Notablog

Song of the Day: The NBC Mystery Movie (“Main Theme”) [YouTube link], composed by the legendary Henry Mancini, opened this anthology television movie series, which ran from 1971 to 1977. Mancini had such an enormous impact on film music, but his brilliance came to the small screen as well, in…

Song of the Day: Stranger Things (“Main Theme”) [YouTube link], composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the electronic band, Survive, opens this show, which began its Netflix run in 2016. The music is an homage to the synth-heavy 1980s scores of John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, and Vangelis. The…

Song of the Day: Breaking Bad (“Crapa Pelada” aka “Testa Pelata”), based on an old Italian nursery rhyme, features the music of Gorni Kramer and the lyrics of Tata Giacobetti. The original 1936 recording (translated as “Bald Head“—a perfect metaphor for the character Walter White, portrayed by the brilliant Bryan…

Song of the Day: The Untouchables (“Main Theme”) [YouTube link], composed by the great Nelson Riddle, served as the theme for this ABC series that ran from 1959 to 1963. Based on the Eliot Ness memoir, it starred Robert Stack as Ness. I have highlighted before—and absolutely loved—the Ennio Morricone…

Song of the Day: The Love Boat (“Main Theme”), music by Charlie Fox, lyrics by Paul Williams, opened this ABC series, which ran from 1977 to 1986. They certainly chose the cream of the musical crop to sing it: a rendition by Jack Jones ran for seasons 1 thru 8…