You may have noticed something odd in my last theme song article. The Fresh Prince theme was a tad, longer than you may have remembered. That’s because it was written as a full song. However, the full version was used all of once and after that we got the truncated (but still awesome) version.
And this isn’t the only example of this happening. A lot of theme’s have extended, full length versions that were released as singles and even played on the radio. Some actually started that way, before becoming a theme song. Others were created after the show (and subsequently the theme) became so popular that demand for a full version prompted one.
There are a ton of these but to keep this from going on forever, let’s just talk about a few of them today. No specific order and only songs, we’ll get to instrumentals another time.
“Thank You For Being a Friend” by Andrew Gold
Let’s start with this little gem. We all know “Thank You for Being a Friend” from The Golden Girls. Did you know this was first a full length song written by Andrew Gold? It was re-recorded by Cynthia Free when it was adopted by the show.
“As Long as we Got Each Other” by B.J.Thomas
I LOVE LOVE this one. It makes sense since B.J.Thomas is a pretty big talent, why wouldn’t he make a fill length version of his Growing Pains theme? I’m pretty sure this was done after the show had aired and become popular. Oh and yes that’s Dusty Springfield singing duet. No lie, this is one of my favorite songs. Period.
“I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts
Yeah yeah you all knew this was coming so let’s get it over. When Friends became the mega hit it was in 1995, of course a full length version of the theme song came along! It was played on the radio over and over and over and over……but it’s still awesome. This is also the only one with an official music video featuring the show's cast!!
“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” by Gary Portnoy
I think while a few of these may be surprises, this is one is pretty well known. The Cheers theme was fantastic and so why not have a longer version to go with it?
“Everytime I Turn Around” by Gary Portnoy
oh and hey, did you know Portnoy also did the “Punky Brewster” theme? It also has a full length version which..isn’t that good.
“Happy Days” by Pratt & McClain & “Making Our Dreams Come True” by Cyndi Greco
Yep both of these got full length versions. And they both have the same problem. “Happy Days” feels like the song is repeating over and over. And the singer isn’t as good as the TV version. And while I love Greco’s full length version of the Laverne and Shirley theme, it doesn’t add a thing new it’s just the same refrain with a new arrangement. But since it’s the same singer as the TV version, “Making Our Dreams” is better.
“Without Us” by Johnny Mathis
I am not a Johnny Mathis fan, but who can resist his Family Ties theme? Which had a full version which is, ok. He sings here with Denise Williams.
“Love is all Around” by Sonny Curtis
You better believe this show’s theme had a full length version sung by Sonny Curtis. Actually this song goes way back MTM, being used countless other places over the years. Give Curtis credit for favorite a second verse with different lyrics!
Big Bang Theory Theme by Barenaked Ladies
Again, if you’re going to have a group like Barenaked Ladies do your intro you better believe there’s gonna be a full length version made. Actually I like this since we hear all of twenty second of the song on the show. And the full song is pretty darn good!
I'm No Superman by Lazlo Bane
So you know we heard 20 seconds of Big Bang Theory's theme in the show? Scrubs was even less! And the whole song is pretty damn good. This was a case of the song existing first and being used by the show.
Mad About You by Andrew Gold
Yeah it’s true that Anita Baker recorder a version of the long theme. But I hate her, like seriously, so a I decided to instead the original Andrew Gold version. And you know, this is a really underrated theme!
WKRP in Cincinnati by ?? (not sure really)
Not gonna lie, I don't get why this needs a full version. But here it is anyway. And it's not bad.
“Welcome Back” by John Sebastian
I am not the biggest fan of Welcome Back, Kotter but I always loved the theme song. Guess I wasn’t along since a full length version was made. I reached #1 on the Billboard hot 100. But there is a song that outdid even that.
And since I imagine everyone is waiting for me to this little gem up:
“Believe it or Not” by Mike Post
The Greatest American Hero doesn’t have much to be remembered about it, with one very big exception. And this is the one of all of these I can honestly remember hearing on the radio (except the Friends theme). This one topped the Billboard charts, lasting 18 weeks on the top 40, that’s how good it was! I’ve talked about this before but never shared the full version. So here we go:
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the full length Miami Vice theme was also a chart topper in the 1980’s and the soundtrack album was very successful which is rare for any TV show. Since this article is about songs I’ll just give it a token mention and if I ever do an instrumental version of this I’ll get into it more there.
I have loved these songs for years! I was in heaven when I discovered them. They have been nicely collected by Rhino Records in compilation tapes making this a very easy blog to write. And there were PLENTY I left off. Comment and let me know if I missed your favorite.
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