Memorable TV Theme Songs, 13-18

Find the rest of our list of memorable TV theme songs, beginning with the theme to The Andy Griffith Show.

13. "The Fishin' Hole" (The Andy Griffith Show)

When The Andy Griffith Show debuted in 1960, Sheriff Andy Taylor became one of TV's first single dads when his wife died and left him to raise their young son, Opie, in the small town of Mayberry. Aunt Bea came to town to help out, and Deputy Barney Fife helped keep small-town crime at bay. The result was an endearing slice of Americana that still lives on in syndication. The show's theme song was written by Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer and is memorable but not for the lyrics -- there are none! The melody is carried by a lone whistler (Hagen) and accompanies footage of Andy and Opie heading off together for some quality time fishing.

14. "The Love Boat" (The Love Boat)

The Love Boat was just one of producer Aaron Spelling's offerings that dominated TV sets in the 1970s and '80s. Love was definitely exciting and new every week when the Pacific Princess cruise ship set sail with a new set of passengers and a new set of challenges! Paul Williams and Charles Fox wrote the theme song, and for the first eight years, Jack Jones provided the vocals, but in 1985 Dionne Warwick recorded her version for the show. With lyrics such as "Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance . . ." people were hooking up all over the Pacific seaboard.

15. "Ballad of Jed Clampett" (The Beverly Hillbillies)

When hillbilly Jed Clampett struck oil while hunting on his land, he packed up his family and moved where the other rich people lived -- Beverly Hills, California, of course! His beautiful and usually barefoot daughter, Elly May, attracted a lot of attention as did pretty much everything about the Clampett family. Series creator Paul Henning wrote the "Ballad of Jed Clampett," which was performed by bluegrass musicians Flatt and Scruggs. After the show debuted in 1962, the song made it to number 44 on the pop charts and all the way to number one on the country charts.

16. "I Love Lucy" (I Love Lucy)

One of the most popular TV shows ever produced, I Love Lucy starred Lucille Ball as zany redhead Lucy Ricardo and Desi Arnaz as her husband, Cuban bandleader Ricky. Lucy and her reluctant neighbor and best friend, Ethel Mertz, were always involved in one harebrained scheme or another during this classic's six-year run. The show's theme song, written by Harold Adamson and Eliot Daniel, is most recognizable in its instrumental version, but the song does have lyrics. During a 1953 episode in which Lucy believes everyone has forgotten her birthday, Ricky croons "I love Lucy, and she loves me. We're as happy as two can be. . . ."

17. "A Little Help from My Friends" (The Wonder Years)

Set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, The Wonder Years chronicled the life of teenager Kevin Arnold as he grows up in suburbia in a middle-class family during this turbulent time. During the opening credits, the theme song, "A Little Help from My Friends," plays alongside "home movies" of Kevin and his family and friends. Hardly recognizable as the classic Beatles tune, Joe Cocker's cover of the song is much slower and in a different key but was reportedly loved by the Fab Four themselves.

18. "Generation" (American Dreams)

In this family drama, the Pryor family faces the social and political issues of the 1960s, while teenager Meg Pryor and her friend Roxanne are regular dancers on American Bandstand, which sets the show to the soundtrack of the '60s. The theme song, "Generation," written and performed by Tonic's Emerson Hart, takes listeners back to a time when life was much simpler and safer. With lyrics like "we just want to dance all night . . ." and ". . . This might be the only time around . . . ," the song inspired a "seize the day" attitude. The show had an extremely loyal fan base, but poor time slots assigned by NBC resulted in low ratings, and the show was unexpectedly axed following the third season-ending cliffhanger, which left fans disappointed and longing for more.

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Helen Davies, Marjorie Dorfman, Mary Fons, Deborah Hawkins, Martin Hintz, Linnea Lundgren, David Priess, Julia Clark Robinson, Paul Seaburn, Heidi Stevens, and Steve Theunissen