Here's a partial list from a side bar to
this Newsweek article.
The era of great TV theme songs seems to be over. Today's shows jump into the action so viewers don't have time to channel-surf. Some ditties that made Billboard's "Hot 100" list and their top chart positions:
—
'Welcome Back, Kotter', John Sebastian, 1976; NO. 1
— 'Hawaii Five-O', The Ventures, 1969; NO. 4
— 'I'll Be There For You' ('Friends'), The Rembrandts, 1995; NO. 17
— 'Making Our Dreams Come True' ('Laverne & Shirley'), Cyndi Grecco, 1976; NO. 25
— 'Those Were The Days' ('All In The Family'), Carroll O'connor And Jean Stapleton, 1971; NO. 43
— 'WKRP In Cincinnati', Steven Carlisle, 1981; NO. 65
— 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name' ('Cheers'), Gary Portnoy And Judy Hart Angelo, 1983; NO. 83
Obviously not a complete list - Greatest American Hero hit #2 in 1981, and the themes from Miami Vice, S.W.A.T., and The Heights all hit #1, according to
this article.
And certainly some of these may have been hits before the shows, but I'm not sure.
