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11 TV Shows That Changed Their Opening Theme Songs
By Rudie Obias
Our connections to popular TV shows run deeper than their storylines and characters—we're also usually fond of our favorite show's theme music. But sometimes, those songs changed. Here are a few shows that switched theme songs.
1. Happy Days
Original Theme
New Theme
During the first season of Happy Days, the TV family comedy opened with a newly recorded version of Bill Haley & The Comets' “Rock Around the Clock.” However, for its third season, “Rock Around the Clock” was replaced with the song “Happy Days” from the songwriting duo Pratt & McClain in 1976.
2. Felicity
Original Theme
New Theme
J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves' show Felicity debuted in September 1998. The first two seasons (Freshman and Sophomore Year) featured singer-songwriter Judith Owen performing “Felicity Theme,” while the last two seasons (Junior and Senior Year) featured the song “New Version of You” from J.J. Abrams and Andrew Jarecki. The series changed the opening theme song to reflect the character of Felicity Porter’s change from the beginning of her college career to the end of it.
3. Baywatch
Original Theme
New Theme
When Baywatch premiered on NBC in 1989, it used the song “Save Me” by Peter Cetera, with Bonnie Raitt on guitar. NBC canceled the show after one season, but in 1991, Baywatch was re-launched in syndication. The producers changed the opening theme song to "I'm Always Here" from the rock band Survivor, while Baywatch star David Hasselhoff performed the TV show’s closing theme song, “Current of Love.”
4. Ed
The mostly forgotten NBC show Ed used the Foo Fighters’ song “Next Year” from the album There Is Nothing Left to Lose as its opening theme song for its first season. In season two, the opening theme song was changed to Clem Snide’s “Moment in the Sun,” before reverting back to the Foo Fighters’ song for the duration of the series run. Ed’s co-creator Rob Burnett cited “complicated business reasons” for returning to the Foo Fighters' song in 2002.
5. Beverly Hills 90210
Original Theme
New Theme
Beverly Hills 90210’s season one opening credits sequence featured a jazzy melody on top of images of a postal worker delivering mail in snowy Minnesota to illustrate the show’s central family, the Walshes, moving to southern California. The sequence was changed for its second season with a new hip rock melody from John E. Davis and footage of the young cast having fun at the beach.
6. In Living Color
Original Theme
New Theme
New Theme
Keenen Ivory Wayans and his brother Damon Wayans created a sketch show called In Living Color for Fox in 1990. It was a launching pad for a large number of young up-and-coming actors in Hollywood at the time, including Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier, Jennifer Lopez, and, of course, the Wayans family—Kim, Shawn, and Marlon.
For its first two seasons, the opening theme song, “In Living Color,” was from rapper Heavy D and DJ Eddie F. The song was changed for its third and fourth season with “Cause That's the Way You Livin' When You're in Living Color” from Heavy D and The Boyz. For In Living Color’s last season, the show reverted back to the series original theme song, only remixed.
7. Big Love
Original Theme
New Theme
HBO's critically acclaimed series Big Love used The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” from season one through season three, after which the producers changed the opening music to the song “Home” from the Brit pop band Engineers.
8. The Drew Carey Show
Original Theme
New Theme
New Theme
In 1995, The Drew Carey Show’s opening theme song “Moon Over Parma” was written by songwriter Robert "Mad Dog" McGuire and performed by Drew Carey. The ditty was ditched for the sitcom’s second season, which instead featured The Vogues’ "Five O'Clock World" in an elaborate opening titles sequence.
In The Drew Carey Show’s third season, its opening theme song changed again with a cover version of Ian Hunter’s song “Cleveland Rocks,” performed by the rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. For the sitcom’s final season, the show rotated the three different songs, but with different arrangements and styles from the originals.
9. Family Matters
Original Theme
New Theme
While the opening theme from TV’s Family Matters, “As Days Go By” from Jesse Frederick, is memorable and iconic, it wasn’t the family sitcom's original theme song. For the comedy’s first five episodes, Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” was used to introduce the TV show’s viewers to the Winslow family. “As Days Go By” was ultimately dropped for Family Matter’s last three seasons when the sitcom moved from ABC to CBS.
10. Walker, Texas Ranger
Original Theme
New Theme
Chuck Norris is Walker, Texas Ranger. For the first season and the made-for-television movie, Tirk Wilder composed the TV series’ opening theme song. The opener was ditched midway through its second season for a new theme song from Jerrold Immel entitled “Eyes of the Ranger," which Chuck Norris also performed until the series ended.
11. Boy Meets World
Original Theme
New Theme
New Theme
New Theme
The family sitcom Boy Meets World featured two different theme songs during its seven-season run. For its first three seasons, the song was comprised of various instrumental themes from composer Ray Colcord, who also wrote the TV show’s transitional and mood music. In season four, the opening theme was exchanged for something more peppy and upbeat with a surf rock instrumental from Colcord.
In its last three seasons, rocker Phil Rosenthal composed Boy Meets World’s new and final theme song that reflected the TV show’s shift in cast, older demographic, and mature themes.