Being a huge game show fan, I also happen to have been smitten with quite a bit of the theme songs that go along with these programs. I would like to tell you mostly about the ones I really like (in no particular order) and maybe a few that irritate the hell out of me. 1. The Price Is Right (1972-present): To me, this is the ultimate game show theme. Written by Edd Kalehoff, this tune is one of the first game show theme songs to use a Moog Synthesizer and and is a very intricate theme with several chord changes and not just a bouncy little tune that tells you that "hey, my show is on now!". When Bob Barker retired in 2007, Kalehoff was asked to do a rerecording of the song to 'update' it for modern audiences. He didn't update it much. Thank God! 2. Scrabble (1984-1990): This is the first game show theme that actually sounds like the 1980s! Cheesy synths and primitive drum machines are all over this one. And I wouldn't change a thing. Written and performed by Ray and Marc Ellis; otherwise known as the Ellis Brothers. 3. Match Game (1973-present): Gene Rayburn also hosted a 1960s version of the show with the same name but a slightly different format. The contestant still had to fill in the blank and match answers given by a celebrity panel, but the questions were not supposed to be silly; for example: 'The largest breed of dog is the (blank).' The phrases got more humorous as the decade passed but never as risque and double-entendre filled as the 70s version. The theme was udpated too. 1970s viewers wanted funk...and then some upbeat filled Latin music for some reason and they definitely got both! This score was written by Ken Bichel and is still used on the current version hosted by Alec Baldwin. 4. Jeopardy (1984-present): I know what you're thinking; you're missing the earlier versions of the show hosted by Art James. Precisely. That's because the current day theme song called 'Think' was only used during the Final Jeopardy and other various songs (all written by creator Merv Griffin) were used for main theme music. Only when Jeopardy started its syndicated run in 1984 did Griffin decide to use it for both the main theme and Final Jeopardy music. This little ditty alone made Griffin $70 million during his lifetime! 5. To Tell The Truth (1969-1978): This version of the the long running panel-based quiz was recorded in 1969 and seemed to be aiming for a younger audience with its AM Radio pop-based theme complete with lyrics about someone's loved one who just doesn't 'know how to tell the truth.' I can't believe this didn't make the pop charts. It's a perfect combination of the era: The Association meets The 1910 Fruitgum Company!
THE WORST GAME SHOW THEME (THAT I'VE HEARD):
Chain Reaction (1980; 1986-1991): This game show, whose reboot on GSN since the mid 2000s has become a big success (with a different theme, obviously), originally was a very short lived affair that was hosted by Bill Cullen. It was revived later in the decade as a program shot on the cheap in Canada (hence the re-use of the horrible theme song) and first hosted by Canadian Blake Emmons and then by American Geoff Edwards (who subbed for Cullen for two weeks on the original version. The tune is a prime example of the worst of generic disco music that was written for many TV series of the era. The show itself has a very sold premise and has had many successful international versions produced.
