While Christmas shopping in November or December 1985, ostensibly for the other people in my life, I came across the book above in Waldenbooks and bought it - for myself! Over the next few months I delighted no one but myself by singing the complete lyrics to many TV theme songs wildly out of tempo and horribly off-key. Then one day, the future-wife and I were looking for nothing in particular at the Wherehouse when I came across this record:
I embarrassingly borrowed the funds to buy the record from the love of my life and within a week, the tempos of my sing-alongs had improved. And some familiar melodies with some unfamiliar lyrics began appearing on the mixtapes I was making. It was making those mixtapes that me and my roommate began seeking out even more TV themes. And like the saying goes "seek and ye shall hide" or "hide and ye shall find." But first a few more things about The TV Theme Song Sing-Along Album. It apparently had been released just a few months prior according to this ad in the October 19, 1985 issue of Billboard.
See it listed down there on the bottom left? Looks like it was also available on cassette tape. Inside the album cover, between the cardboard jacket and the paper sleeve, was the following insert:
Yes, I joined TV SPOTTS. It was FREE! I have been unable to find my membership card anywhere. While I do still have the album, I no longer see the two Sing-Along books on the shelf - maybe the card was in one of them? Everybody, check your books. No luck? Well, at least we tried. Where were we? Oh, yes "seek and ye shall find".
I don't remember if it was my roommate or I who found this baby first but within a few weeks we each had our own copy of this double vinyl set, the original first pressing which featured Don Pardo. Sure, many of the themes were disappointing re-recordings but several were the authentic opening and or closing theme of their respective shows.
Then one of us found this album later in 1986 and suddenly we had 65 more themes to put on mixtapes. They were perfect space-fillers and occasionally we'd come up with what we thought was a brilliant segue between songs using a TV theme song. More re-recordings sure but also more actual themes. Shortly after this one, I came across the record below while looking through the twelve inch singles at Record Bar:
On it is a short and long version of the original "Jetsons Theme" and three versions of a TV theme megamix called "Jane, Get Me Off This Crazy Thing!"
The single doesn't appear to be on the Vinyl Wall any longer but to be honest I don't know what I would file it under so maybe I just didn't look in the right places. Almost a year passed after I bought that twelve inch and I got married after repaying the loan she had made me. With a baby on the way, TV theme songs are among the last things on my mind.
And then I laid my eyes on this bad boy, which actually contained more of my favorite TV theme songs than the previous three albums mentioned earlier COMBINED just by covering the 70's & 80's. I was able to purchase it, dub it to tape so I could listen to it in car on commute to and from work but that was pretty much it. The album sat on the shelf for nearly three years, until just before our second child was born in 1990. Which is where we will pick up our story next time.
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