Television's Greatest Hits: 65 TV Themes! From the 50's and 60's explained

Television's Greatest Hits: 65 TV Themes! From the '50s and '60s
Type:compilation
Artist:Various
Cover:TVhitsvol1.png
Released:1985
Label:TVT Records
Next Title:Television's Greatest Hits, Volume 2: 65 More TV Themes from the '50s & '60s
Next Year:1986

Television's Greatest Hits: 65 TV Themes! From the '50s and '60s is a compilation album of television theme songs released by Tee-Vee Toons in 1985 as the first volume of the Television's Greatest Hits series. It was initially released as a double LP record featuring 65 themes from television shows ranging from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s.

The album catalog was later acquired by Bicycle Music Company. In September 2011, Los Angeles-based Oglio Records announced they were releasing the Television's Greatest Hits song catalog after entering into an arrangement Bicycle. A series of 9 initial "6-packs" including some of the songs from the album has been announced for 2011.

Releases

The album's content varied from the original 1985 LP and cassette releases to the later CD re-release. Don Pardo "hosted" the original LP and cassette versions with spoken segments at the start of the album and at the end of each side, resulting in five tracks exclusive to the analog formats:

Track listing

NOTE: An asterisk (*) designates a track that was re-recorded for either a later season of the TV show, a single/album by the theme song artist or this album. A double asterisk (**) denotes a track exclusive to the record and cassette versions only, and, except for the Japanese release on CBS/Sony, do not show up on any CD version.

Side A (LP and Cassette versions)
  1. Peer Gynt

Morning Suite**
Talking Voices (performed by): Don Pardo
Music Composed by Edvard Grieg

  1. Captain Kangaroo ("Puffin' Billy")*
    Music Composed by Edward White[4]
  2. The Little Rascals ("Good Old Days")
    Music Composed by Roy Shields
    First appeared in the 1930 Our Gang/Little Rascals short "Teacher's Pet"[5]
  3. The Flintstones ("Meet the Flintstones")
    Background Vocals sung by The Skip-Jacks[6]
    (Music & Lyrics) Written by Hoyt Curtin, William Hanna & Joseph Barbera
  4. The Woody Woodpecker Show
    Music Composed by George Tibbles & Ramey Idriss
  5. The Bugs Bunny Show ("The Bugs Bunny Overture (This Is It!)") Written by Jerry Livingston & Mack David
  6. Casper the Friendly Ghost - Written by Jerry Livingston & M. David
  7. Felix the Cat - Written by Winston Sharples
    Vocals performed by Ann Bennett[7]
  8. Popeye - Written by Sammy Lerner
    Music Arranged by Winston Sharples[8]
  9. Yogi Bear - Written by H. Curtin, W. Hanna & J. Barbera
  10. Magilla Gorilla - Written by H. Curtin, W. Hanna & J. Barbera
  11. Top Cat
    Written by H. Curtin, W. Hanna, J. Barbera & Evelyn Timmens
  12. The Jetsons ("Meet George Jetson")
    Written by H. Curtin, W. Hanna & J. Barbera
  13. Fireball XL5 - Music Composed by Barry Gray
    Lyrics Written by Charles Blackwell
    Vocals sung by Don Spencer[9] [10]
  14. Howdy Doody
    Lyrics Written by Buffalo Bob Smith & Edward Kean[11]
    Talking Voices: Buffalo Bob Smith
    Background Vocals: "A Choir of 40-Children"
    Music based on the vaudeville song "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay",[12] originally credited as composed by Henry J. Sayers
  15. Test of the Emergency Broadcast System - Duck and Cover**
    EBS Voice: Don Pardo[13]
    "Duck and Cover" Songwriting Credited to Civil Defense Department
Side B
  1. The Beverly Hillbillies ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett")*
    Performed by Flatt & Scruggs featuring Jerry Scoggins
    Written by Paul Henning
  2. Petticoat Junction
  1. Green Acres - Vocals Performed by Eddie Albert & Eva Gabor
    Written by Vic Mizzy
  2. Mister Ed - Vocals Performed by Jay Livingston
    Music Composed by Jay Livingston
    Lyrics Written by Ray Evans
  3. The Munsters
  1. The Addams Family - Written & Arranged by Vic Mizzy
    Background Vocals: Vic Mizzy[15]
    Finger Snaps[16] & Additional Voices:[15] Ted Cassidy
  2. My Three Sons
  1. The Donna Reed Show ("Happy Days")* -
    Music Composed by John Seely[17]
  2. Leave It to Beaver ("The Toy Parade")* -
    Music Composed by Dave Kahn, Melvyn Leonard & Mort Greene
  3. Dennis the Menace
  1. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
  1. The Patty Duke Show ("Cousins")
    Written by Robert Wells, Sid Ramin & Harry Geller[19]
    Vocals performed by The Skip-Jacks[6]
  2. The Dick Van Dyke Show
  1. Gilligan's Island ("The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle")* -
    Written by George Wyle & Sherwood Schwartz
  2. McHale's Navy
  1. I Dream of Jeannie ("Jeannie")* -
    Music Composed by Hugo Montenegro & Buddy Kaye
  2. I Love Lucy
  1. The Andy Griffith Show ("The Fishin' Hole")*
    Performed by Earle Hagen
    Music Composed by E. Hagen & Herbert W. Spencer[20]
  2. Please Stand By** - Voices: Don Pardo
Side C
  1. Star Trek ("Theme from Star Trek")* - Written by Alexander Courage
    Monologue Voice narrated by William Shatner[21]
    Soprano Vocals sung by Loulie Jean Norman[22]
  2. Lost in Space ("Lost in Space Main Title: Season 3")* - Music Composed by Johnny T. Williams
  3. The Twilight Zone
  1. Superman ("Superman March")
    Written[24] & Arranged[25] by Leon Klatzkin
    Narrator Voiced by Bill Kennedy[26] [27]
  2. Batman ("Batman Theme")* - Written by Neal Hefti
    Contains replayed elements from "To the Batmobile", as performed by Nelson Riddle with Adam West & Burt Ward,[28] with Dialog written by Lorenzo Semple Jr.[29]
  3. Flipper
  1. Combat! - Music Composed by Leonard Rosenman
  2. The Rifleman
  1. Bonanza
  1. Branded - Written by Dominic Frontiere & Alan Alch
  2. F Troop - Written by William Lava & Irving Taylor[30]
  3. Rin Tin Tin - Music Composed by Stanley Keyana[31]
  4. Daniel Boone
  1. The Wild Wild West
  1. The Lone Ranger (Music taken from "William Tell Overture")
    Music Composed by Gioachino Rossini
    Music Arranged by Ben Bonnell[34]
    Orchestra conducted by Daniel Perez Castaneda[35]
    Narrator Voices: Gerald Mohr & Fred Foy[36]
    Sampled Voice ("Hi-Yo Silver"): Earle W. Graser[37]
  2. The Roy Rogers Show ("Happy Trails")
    Written by Dale Evans & Foy Willing[38]
  3. We Interrupt This Program - News Medley**
    Additional Voices: Don Pardo
    Featuring Music Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Side D
  1. Mission: Impossible
  1. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - Music Composed by Jerry Goldsmith
  2. Get Smart
  1. Secret Agent ("Secret Agent Man")* - Performed by Johnny Rivers
    Written by P. F. Sloan & Steve Barri
  2. Dragnet ("Theme and March")* - Performed by Ray Anthony
    Written by Walter Schumann
    Music based on the "Main Title", from the 1946 film "The Killers", composed & performed by Miklós Rózsa[39]
  3. Perry Mason ("Park Avenue Beat")* -
    Music composed by Fred Steiner
  4. Adam-12 - Written by Frank Comstock
  5. The F.B.I. - Music Composed by Bronisław Kaper
  6. Hawaii Five-O ("Hawaii Five-O Theme")* - Performed by The Ventures
    Music Composed by Morton Stevens
  7. 77 Sunset Strip
  1. Surfside 6 - Written by Jerry Livingston & M. David
  2. Ironside
  1. Mannix
  1. The Mod Squad - Music Composed by Earle Hagen
  2. The Tonight Show ("Johnny's Theme")* -
    Music Composed by Johnny Carson & Paul Anka
  3. The Late Show ("The Syncopated Clock")* -
    Music Composed by Leroy Anderson
  4. WTV Toons Sign-Off - The Star-Spangled Banner** -
    Voices: Don Pardo
    Music Composed by Francis Scott Key

Reception

Alongside Television's Greatest Hits Volume II, the compilation was described by CD Review as "organized as a theoretical average viewing day". CD Review jokingly commented that the compilation would be "highly effective during interrogations" by the FBI.[40]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Don Pardo's "WTV Toons Sign On" Sample of Edvard Grieg's "Morning Mood". WhoSampled.com. 25 February 2017.
  2. Web site: Rewind (album): download and streaming in high quality. Hexstatic. Qobuz. 1 August 2000. 25 February 2017.
  3. Web site: Don Pardo's "We Interrupt the Program...News Medley" Sample of Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9: Scherzo". WhoSampled.com. 25 February 2017.
  4. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - Captain Kangaroo (Puffin' Billy). YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 16 September 2012.
  5. Web site: Edwards. Bobb. Leroy Shield. Find a Grave. 3 April 2012.
  6. Web site: MeTV Staff. 10 Fascinating Factoids about 'The Patty Duke Show'. MeTV.com. 15 December 2015.
  7. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - Felix The Cat. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 20 September 2012.
  8. Web site: Popeye the Sailor TV Series (1960-62): Full Cast and Crew" - Series Music Department. IMDb. 2 March 2017.
  9. Web site: Theme Time...Fireball XL5. So It Goes.... 6 September 2015.
  10. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - Fireball XL-5. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 26 July 2013.
  11. Web site: Hevesi. Dennis. Edward Kean...Dies at 85. The New York Times. 24 August 2010.
  12. Web site: Kittrels. Alonzo. It's Howdy Doody Reminiscing Time. The Philadelphia Tribune. 28 January 2017.
  13. Web site: Television's Greatest Hits...Duck and Cover.... YouTube: Wiley-k209z-back. 24 September 2013.
  14. Web site: Massey. Curt. Petticoat Junction Theme. YouTube: Behind the Scenes Photos. 16 February 2014.
  15. Web site: Shaw. James. Original Addams Family Theme.... Otaku no Culture. 11 August 2016.
  16. Web site: The Addams Family Theme Song. Movie Theme Songs & TV Soundtracks. 26 February 2017.
  17. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - The Donna Reed Show. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 27 July 2013.
  18. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 27 July 2013.
  19. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - The Patty Duke Show. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 27 July 2013.
  20. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - The Andy Griffith Show. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 29 July 2013.
  21. Web site: Star Trek: The Original Series…Opening and Closing Theme. YouTube: TeeVees Greatest. 27 April 2016.
  22. Web site: Bernstein. Adam. Alexander Courage...'Star Trek'. Washington Post. 31 May 2008.
  23. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - Alfred Hitchcock Presents. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 31 July 2013.
  24. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits - Superman. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 31 July 2013.
  25. Web site: The Adventures of Superman. The Media Management Group. 2 March 2017.
  26. Web site: Bill Kennedy - Biography. IMDb.
  27. Web site: 14 fascinating facts about 'Adventures of Superman'". Decades.com. 29 April 2016.
  28. Web site: TeeVee Toons Inc's "Batman" Sample of Nelson Riddle, Adam West & Burt Ward's "To the Batmobile". WhoSampled.com. 28 February 2017.
  29. Web site: Riddle. Nelson. Batman: Original TV Soundtrack (CD, Album, Reissue). Mercury. 1989.
  30. Web site: TV's Greatest Hits: F Troop. YouTube: The-Peacekeeper-j3l. 1 August 2013.
  31. Web site: Television's Greatest Hits Band. Rin Tin Tin. AllMusic. 1 March 2017.
  32. Jon Burlingame, p. 76, TV's Biggest Hits: The Story Of Television Themes From "Dragnet" To "Friends", Schirmer Books, 1995,
  33. Web site: Vera Matson. Discogs. 1 March 2017.
  34. Book: Pavlik, John V.. Masterful Stories: Lessons from Golden Age Radio. Routledge. 2017. 9781315530758.
  35. Web site: Jensen. Steve. The Music of The Lone Ranger. Intersound, Inc. / Cinedisc. 2004.
  36. Web site: The Gerald Mohr Collection. One's Media. 2 March 2017.
  37. Web site: Mills. Rych. Flash From the Past: Radio's Masked Man had a Kitchener identity. The Record. 24 July 2020.
  38. Web site: Happy Trails.... The 1951 Club / Wordpress. 25 April 2015.
  39. Web site: Miklós Rózsa and Walter Schumann's "Dragnet Theme" Sample of Miklós Rózsa's "Main Title". WhoSampled.com. 1 March 2017.
  40. Taylor. Andrew. New Releases Spotlight. CD Review. March 1987. 3. 7. 80. June 12, 2017.

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