Neal Hefti’s famous “na na na na na na na na” riff running through their heads? Another classic that is indivisible from the series it introduced.

The Beverly Hillbillies

Just once, try not to focus on the lyric with its famous “swimmin’ pools, movie stars” references, and instead savor the first class bluegrass picking of Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. 

Jonny Quest

There is not an abundance of melody in Hoyt Curtain’s percussion-driven theme, but it sets the perfect tone for this sophisticated action series. The heavy drums evoke the primitive settings of many Quest adventures. Curtin allegedly wrote the trombone parts in a way that were impossible to play correctly, to get back at musicians who chided him for the simplicity of his previous compositions.

The Monkees

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who wrote the first Monkees #1 hit (“Last Train to Clarksville”) also composed the show’s theme song that, nearly 50 years later, is still being played on tour by the band’s surviving members. Micky sings lead, but it’s just not the same without Davy Jones. 

The Wild Wild West

Hopefully I’m not the only one who hears shades of Aaron Copland in the heroic strains of the Wild Wild West theme, composed by Richard Markowitz. The less said about the rap version attached to the movie remake, the better. 

Room 222

In the 1960s, it will still acceptable for a television series to take a few moments to introduce itself, rather than plunging right into the first scene. The opening credits sequence to Room 222 runs 1:30, during which 4 cast members are credited, and we watch dozens of students walk to and from school to the gentle strains of a theme composed by the great Jerry Goldsmith. I always thought a flute carried the melody, but I’ve now read several opinions that it was a recorder. 

The Banana Splits

Saturday mornings in the late ‘60s and early 1970s were a time of cartoons and frenetic, psychedelic live-action shows created for kids already hyped up on sugarcoated cereals. The energetic “Tra la las” of the Banana Splits theme were the perfect fix for our habit. 

Hogan’s Heroes

Jerry Fielding wrote several exceptional TV themes, including those for McHale’s Navy and The Bionic Woman, but none more enduring that this rousing military march.

Star Trek

A heroic theme, written by a man appropriately named Alexander Courage, that gave the original adventures of the Starship Enterprise a grandeur that the show’s special effects could not match. Series creator Gene Roddenberry added a completely unnecessary lyric that even many hardcore Trekkers have never heard, in order to fleece Courage out of half his royalties.

Gilligan’s Island

Sherwood Schwartz’s other great theme for his other great (in popularity if not creativity) situation comedy was a whimsical sea shanty that introduced seven stranded castaways. Actually, just five in the first season – The Professor and Mary Ann were dismissed with “and the rest” until a season 2 addendum gave them equal credit. Bonus points for its underrated additional verse that plays over the closing credits.

The Courtship of Eddie’s Father

Harry Nilsson had 8 top 40 hits. “Best Friend,” his joyful theme to The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, was not one of them. It should have been. The song was never released as a single, perhaps because it was adapted from an earlier Nilsson composition called “Girlfriend.” 

The Addams Family

With respect to composer Vic Mizzy, this one probably works better as an instrumental. Surely people more fondly recall the harpsichord and the finger snaps than the “altogether ooky” words.

Hawaii Five-O

When networks remake TV shows, they always think they know better than the artists that created the original series. So it’s a testament to the quality of Morton Stevens' Hawaii Five-O theme that CBS found no way to improve upon it when McGarrett and Dan-O were rebooted in 2010. 

Bewitched

The arrangement behind those wonderful animated opening credits has an ethereal quality appropriate for a classy supernatural sitcom. But this is one case where the lyrics actually work even though they are never heard in the series. 

The Andy Griffith Show

A few whistled measures of Earle Hagen’s “The Fishin’ Hole” is all some of us need to be transported back to the idyllic town of Mayberry, where there’s always an apple pie cooling on a window sill, and chicken and dumplings for Sunday dinner.

Next: The Top 20 Themes of the 1970s