THEME = TV songs: “1 Day At A Time”, “Party Of 5” & “The Partridge Family”
This week’s edition features favorites from the early 1970s, the late 1970s-early 1980s & the mid-late 1990s….
#1 “1 Day At A Time” | CBS | 12/16/1975 – 05/28/1984
For this series, “This Is It” was composed by Brill Building & Jeff Barry, performed by Polly Cutter (RCA recording artist). To my knowledge, no full-length version of this song exists. So enjoy this opening sequence, preceded by a special announcement by CBS!
FYI: this series, set in Indianapolis IN, was featured in a prior “Tuesday TV” segment. In the 1980s, it was a staple in CBS’ Sunday evening lineup, including “Archie Bunker’s Place”, “Alice” & “The Jeffersons”.
#2 “Party Of 5” | FOX | 09/12/1994 – 05/03/2000
Chances are you’ve heard the long version of this series theme, a hit single for The BoDeans. Originally released in 1993 from the band’s album ‘Go Slow Down’, it didn’t fare well. Then, after being chosen for the theme for this series & included in the 1995 film ‘Heavyweights’, the song gained popularity. Re-released as a single in 1996, the song peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart & landed at #76 on the year-end chart.
FYI: this series, too, was a previously featured “Tuesday TV” segment.
#3 “The Partridge Family” | ABC | 09/25/1970 – 03/23/1974
The show’s theme song had at least 2 incarnations. The 1st, for Season 1, featured the song “When We’re Singin’”. Then, when the new version appeared, the same tune was used with different lyrics & renamed “C’Mon Get Happy”.
FYI: this series was created for TV by Bernard Slade with Bob Claver as Executive Producer. Inspired loosely on The Cowsills (a family pop group famous in the late 1960s), the family lives in fictitious San Pueblo CA. In the unaired original pilot, the matriarch’s name is Connie, not Shirley. The Partridge Family’s sound was actually created by the Wrecking Crew, a group of hired studio musicians led by Wes Farrell. David Cassidy was allowed to join the studio ensemble as the lead singer, though he originally was going to lip sync with the rest of the cast. With the series’ success, several albums were released. Their biggest hit was 1970’s “I Think I Love You”, written by Tony Romeo (who had written several of Cowsills’ hits), which claimed #1 that December, making the family the 3rd fictitious artist to have a #1 tune (after The Chipmunks & The Archies). With over 5 million copies sold, it outsold Beatles’ “Let It Be”. A string of hits followed. The cast includes Cassidy, Shirley Jones, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Jeremy Gelbwaks, Brian Forster, Suzanne Crough, Dave Madden & Ricky Segall. Notable guest appearances include Morey Amsterdam, John Astin, Dick Clark, Howard Cosell, Jodie Foster, Arte Johnson, Harry Morgan, Richard Pryor, Larry Wilcox, Meredith Baxter, Richard Bull, Farrah Fawcett, Louis Gossett Jr, Harold Gould, Ann Jillian, Cheryl Ladd, Stuart Margolin, Richard Mulligan, Charlotte Rae, Rob Reiner & Johnny Cash.