Recently, I came across a Watch Mojo list of the the Top 30 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. While I agreed with some of them, many I did not. So I decided to make my own list. As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t go with the Top 30. There were too many great themes that fell in the 50-31 range. That being said, I decided to count down my Top 50 Greatest TV Themes of All Time.
When I get to #30, I will post my #30 along with the Watch Mojo #30, and so on. For now, sit back and enjoy 20 themes that “bubbled under” the Top 30.
It was on this day in 1964 that the Munsters premiered on TV. It would have been neat if that was this week’s featured theme, but it isn’t. It’s a bit higher up my list. It didn’t make the Watch Mojo list.
Last week, #50 was Hogan’s Heroes. Now let’s move up the list.
Coming in at #49 on my list – one of my “go-to” karaoke songs – Secret Agent Man from Johnny Rivers. It was the theme for a TV series called Secret Agent, starring Patrick McGoohan (who would play a great murderer on Columbo a few times). Unlike many TV themes, the song held up on its own with a distinctive dueling guitar sound.
According to songfacts.com, this is an example of what many called “Spy” music. The sound implied action and was associated with James Bond movies and other spy movies of the era.
Songfacts shares the story of writing the song: P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who at the time were just starting the band The Grass Roots, wrote this song. Secret Agent was a US adaptation of a hit show in England called Dangerman, and CBS needed a 15-second theme to replace the British version. Sloan wrote of the song (from his website): “Somebody thought I should do a full length instrumental of the song. So I did. Meanwhile the song was picked by CBS and Johnny Rivers recorded the quick 15-second song for the TV show. The Ventures, the genius guitar instrumental group, heard the demo and recorded and released the song way before Rivers even had a finished song. The publishers asked me to finish the song, Rivers recorded it, not one of his favorite songs back then, but he’s happier with it now.”
P.F. Sloan wrote the riff for this song first, then came up with the lyric that went, “Look out Danger Man…” When the title of the show was changed to Secret Agent, he says it was a breakthrough. “That changed everything,” he told us. “The lyric just came together in no time at all. It just worked immediately.”
The story goes that Johnny Rivers didn’t like this song, and was content to record just the quick TV version until The Ventures charted with it. Both acts recorded for subsidiaries of Liberty Records, and the label was able to convince Rivers to record it. The fact that it was a Top five record, probably made him a bit happier that he recorded it.
In a 2014 songfacts.com interview, P.F. Sloanc said that Rivers had clearly embraced the song. “I saw him about two months ago and I’ve got to say he did an absolutely killer version,” he said. “Johnny must have sang that song half a million times, and he still sings it with so much gusto, and the audience goes nuts. That’s something great to see.”
The Ventures instrumental version peaked at #54 US on March 26, 1966. Rivers’ version hit (#3) its peak on April 23. His rendition is substantially longer, running 3:03 vs. 2:17. The Johnny Rivers version is SO much better, so I will only feature his version.
Next week, at #48 a them I chose because I love the simplicity of the guitar part. It’s a show about two brothers, and that’s my last tease…. see you next Thursday with the tune.
