You've heard the CHEERS theme. Ever seen the gentleman who performed it? Here's Gary Portnoy, who wrote it along with Judy Hart Angelo. So proud to have spent nine years writing for that show. Enjoy!
15 comments
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Charles Bryan
said...
A theme song to a situation comedy just made me get all teary-eyed.
Right now I want to go anywhere..whether they know my name or not! Add in beer and a baseball game and I will name my kid after the place.."Sorry Timmy, your new name is Cheers."
This is a fun video of college kids being asked if they recognize 80s sitcom theme songs. To go straight to the Cheers part, it's from 7:25 onwards. https://youtu.be/r8yieM-NtCU
Ken will get a kick out of the part where the host tells one of the kids that Cheers had the "second most watched finale, surpassed only by MASH."
Listing to this lead me to the story of how the song came to be on Gary's web site: https://www.garyportnoy.com/cheers-story-cheers-theme-song/. The best part is how Glen and Les Charles stuck with Judy Hart and Gary through several rejected songs, and then trusted the talent enough that they didn't even go to the final recording. A great story about the creation of television perfection.
FRIDAY QUESTION: On Frasier, was the Niles-Daphne relationship intended to be the spine of the series from the very beginning? Or was it a happy accident that it happened the way that did?
As long as you asked, yes, I've seen him, though not for more than 50 years. But once upon a time, his family lived down the block from mine, and we were a year apart in elementary school.
"When my dad became upset at the Cubs’ performance he would write other teams, offering to sign a contract as a free agent fan. Some teams wrote back to him. Here are some of their replies."
Portnoy and, I think, Judy Hart Angelo appeared at the end of Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" when the program originated from Boston the night of the final "Cheers" original telecast in May 1993.
They performed the theme as the "Cheers" cast came up to the street singing along after being downstairs in the bar that appeared in the series' exterior shots.
So I've often wondered about some shows, kind of like the Seinfeld episodes trying to pitch a show about nothing.
Let's do a procedural but it's all about the science of DNA and fingerprints...they had to be thinking, "There's a series in this?" (CSI x a zillion)
Let's do a show with a supersmart Republican kid living in a democratic household.
Let's do a show where everyone hangs out at a bar and we almost never leave the set. I've often felt, no offence to your writing ability, that the theme set a perfect tone as the intro...you weren't watching a bunch of alcoholics, you were watching a a cobbled-together family who hung out together to create a "home" where everybody was glad you came.
I feel the same way about the Friends theme ...
Any stories to share about weird pitches or shows that wouldn't fair as well without their theme music...?
A book has been written about unsold TV pilots. The titles and ideas will make you laugh. But you have to wonder if any of them could have been a TV classic if it would have been chosen.
15 comments :
A theme song to a situation comedy just made me get all teary-eyed.
I love the raw, impromptu performance. No production crew made it more enjoyable, not less.
Right now I want to go anywhere..whether they know my name or not!
Add in beer and a baseball game and I will name my kid after the place.."Sorry Timmy, your new name is Cheers."
I remember hearing the full version of this on WGN which had several other verses, including "and your boyfriend wants to be a girl".
👍
This is a fun video of college kids being asked if they recognize 80s sitcom theme songs. To go straight to the Cheers part, it's from 7:25 onwards.
https://youtu.be/r8yieM-NtCU
Ken will get a kick out of the part where the host tells one of the kids that Cheers had the "second most watched finale, surpassed only by MASH."
The full theme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mi0r0LpXo This has to be on the Mount Rushmore of theme songs
Thanks, Ken, what a charming rendition.
Regards to Gary.
Listing to this lead me to the story of how the song came to be on Gary's web site: https://www.garyportnoy.com/cheers-story-cheers-theme-song/. The best part is how Glen and Les Charles stuck with Judy Hart and Gary through several rejected songs, and then trusted the talent enough that they didn't even go to the final recording. A great story about the creation of television perfection.
FRIDAY QUESTION: On Frasier, was the Niles-Daphne relationship intended to be the spine of the series from the very beginning? Or was it a happy accident that it happened the way that did?
As long as you asked, yes, I've seen him, though not for more than 50 years. But once upon a time, his family lived down the block from mine, and we were a year apart in elementary school.
Hi Ken-
I saw this tweet and thought you would like it:
"When my dad became upset at the Cubs’ performance he would write other teams, offering to sign a contract as a free agent fan. Some teams wrote back to him. Here are some of their replies."
https://twitter.com/KostelecPlan/status/1255665114759548929
Portnoy and, I think, Judy Hart Angelo appeared at the end of Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" when the program originated from Boston the night of the final "Cheers" original telecast in May 1993.
They performed the theme as the "Cheers" cast came up to the street singing along after being downstairs in the bar that appeared in the series' exterior shots.
It was the best moment of the hour.
So I've often wondered about some shows, kind of like the Seinfeld episodes trying to pitch a show about nothing.
Let's do a procedural but it's all about the science of DNA and fingerprints...they had to be thinking, "There's a series in this?" (CSI x a zillion)
Let's do a show with a supersmart Republican kid living in a democratic household.
Let's do a show where everyone hangs out at a bar and we almost never leave the set. I've often felt, no offence to your writing ability, that the theme set a perfect tone as the intro...you weren't watching a bunch of alcoholics, you were watching a a cobbled-together family who hung out together to create a "home" where everybody was glad you came.
I feel the same way about the Friends theme ...
Any stories to share about weird pitches or shows that wouldn't fair as well without their theme music...?
P.
A book has been written about unsold TV pilots. The titles and ideas will make you laugh. But
you have to wonder if any of them could have been a TV classic if it would have been chosen.
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