Quiz: songs that started on TV
What do you know about theme tunes that became hits?
1. Which TV theme song became a hit for The Rembrandts in the 1990s?
A) Welcome Back – Welcome Back, Kotter
B) Making Our Dreams Come True – Laverne & Shirley
C) I’ll Be There for You – Friends
D) Those Were the Days – All in the Family
2. The theme from which TV show became a million-selling hit for Rhythm Heritage in 1976?
A) Starsky & Hutch
B) CHiPs
C) S.W.A.T.
D) Hill Street Blues
3. Which Mike Post-composed theme became a surprise radio hit in the early 1980s?
A) Theme from Magnum, P.I.
B) Theme from The Rockford Files
C) Hill Street Blues Theme
D) Theme from Miami Vice
4. What TV theme turned into a 1969 pop hit for The Cowsills?
A) The Addams Family
B) Love, American Style
C) Hair
D) Maverick
5. The theme song Believe It or Not, from The Greatest American Hero, later became a chart hit. Who was the artist?
A) Joey Scarbury
B) Christopher Cross
C) Michael McDonald
D) Kenny Loggins
Answers at end
Fun facts
Television didn’t just showcase music — it created pop stars. In the 1960s, The Monkees blurred the line between sitcom characters and pop band, launching chart-toppers including Last Train to Clarksville and I’m a Believer.
Not to be outdone, The Archies scored a No. 1 hit in 1969 with Sugar, Sugar, despite being entirely fictional. This trend continued in the early 1970s with another cartoon band, Josie and the Pussycats, releasing music into the real world.
Another live-action series, The Partridge Family, turned David Cassidy into a teen idol, with I Think I Love You topping the charts in 1970.
Answers
C) I'll Be There for You – Friends
C) S.W.A.T.
C) Hill Street Blues Theme
B) Love, American Style
A) Joey Scarbury