In previous years, some of the TV themes that listeners vote for on That Thing With Rich Appel’s annual “Tele-lection” have been the shows whose signature actors have passed away over the previous year. This year, it was their show-runner (even if nobody called him that at the time). Four different themes from Norman Lear’s 1970s sitcoms were major gainers, including All in the Family (26-5), The Jeffersons (37-15), Sanford & Son (RA-19), and Maude (32-23).
“That Thing,” Appel’s weekend show geared to stations playing a ‘60s/’70s-based version of Oldies, just presented its eighth-annual countdown. Among some of the other highlights outside the top 10:
- Even after Matthew Perry’s death, the Friends theme, the Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There for You” continued its downward trajectory, 7-17-24-32.
- Both The Munsters and The Addams Family got a significant lift, seemingly driven Appel says, by an uptick in first-time voters.
- Mike Post, whose TV themes made him a radio hitmaker in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, has the most themes in the countdown: Hill Street Blues (16), The Rockford Files (31), and Magnum, P.I. (34).
Here is this year’s Top 10:
| Peak | LY | TY | SHOW | SONG | ARTIST | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | Cheers | Where Everybody Knows Your Name | Gary Portnoy | 1982 |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Hawaii Five-O | Hawaii Five-O | Ventures | 1968 |
| 3 | 8 | 3 | WKRP In Cincinnati | WKRP In Cincinnati | Steve Carlisle | 1978 |
| 1 | 5 | 4 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Love Is All Around | Sonny Curtis | 1971 |
| 4 | 26 | 5 | All In The Family | Those Were the Days | Carroll O'Connor & Jean Stapleton | 1971 |
| 4 | 4 | 6 | Laverne & Shirley | Making Our Dreams Come True | Cyndi Grecco | 1976 |
| 5 | 12 | 7 | The Monkees | (Theme from) The Monkees | Monkees | 1966 |
| 8 | 15 | 8 | M*A*S*H | Suicide Is Painless | Johnny Mandel | 1972 |
| 9 | 38 | 9 | The Munsters | The Munsters' Theme | Jack Marshall | 1965 |
| 2 | 28 | 10 | The Addams Family | The Addams Family | Vic Mizzy | 1964 |
With “Tele-lection” done, voting begins for That Thing’s annual “WOW Song Countdown,” comprised largely of the “oh wow” lost hits that the title implies, but also some ‘60s and ‘70s megahits no longer typically heard on mainstream Classic Hits outlets. Votes will be solicited on-air starting this weekend, but ROR readers can get an early start on voting here.
Forget The Munsters and add the Theme From Moonlighting.