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Way back . . . when I was a child I fell in love with TV themes. Wagon Train was on every Wednesday night and I so looked forward to the show and the theme song. Robert Horton, who played Flint McCullough, was the lookout for the wagon train and I remember thinking “golly, he’s cute”, and I was only about 7. There were many other shows that had incredible theme songs that, to this day, are beautiful.
Did you know that John Williams composed the theme to Checkmate? This was when he was a very young man, and he was Johnny Williams then, way before Star Wars and Stephen Spielberg. The show starred Anthony George and Doug McClure and it was a very good mystery. The theme music was perfect. There was also Peter Gunn and, of course, the wonderful, never to be forgotten theme to Bonanza.
On the medical front there were the themes from Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare. Keep in mind that most of these themes that I am mentioning were composed by masters like Victor Young, Nelson Riddle, Henry Mancini and others. Then, in 1959 came Route 66 with George Maharis and Martin Milner. The theme by Nelson Riddle, was unforgettable, and the shows by Stirling Silliphant were great and timely even today. Adventures in Paradise with Gardner McKay as Captain Adam Troy was an eye feast and total escapism. I am sure that Gardner McKay did not enjoy Adventures in Paradise as much as his fans did. He went on to great success as a writer.
As time moved on there were other great themes like The Big Valley with Barbara Stanwyck and Ironside with Raymond Burr. It should be noted that the theme to The Big Valley was composed by George Duning, who later composed the soundtracks to The World of Suzie Wong and Toys in the Attic.
Coming into current times, I have taken the liberty of adding to my list of great TV themes some of the mini-series of the last few years. There’s John Adams, The Tudors, Masada and the unforgettable Downton Abbey.
Tune into the next episode of Sherry’s Cherries: TV Soundtracks – Way Back When. Some of these you might remember. Either way I think you will enjoy all of them. This is some great music but then again, hear for yourself.
Showtimes:
Friday, June 19th at 10:30 pm Eastern Time / 7:30 pm Pacific Time
Sunday, June 21st at 4:00 pm Eastern Time / 1:00 pm Pacific Time
Tuesday, June 23rd at 1:00 pm Eastern Time / 10:00 am Pacific Time
To all of my loyal listeners, sometimes the show will start exactly on time or be five minutes late, depending on what song precedes the show. TV Soundtracks – Way Back When will begin with the theme from Perry Mason.
