With so much streaming content and YouTube, it is more likely now than before that unknown songs can make the top of the Billboard charts. TV theme songs these days can hardly top the charts. We can seldom find anyone requesting songs from TV series such as “The Walking Dead” to be played on the local radio station.
But before video streaming, TV theme songs were radio hits. The reason is that these theme songs are pop songs. Some instrumentals even climbed to the top of the music charts. We list some of the most popular classic TV theme songs that climbed the music charts.
Power Rangers
The brainchild behind the theme song “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” was actually Simon Cowell, before he became the popular judge on the reality singing competition “Idol”. This song was hugely popular with kids and was a contender for the Christmas number one song in 1994.
Friends
Who can forget The Rembrandt’s “I’ll be there for you” theme song for the hit sitcom “Friends”. Almost a quarter of a century since the series’ last episode, the show remains popular and is the most streamed television show in the UK. It is the band’s one-hit-wonder. The song reached a peak of no. 3 in 1995 and subsequently reached no. 5 again when it was re-released two years later.
The X-Files
The theme song to the longest science fiction series on network TV is a haunting theme but yet it hit the no.1 spot on the music charts in 1996. The theme music’s success shows us how big a cult sci-fi show ``The X-Files” was at the time.
Happy Days
Happy Days was one of the most successful sitcoms in the 1970s. Its theme song “Happy Days” was sung by Jerry McClain and Truett Pratt which replaced the show’s updated version of “Rock Around the Clock” in the third season. It was a memorable hit song from the later 1970s to the early 1980s.
M*A*S*H
The theme song to both the M*A*S*H movie and TV series is written by Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman. The theme was released as a single in 1980 in the UK where it reached the no. 1 spot. It later returned to the top 10 as a cover by the Manic Street Preachers in 1992.
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder’s theme tune was a huge success in 2000. It was sung by the actor Neil Morrissey and it became one of the best-selling singles of all time. The theme song spawned a number one cover of “Mambo No. 5” a year later.
Do you know of any other TV theme songs from the past that has topped the music charts? Let us know by leaving your comments in this post!