Loved the entire article, Steve, but The Grass Roots stuck out for me because they've been a favorite since I took dancing lessons (at 13) at the Meyerland Country Club in suburban SW Houston in 1968 (don't hate me because I'm pretentious.............there are so many other reasons, my ex-wife will tell you).
Anyway, I became enamored of the Roots when we danced (with girls, yet!š±) to "Midnight Confessions" (produced by Barri with the Wrecking Crew backing). Since then, they've become one of the key purveyors, IMO, of pre-Raspberries power pop/pop rock, with Rob Grill emerging as one of my favorite all-time singers! I've got some of Rob and his Roots covered, musically, here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/inside-tracks-18-lambert-and-potter
It was gratifying seeing you mention P.F. Sloan (his is a little-known career worth digging into!) and Steve Barri, two songwriters who helped shape the Roots sound, along with the enviably hit-making team of Lambert & Potter (Dennis Lambert, Brian Potter), about whom I also wrote in the above piece!
I was actually going to do a search in the FR&BS archives for a piece on Grass Roots to link to for more details! And then it was 2am and I just went to Wikipedia. I figured that they ranked highly in your musical favorites!
Well, thanks for thinking of me, but I coulda told you Wikipedia turns in, on most nights, at 1:30, easy. You must-a caught 'em on a late night deadline or sumpin'!š And, I knew you knew my musical tendencies well enough to know I dug the Roots!š
I know I've written, on more than one occasion, my short list of favorite all-time (mostly) under-sung singers: Grill, Tony Burrows, Andrew Gold, Pat Upton, John Waite, Danny Wilde. I didn't know (before) what you wrote about Grill, hand-picking continuing Roots....a good guy, too, as it happens!
A3ās āWoke Up This Morningā from The Sopranos is fantastic. Second, as a big Agnes Obel fan I was pleased to see āFamiliarā used as the theme song for the Canadian show Cardinal (a fantastic show btw if you havenāt seen it).
Adding Cardinal to my long list of TV shows to check out before I die! Thanks for the suggestion. And, yes, A3ās āWoke Up in the Morningā certainly belongs here. What a great shaky cam montage to orient the viewer to the sense of Tony Sopranoās place.
Going way back, and this is bending the rules a bit: Fat Albert was a TV Movie in 69 before it became a regular show in the 70s. Herbie Hancock wrote all the music, which was released as the album Fat Albert Rotunda in 1969. More funk than jazz and a precursor to where Hancock would go with Headhunters a few years later.
Yes! I forgot about all the covers of "Way Down in the Hole." And I never watched Peaky Blinders (and have been meaning to), but I do think there is a correlation between a smart, creative opening title sequence and a smart, creative show. I often will watch something new and know right away if I'm gonna love it by the opening title sequence. I'm trying to think of an example of the opposite. Or an example of a show with a terrible sequence but the show was amazing.
-I would laugh out loud EVERY time Chris Elliot would drive his bike into the car āSo staaaaaaand!ā My college house mates would look at me askance wondering what was wrong with me!
-āHandbags and Gladragsā British Office. Always bittersweet. Kind of a nebulous non-Rod Stewart/ Mike DāAbo version that was used, but still effective.
-āWelcome Back Kotter ā theme. Loved hearing it on the radio as a kid (or strangely enough later on our beloved Basque radio station!) Reverse phenomenon, a song that became popular and got airtime because it was a TV theme. You wouldnāt hear the Flintstones or Giliganās Island theme on the radio, though. Unless of course it was used in a hackneyed morning show format.
-aaaand Best use of songs used in a season or series finale (or worst-āDonāt Stop Belie.......ā). A couple I have in mind āI feel alrightā Steve Earle end of season 2 of The Wire) or THIS season four cap off https://youtu.be/f-wjFGhqKQE?si=Tuf-atVvxqwy0fqz
So yeah, season finale songs-you can use that!šš
Full of heartbreak!! All the seasons break your heart!! But yeah, my favorites are season 2 and season 4! Incredible!! With glints of humor though!! ā¤ļø
I like the way you subvert my rules, Britta! If I was allowing cover versions of popular songs I would have chosen "The Young Pope" and its brilliant use of an instrumental version of "All Along the Watchtower."
And season finale songs -- yeah, I'll save that one for later! My problem is that I can't remember them for the life of me! Maybe I should limit it to "series" finales. You'd find a way to work around that too, I suppose!
Subverting? Non! Corollarying? Oui. This stack just got me reflecting upon all my years of TV consumption and all the Earworms involved! Fun fun topic!
Years before All I Want for Christmas Is You turned into the smashing, obligatory holiday season staple it is today, the song was used in a Japanese TV series in 1994-1995 (around the time the song was originally released in the US). It became so popular in Japan that Mariah had to perform it in the Tokyo Dome shows of her 1996 Daydream Tour (in the middle of March!) as the encore. At the time, she was more famous for her non-Christmas music in the US and other parts of the world. The song was a hit in Japan decades before it turned into the smashing hit it is today.
I had no idea about this! Both you and Britta picked songs that started as theme songs and then became popular!:) It's even more niche than my broad topic. Nice job. Also, mid-March is the new early November where promoting the holiday season is concerned!š
I still haven't watched "Halt and Catch Fire" -- and planned to do so during the writer's strike when fewer new shows were airing. But then life and Substack ruined those plans! I've got to readjust my priorities.
Your comment about "Get a Life" perfectly illustrates my point about love/hate...Britta commented on her love for it!
Save Me by Remy Zero for Smallville was the perfect setup for the show you were going to get for the first five years.
I guess Believe It or Not by Joey Scarsbury wouldn't count because it was written as the theme for The Greatest American Hero?
Oh, My Life by Billy Joel for Bosom Buddies!
The Grass Roots was always a guilty pleasure - not a great band, but earworm songs!
"Can't Let Go," by Caught A Ghost was a perfect theme for the Bosch series on Amazon Prime.
I don't know that one -- the song, not the show -- I've gotta check it out! Thanks for the tip!
Loved the entire article, Steve, but The Grass Roots stuck out for me because they've been a favorite since I took dancing lessons (at 13) at the Meyerland Country Club in suburban SW Houston in 1968 (don't hate me because I'm pretentious.............there are so many other reasons, my ex-wife will tell you).
Anyway, I became enamored of the Roots when we danced (with girls, yet!š±) to "Midnight Confessions" (produced by Barri with the Wrecking Crew backing). Since then, they've become one of the key purveyors, IMO, of pre-Raspberries power pop/pop rock, with Rob Grill emerging as one of my favorite all-time singers! I've got some of Rob and his Roots covered, musically, here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/inside-tracks-18-lambert-and-potter
It was gratifying seeing you mention P.F. Sloan (his is a little-known career worth digging into!) and Steve Barri, two songwriters who helped shape the Roots sound, along with the enviably hit-making team of Lambert & Potter (Dennis Lambert, Brian Potter), about whom I also wrote in the above piece!
I was actually going to do a search in the FR&BS archives for a piece on Grass Roots to link to for more details! And then it was 2am and I just went to Wikipedia. I figured that they ranked highly in your musical favorites!
Well, thanks for thinking of me, but I coulda told you Wikipedia turns in, on most nights, at 1:30, easy. You must-a caught 'em on a late night deadline or sumpin'!š And, I knew you knew my musical tendencies well enough to know I dug the Roots!š
I know I've written, on more than one occasion, my short list of favorite all-time (mostly) under-sung singers: Grill, Tony Burrows, Andrew Gold, Pat Upton, John Waite, Danny Wilde. I didn't know (before) what you wrote about Grill, hand-picking continuing Roots....a good guy, too, as it happens!
A couple immediately come to mind for me:
A3ās āWoke Up This Morningā from The Sopranos is fantastic. Second, as a big Agnes Obel fan I was pleased to see āFamiliarā used as the theme song for the Canadian show Cardinal (a fantastic show btw if you havenāt seen it).
Adding Cardinal to my long list of TV shows to check out before I die! Thanks for the suggestion. And, yes, A3ās āWoke Up in the Morningā certainly belongs here. What a great shaky cam montage to orient the viewer to the sense of Tony Sopranoās place.
To continue with The Wire - A different artist/band covered Tom Waitsā Way Down in the Hole to open each season.
Hereās Season 1, with Blind Boys of Alabama:
https://youtu.be/uGtJ8BMuq2U?si=FopzZuN_ZVxdW12f
Nick Caveās Red Right Hand to open Peaky Blinders. (The opening sequence of that show in the first episode is brilliant.)
https://youtu.be/YGj0xgPXTSw?si=NnW7yjPK9AUo3Z89
Going way back, and this is bending the rules a bit: Fat Albert was a TV Movie in 69 before it became a regular show in the 70s. Herbie Hancock wrote all the music, which was released as the album Fat Albert Rotunda in 1969. More funk than jazz and a precursor to where Hancock would go with Headhunters a few years later.
Yes! I forgot about all the covers of "Way Down in the Hole." And I never watched Peaky Blinders (and have been meaning to), but I do think there is a correlation between a smart, creative opening title sequence and a smart, creative show. I often will watch something new and know right away if I'm gonna love it by the opening title sequence. I'm trying to think of an example of the opposite. Or an example of a show with a terrible sequence but the show was amazing.
Thoughts:
-I would laugh out loud EVERY time Chris Elliot would drive his bike into the car āSo staaaaaaand!ā My college house mates would look at me askance wondering what was wrong with me!
-āHandbags and Gladragsā British Office. Always bittersweet. Kind of a nebulous non-Rod Stewart/ Mike DāAbo version that was used, but still effective.
-āWelcome Back Kotter ā theme. Loved hearing it on the radio as a kid (or strangely enough later on our beloved Basque radio station!) Reverse phenomenon, a song that became popular and got airtime because it was a TV theme. You wouldnāt hear the Flintstones or Giliganās Island theme on the radio, though. Unless of course it was used in a hackneyed morning show format.
-aaaand Best use of songs used in a season or series finale (or worst-āDonāt Stop Belie.......ā). A couple I have in mind āI feel alrightā Steve Earle end of season 2 of The Wire) or THIS season four cap off https://youtu.be/f-wjFGhqKQE?si=Tuf-atVvxqwy0fqz
So yeah, season finale songs-you can use that!šš
Season 4 of the Wire is a staggering TV experience. One of the most powerful works of art Iāve ever experienced.
Full of heartbreak!! All the seasons break your heart!! But yeah, my favorites are season 2 and season 4! Incredible!! With glints of humor though!! ā¤ļø
I like the way you subvert my rules, Britta! If I was allowing cover versions of popular songs I would have chosen "The Young Pope" and its brilliant use of an instrumental version of "All Along the Watchtower."
https://youtu.be/2btMNaFmYZk?si=K9pZwwm3x9RoKh1N
And season finale songs -- yeah, I'll save that one for later! My problem is that I can't remember them for the life of me! Maybe I should limit it to "series" finales. You'd find a way to work around that too, I suppose!
Also, as you deftly add two variants, there is the theme song that then becomes a commercial hit afterward. TouchƩ, Britta, touchƩ. That's French, right?
Subverting? Non! Corollarying? Oui. This stack just got me reflecting upon all my years of TV consumption and all the Earworms involved! Fun fun topic!
Yes - I am hoping it sparks endless conversation! I guess subvert is a bit dramatic, but drama is what gets views, comments and likes!š
Years before All I Want for Christmas Is You turned into the smashing, obligatory holiday season staple it is today, the song was used in a Japanese TV series in 1994-1995 (around the time the song was originally released in the US). It became so popular in Japan that Mariah had to perform it in the Tokyo Dome shows of her 1996 Daydream Tour (in the middle of March!) as the encore. At the time, she was more famous for her non-Christmas music in the US and other parts of the world. The song was a hit in Japan decades before it turned into the smashing hit it is today.
I had no idea about this! Both you and Britta picked songs that started as theme songs and then became popular!:) It's even more niche than my broad topic. Nice job. Also, mid-March is the new early November where promoting the holiday season is concerned!š
I think "Halt and Catch Fire" did a great job of using music to mark what chronological era each episodes was happening in.
P. S. I did not like the Chris Elliot show. I wanted to. I tried. but no...
I still haven't watched "Halt and Catch Fire" -- and planned to do so during the writer's strike when fewer new shows were airing. But then life and Substack ruined those plans! I've got to readjust my priorities.
Your comment about "Get a Life" perfectly illustrates my point about love/hate...Britta commented on her love for it!