Top 15 Children's Television Theme Tunes From My Childhood
A television theme tune can make or break a show. A bold statement? Indeed. Accurate? Probably not. What IS certain, however, is that a theme tune can embed a show in your memory in a way that it might have done otherwise. All the shows mentioned below are children's television classics in their own right, but without a doubt you can't have a conversation about them without bringing up the theme song. In some cases, the theme tune is probably the ONLY reason you'd bring the show up.
I tried to limit this down, I really did. I originally opted for a Top 10, but there's so many classic themes from my childhood that in the end I really couldn't decide. So, to you dear reader, I present my Top 15 Children's Television Theme Tunes From My Childhood. Which, for reference, was from approximately 1986 to the year 2000. I'd moved on slightly by then. And, let's face it, children's television theme tunes just aren't the same any more.
Now, before we begin and you scroll down to check that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air won, I'm going to make a bold statement, on a par with that I made for my Top 5 Favourite Fantasy Authors Of All Time, where I excluded J.R.R. Tolkein from the list.
Ready?
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is NOT on this list, because...
*ducks to avoid collective abuse behind hurled*
WAIT!
*ducks again*
HANG ON ONE SEC-
*ducks a little too late*
JEEZ! LET ME FINISH!
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song is NOT on this list BECAUSE...I think I'm the only person in Western civilisation between the ages of 20 and 35 who doesn't know all the words. I was childminded when I was younger, a through a combination of various childminders' children not watching it, and getting home after the show had started, I just never learnt the magic words. Does it start with something like 'Now here's the story from A-Z, you wanna get with me you gotta listen carefully'? It sounds about right, but I'm really not sure. All the other shows on the list I can recite almost all the lyrics too, or do particularly awesome impressions of the guitar solo, but not Fresh Prince. So, I'm not including it really because I don't feel it would be right. It's getting a special mention because I know how legendary and classic it is, but it just doesn't have that special place in my heart like all the others.
And yes, I count it as a children's television show.
And yes, I count it as a children's television show.
Now that I've got that disclaimer out of the way, shall we begin?
15. North & South
Na na na na naaa na na na, noooooooooooooooooooooo, no sweat!
If there's any tune on this list that you aren't going to recognise, it's this one. Taken from a show about a group of people wanting to start a band (I think they worked at a leisure centre or something like that) and calling themselves North & South, this was hugely popular amongst kids in the UK for a couple of years in the mid to late nineties. It was fun, infectious and got you jumping - I think it's fair to say that this only really applied to the theme tune and not the show itself, as half the kids watching probably switched over after the credits.
14. Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chip and Dale!
Written by composer Mark Mueller (who wrote another very famous theme tune, but I'll leave that as a surprise), this has two distinct parts to it for me - firstly, a surprisingly tense and almost dark opening couple of lines which set the seen for possible danger ahead, that leads secondly into a much chirpier and upbeat chorus which leaves you in no doubt that the danger is going to get thwarted by a crime fighting group of mice. It was a classic programme in its own right when I was younger, but the theme tune helped to make it memorable. People might not remember the show itself, but sing the theme song (and mention the mouse who got drunk on cheese) and it should jog their memories.
13. Knightmare
Der! Der der! Der der, der der, der der!
Our first instrumental on the list, and proof that you don't necessarily needs lyrics to get people excited and stirred up for a kids show. It was a simple tune, but it perfectly matched the intro video of a knight attacking a castle on a jagged mountain. I'd claim it was the forerunner of Power Metal, but I'm not sure when Iced Earth released their first album. Hang on a second...
...
1985, so they just beat Knightmare to it I suppose. Still, if there was ever an award for 'Most Power Metal Children's TV Theme', Knightmare would be odds-on favourite.
12. Sweet Valley High
Look right down any crowded hall, you'll see there's a beauty standing...
Forget what you thought about the show itself, this is the quintessential example of a theme tune making a show memorable where it probably shouldn't have qualified. It's one I love to bring out when friends are round and we're having a sing-a-long session with the guitar, and my friends seem to love whenever I do it again. And that's a FACT.
It's some achievement to basically just repeat the chorus of the show over and over again while someone else wails in the background, but it's absolutely classic, and I love it.
Oh, there were blonde twins. I KNEW there was something else about it.
11. Bodger and Badger
Everybody knows, Badger loves - MASHED POTATO!'
Where to begin? Is is the kids shouting 'MASHED POTATO!'? Is is the the way 'Bodger and Badger' rolls off the tongue? Is is the 'na na na na na, na na na na na!'? All I know is that, for me, Bodger and Badger are more synonymous with mashed potato than Smash, and it's mainly because this tune pops into my head whenever I make some up.
Real mashed potato that is. None of that packet stuff. Bleugh.
10.Inspector Gadget
Der der der der der Inspector Gadget, der der der der der, der der, woo ooh!
There can't be many little riffs that are as well known as this one. Similar to Mission Impossible and James Bond, it's this very simple piece of guitar work that makes it so iconic, and it's followed by a 'Go Gadget, go!' chant that is very catchy in itself, but overshadowed by the first half of the theme. It could take you a short while to recognise some of these themes if you haven't heard them for a few years, but there's no mistaking this one, right from the opening few notes.
9.The Crystal Maze
Der der der derrrr der, der der der derrrr der, der der der derrrr der der!
Another instrumental tune here, so no lyrics to chant along too, just a classic piece of music that gets stuck in your head - if you've ever imagined yourself on an adventure in a sandy place trying to complete a quest, chances are that The Crystal Maze theme closely follows Indiana Jones. The tension builds throughout, reaching a crescendo as we picture ourselves stepping into the Crystal Dome itself to collect tickets and win the main prize.
8. Power Rangers
Go go Power Rangers!
By far the most metal song on this list, there's something incredible inspiring about the Power Rangers theme tune. It's a proper YEAH! tune, that makes you want to go out and fight evil, in the same vein as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And that refrain of Go go Power Rangers! is easily one of the most iconic chants on this list. Another one to pump your fists too.
7. Fun House
It's a real crazy show where anything will go!
Boy, when this came on you knew it was finally time to relax and enjoy yourself after school. Has a game show ever produced such an exciting and, no pun intended, fun theme? A bit wacky and a bit over the top, just like the show itself, it's the first bit that pops into my head when I think about Fun House, and that includes the twins and the go-karts, the latter of which was pretty much every child's fantasy to ride at the time. Do I 'want to play the game', it asks? Hell yeah I do.
6. Saved By The Bell
It's alright, 'cause I'm saved by the bell!
Definitely one to get you roused on a saturday morning, this is definitely a case of the theme song being much better than the actual show, and making our memories of the show seem so much better because of it. I've watched it again recently and, barring a couple of classic moments, it's generally just standard canned laughter sitcom fodder. But is that how you remember it, or do you remember it as the show that made you excited when saturday morning came around? Yeah, it's the theme song that did it. It;s just so damn cool.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Heroes in a half-shell, turtle power!
Proof that if you shout the name of the product that you're trying to sell enough times in the chorus then kids will lap it up, the theme to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is all about getting your fists pumping in the air, cheering for your favourite green mutants. It has the added bonus of introducing us to all four half-shelled heroes and explaining their back story so those who've never seen the show before can get to them quickly, which is good customer service really. It has some searing rock leads in the background to give it a sense of heroism, with the Turtles obviously on their way to the rescue yet again, and I can clearly remember singing it over and over again as a kid. At home, in the playground, back at home again - wherever it may have been, this song wasn't far from my lips.
4. Charlie Chalk
Has a funny way of walking and a wacky way of chalking!
One of the most rockin' kids tv themes of all time, with a lead guitar that plays the most delightful little riff just before the chorus comes in for the second time, the theme tune to Charlie Chalk still gets me tapping my feet. It's full of bounce, has fun lyrics and is a perfect candidate for throwing out at a party on the guitar, as everyone knows the general tune if not all the slightly random lyrics.
3. Round the Twist
Have you ever, ever felt like this?
A bizarre mashup of nursey rhymes, catchcy melodies and background 'eh-oh!' chirpings, the theme tune to Round The Twist really shouldn't work, but someone it ended up being one of the defining themes of children's television in the late 80s/early 90s. It fitted the strangeness of the show very well, matching the bizarre happenings in the main characters' lighthouse with its lyrical mashup, and the easily memorable 'Have you ever, ever felt like this?' refrain. I don't know if it ever made it big outside of Australia and the UK, but I can guarantee that there isn't any between the ages of 25 and 35 who doesn't know this, and doesn't break out into a huge grin the second they hear it played again.
2. Pokemon
Gotta catch 'em all!
Has there been a more inspiring cry ever issued than 'Gotta Catch 'Em All!'? As much 80s rock power anthem as a theme song, I watched the cartoon when caught up in the fever of the first Pokemon Red & Blue games, and to this day I can still be heard warbling out the chorus in the library before opening hours. Yep, we have noise in libraries now. Winter is coming.
The lyrics are basically a job description written out in catchy theme tune form to save on paper, and boy do I wish that was part of my job. I hear those lyrics and I just want to catch all of them, train them, and then foil Team Rocket's plans. If ever a theme tune was designed to be covered by a hard rock band playing a stadium tour, this is it.
You know those spine tingling moments you get when you're being emotionally inspired? Like when James Hetfield asks you if you're alive. Well, I get those moments when I reach the crescendo of the chorus and I've just managed to fit it in before the start of the working day. If it hadn't have been for the next entry being just the most incredible theme song that has ever been written, Pokemon could have shot to number 1.
The lyrics are basically a job description written out in catchy theme tune form to save on paper, and boy do I wish that was part of my job. I hear those lyrics and I just want to catch all of them, train them, and then foil Team Rocket's plans. If ever a theme tune was designed to be covered by a hard rock band playing a stadium tour, this is it.
You know those spine tingling moments you get when you're being emotionally inspired? Like when James Hetfield asks you if you're alive. Well, I get those moments when I reach the crescendo of the chorus and I've just managed to fit it in before the start of the working day. If it hadn't have been for the next entry being just the most incredible theme song that has ever been written, Pokemon could have shot to number 1.
1. Ducktales
Ducktales! A-woo-oo!
Ducktales! A-woo-oo!
There really only could be one winner. Is there ANYTHING as iconic in theme tune history, of ANY kind, as this chorus?
Ducktales! A-woo-oo!
You're doing it in your head now, aren't you? You're finishing the the chorus as well? You did it all out loud you say? Yeah, you probably did.
Did you know there's a special extended version with a second chorus? It has a funky instrumental bit in the middle, and after it goes up a key, it goes back down a key, just to get in another chorus, which is the best gift that has ever been given in musical form. The chorus is sung four times in this version, which makes it twice as awesome as the regular theme tune, which makes it twice as good as the best theme song of all time, which makes it the best theme song of all time squared. That's, like, classic.
Here it is in all it's glory:
The guy who wrote that piece is a legend. His name? Mark Mueller. Yep, he who wrote 'Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers'. That's a name we all should learn and worship, perhaps building statues of him out of cheese, as cheese is fairly sturdy if you use cheddar, and I'm sure building things out of cheese is an un-tapped market.
I really don't think this needs any more justification, but think about this: any time you say, or hear someone else say, anything similar to 'DuckTales', you can't help but think A-woo-oo! immediately afterwards. Now, I'll admit that I currently can't think of anything that sounds similar to 'DuckTales', except for something like 'wow, look at that duck's tail', but I know that I come across similar words and phrases several times a week. So that's certainly conclusive proof if ever it was needed.
A-woo-oo!
