#25 GET SMART
COMPOSED BY  IRVING SZATHMARY (1965)
Get Smart, the brilliant spy genre parody show from Mel Brooks that became a tremendous success in its own right (lasting 5 years) is one of the more clever shows ever written.   The Bond-style theme song was composed by little known composer, Irving Szathmary, who found the "Get Smart" theme to be his most famous work.  According to an entry in the Composer's and Lyricists Database, "Irving wrote one song that was a moderate hit, "Leave It to Love" which was based on his instrumental "Time to Dance". His specialty was what he called "symphonic swing", sometime "swingphonic swing...I first became aware of him in 1940 when he made a batch of transcriptions for Associated (Muzak). Many of them were marvelous instrumental arrangements of songs like "Mood Indigo", "Tea for Two" and "Let's Be Buddies". He also had arrangements of songs with a male vocalist (Floyd Sherman), a female vocalist (unknown) and a seven member vocal group called "The Seven Singing Serenaders".  I did a search on the Seven Singing Serenaders and found that they are all long gone, with the exception of Swingin' Pops Molaro, who runs a handkerchief shop in Universal City.  It's a damn crime that Get Smart isn't on DVD yet!  You can listen to the two version of the theme song if you CLICK HERE.

#24 THE FLINTSTONES
COMPOSED BY  HOYT S. CURTIN,
LYRICS BY WILLIAM HANNA AND JOSEPH BARBERA (1960)
The Flintstones' theme is one of those perfect rare TV themes with great lyrics and amazing music that are as cool 45 years later as the day they first appeared.  Of course, the words by Hanna and Barbera are immortal, but it's the music by Hoyt S. Curtin that's the glue that holds it all together.  Those insane horns and percussion at the end are the stuff of legend.  Curtin really knew his way around the world of cartoon theme songs, putting together the tunes to such immortal classics as Jonny Quest, Top Cat, Wally Gator, The Jetsons, Josie and The Pussycats, Superfriends, Hong Kong Phooey, and even The Smurfs.  This god of cartoon themes was even behind some of the more esoteric live action work like C.H.O.M.P.S (a flick about a cyborg dog starring Valerie Bertinelli), Kiss Meets the Phantom of The Park, and Love American Style.  Sadly Hoyt passed away in December of 2000.  CLICK HERE to marvel at the giant list of his work, and you can read a 1999 interview with him at this Jonny Quest site.  CLICK HERE to read a very early retroCRUSH article about Flintstones Mysteries.  And listen to all the different Flintstones themes if you CLICK HERE (By the way, for years I always thought the line "courtesy of Fred's two feet" was "courtesy of Fred's new Jeep").  And since we're on the subject, I'm going to digress a bit and complain about those damn Fruity Pebbles commercials with Fred and Barney.  Why was Fred such an ass about sharing his cereal with Barney?  They were best friends, next door neighbors, and even worked together, but that bastard would never give up a bite of his cereal when Barney came a knockin'.  Only when Barney dressed up like a monster or a famous rock star, would Fred be impressed enough to share. 

#23 THE BEVERLEY HILLBILLIES
COMPOSED BY PAUL HENNING (1962)
MUSIC BY LESTER FLATT and EARL SCRUGGS, VOCALS BY JERRY SCOGGINS
The Beverley Hillbillies theme has it all!  Great banjo music, a catchy tune, and a background story that tells you everything you need to know.  Just as Sherwood Schartz created both The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island shows and themes, Hillbillies creator Paul Henning penned the masterful lyrics to "The Ballad of Jed Clampett".  And getting the pedigree of bluegrass legends Flatt and Scruggs to perform the thing was the TV theme equivalent of finding The Holy Grail.  Now top it off with the gorgeous vocals of Jerry Scoggins (who just passed away last December, RIP).  According to the IMDB, Scoggins was working as a stockbroker, only singing on weekends, when he was asked to sing the theme.  Scoggins worked with Gene Autry, and was a member of The Cass County Boys.  You can see some cool pictures of him with Gene and some fun biographical information about his band if you CLICK HERE.  The theme song was a "real life" hit, and reached #42 on the charts back in 1962.  Equally cool was the fun closing theme, in which viewers were told to "have a heapin' helpin' of their hospitality", followed with the charming, "Y'all come back now, y'hear?"  If you ever watched Cartoon Planet on The Cartoon Network, the closing theme, sung by the loveably idiotic Brak, has several butchered lines from the Hillbillies closing theme as well (CLICK HERE and look for "Cartoon Planet Closing Theme")

When I was a wee lad in elementary school, we had a popular schoolyard sick parody version of the theme song that went like this...

"Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer, always gave his family head
then one day he was shooting at some food
and up from the ground came a lady in the nude
(big tits...hairy bush)
Well the next thing you know, ol' Jed's in bed
Screwin' Ellie Mae 'til his balls were turnin' red
Here comes Granny with a hickory stick
Wackin' Jethro on the dick!"

There was even some variant that went

"..and then one day he was shootin' by the falls
and up came a snake and bit him in the balls!"

My wife is insisting that it lowers the quality of the site to put this here, but when I reminded her that I once wrote about My Favorite My Little Pony Toys, she just shook her head in shame, and made me sleep on the couch.

#22 BONANZA
COMPOSED BY  JAY LIVINGSTON and RAYMOND B. EVANS (1959)
Jay Livingston's theme to Bonanza is one of the most memorable and rollicking Western themes of them all.  The composing team of Livingston and Evans (who're already on our list for the theme to Mister Ed) also composed such classic songs as "Mona Lisa" and "Que Sara Sara" together.  Bonanza is one of those timeless instrumentals, that sounds so perfect, but has a version with lyrics that ranks among the worst songs!  You haven't lived until you've heard Lorne Green sing this tune. There's even a version sung by Johnny Cash floating around there if you look hard enough.  The original pilot of the show actually had ALL the cast members singing the song, but it was quickly changed to the instrumental by the time the series actually started.  The thought of Little Joe and Hoss singing is just hilarious to me.  If anyone knows where a sucker for punishment like me can listen to it, please email me at rberry@retrocrush.com.  You can CLICK HERE to at least read how the lyric assignments were doled out.

#21 THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW
COMPOSED BY HERBERT SPENCER and EARL HAGEN (1960)
The site Classic TV Themes quotes a TV interview with The Andy Griffith Show composer Earl Hagen as saying, "I realized what the show needed was a simple tune. So I spent all of 15 minutes writing it. I called my bass player and drummer and we recorded it in a little studio on Fairfax Avenue (in Hollywood.) I whistled the tune myself..."  This hastily created theme (known as "The Fishin' Hole") is still one of the best.  You can't help but want to skip throw rocks and walk down a dusty trail with a string of fish hanging over your shoulder after listening to it.  Hagen, who's also on our list for The Dick Van Dyke Show (#67) has a ton of other great themes under his belt, as well.  For a swell look at Andy Griffith's show, visit TV Party's Multi-Page tribute.  And to listen to all the versions of the song and read the lyrics, visit SITCOMS ONLINE.

#20 SPIDER-MAN
LYRICS BY PAUL FRANCIS WEBSTER, COMPOSED BY BOB HARRIS (1967)
The defining cartoon of my childhood was Spider-Man.  Though there's been many animated versions of this great character, it's the 1966 version that I still think is the best.  Sure, the animation cut a lot of corners, but the storytelling, mood, atmosphere, and music was unlike anything else on TV.  And the song...oh the song.  The snazzy horns and drums composed by Bob Harris were present in the whole show, but it's the fantastic lyrics by Paul Francis Webster that make it one of the best cartoon songs ever written.  And do yourself a favor and find the version performed by The Ramones.  My son and I totally love rockin out to that one on long trips (much to the dismay of my Edie Brickell lovin' wife!).  Getting Webster to write this song was a super coup for the ultra-low budget cartoon, as he had several Academy Award winning songs, and was used to working with the likes of Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Dandridge, Shirley Temple, and Duke Ellington (to name just a handful).  I was driving down the street and saw this crazy homeless guy with a "Will Work For Food" sign.  I decided to take him up on his offer and brought him back to the recording studio.  He offers a unique take on the classic 60s cartoon theme that I've never heard before.  CLICK HERE for a listen.  Also, for a more in-depth look at the show, with a ton of cool pictures, you can CLICK HERE for a nice 2003 feature retroCRUSH wrote about it.

#19 SIX FEET UNDER
COMPOSED BY THOMAS NEWMAN (2001)
With all time classic film scores like American Beauty and The Shawshank Redemption on his resume, Thomas Newman has established himself as one of the more successful and original composers in the business.  Though he created the theme to the nearly forgotten (and desperately needed on DVD) series from 1978, The Paper Chase, his TV work has been pretty sparse.  But his theme for HBO's quirky and compelling Six Feet Under is incredible.  Piano keys that are smashed down as hard as they can start things off while eerie wind instruments, string pluckings, and jangly sounding things that I can't even begin to identify set the tone perfectly for this drama set in a funeral home.  With these "super acclaimed" themes to his credit, it's fun to see that Newman has also worked on some of the more down to earth 80s Genre films like Revenge of the Nerds, Girls Just Want to Have Fun: The Movie, Desperately Seeking Susan, and Real Genius.  That's akin to finding out that Hemingway used to write for Dynamte Magazine.  You can listen to a RealAudio NPR interview with Newman if you CLICK HERE.  And you can visit this Six Feet Under Fan Site to listen to the theme.

#18 THE MUNSTERS (SEASON 2)
COMPOSED BY JACK MARSHALL (1964)
While The Addams Family is easily the superior TV show, I have to give credit to second season of The Munsters for having a far more kick-ass theme song .  Though The Addams Family technically came first, as an idea, since the show was based on long established comics by Charles Addams, The Munsters actually had it's debut the very same week in 1964, getting slightly higher ratings, to boot. While Vic Mizzy's infectious organ (that phrase sounds pretty gross by itself, doesn't it) music has certainly made The Addams Family an all time great, the swingin' surf guitar and wild horn in Jack Marshall's theme to The Munsters is a blast.  It's just the kind of music you'd expect Herman Munster to be rocking out to while cruising down the highway in his Munster-mobile.  The first season's arrangement was a lot more tame, however and nowhere near as exciting as the revamped version in Season 2.  You can listen to the various Munster themes if you CLICK HERE. 

#17 THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
COMPOSED BY BARRY De VORZON and PERRY BOTKIN, JR (1971/1973)
This story behind the life of this theme song is as twisted and dramatic as the show it introduces.  The song, which came to be known as "Nadia's Theme" (more on that later) was first used on a little seen 1971 film called Bless The Beasts and Children, and was originally called "Cotton's Dream". 2 years later, it was used as the theme to The Young and The Restless soap opera and was scored by Perry Botkin, Jr. but the original composer credit to Barry DeVorzon was conveniently left off.  But it was it's use as the dramatic accompaniment music in the 1976 Olympics for gymnast Nadia Comaneci that made it more popular than ever.  So the song, which is commonly known as "Nadia's Theme" has quite a past.  When it was uber-popularized in 76, the song became a huge hit.  According to the IMDB, when the song was released as a single, they failed to credit Barry De Vorzon, which resulted in a nice $241,000 settlement.  De Vorzon's SWAT is also on our list (#41).  Co-composer Perry Botkin, Jr. is also famous for composing the themes to Mork & Mindy, The ABC Sunday Night Movie, as well as the film scores for the epic film classics Silent Night Deadly Night, and Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2. Sadly, ABC has ditched the theme altogether now (well, it'd be sad if I actually watched the damn thing).

#16 THE TWILIGHT ZONE (SEASON 2)
COMPOSED BY MARIUS CONSTANT (1960)
Though Bernard Hermann developed an eerie and haunting theme for the original Twilight Zone series, most people don't realize that the memorable eerie "Doo-de-doo-doo" version didn't come until Season 2, when the little known French composer Marius Constant came up with perhaps the most famous 4 note sequence of any song .  According to the website Classic TV Themes, the folks at CBS wanted a new theme for Season 2 because they felt Hermann's was a bit too much of a downer.  Hermann submitted 2 new ones, and the legendary Jerry Goldsmith also submitted one, but CBS music director Lud Gluskin pieced some already submitted Twilight Zone background soundtrack music bits from Marius Constant to come up with the classic version we know and love today.  JUST LISTEN TO THIS THING, it's an amazing song by any standard. Apparently, Constant just put some different sound cues together for Gluskin and was only compensated for a few hundred dollars at the time, never again seeing any royalties for the legendary tunes use in the decades to follow.  Marius died in May 2004 at the age of 79, trapped with thousands of canned food items, and nothing to open them with.  And let's not forget the badass narration by Rod Serling, too! 

#15 THE MONKEES
COMPOSED BY TOMMY BOYCE and BOBBY HART (1966)
VOCALS BY MICKEY DOLENZ and TOMMY BOYCE
I love The Monkees, and their show unleashed some of the best pop songs ever recorded on the world.  "Last Train to Clarksville", "Daydream Believer", and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" are still among my favorite songs.  The theme song does not disappoint.  I really dig the theme song, because it reaffirms that though people say they monkey around, but they're really just too busy singing to put anybody down.  If only our world leaders adopted that mindset, what a better place we'd live in.  Of course, if I had my way, green knit Mike Nesmith hats would be mandatory war for every American.  Though none of The Monkees played any of their music when they were hired, they managed to get quite proficient by the time their third album was released.  Nearly 40 years after the show debuted, it's a great slice of 60s pop culture.  It's hard to imagine that the initial pilot for the show was one of the lowest rated programs of the time, and that Mike, Mickey, Davey, and Peter were only getting $450.00 and 0% of Monkees merchandise sales when the show started.  CLICK HERE to hear some really cool old Monkees commercials, and for a ton of neat rarities on MP3, including an alternate version of their theme song, CLICK HERE.

#14 GOOD TIMES
LYRICS BY ALAN and MARILYN BERGMAN, MUSIC by DAVE GRUSIN (1974)
PERFORMED BY JIM GILSTRAP and BLINKY WILLIAMS
There's a lot of eerie similarities between Good Times and Happy Days.  Both shows came out in 1974, both of the show's titles have identical meanings, and both JJ and The Fonz became larger than life pop culture icons with a look and catchphrase that the entire country responded to.  But while Happy Days reflected white 50s culture at it's most idyllic, Good Times was one of the first all black cast shows that wasn't afraid to showcase urban life in near poverty level conditions.  And while Happy Days used Bill Haley's uber-happy "Rock Around The Clock" and ultimately it's own self-titled theme song, the intro song for Good Times was a gospel-tinted soulful masterpiece that had an honesty and even political statement quality to it that few theme songs ever had.  Jim Gilstrap, a prolific R&B studio singer provided the vocals along with the versatile and powerful female voice of Blinky Williams.  That last "Good tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmesssssss yeahhhhhhhh" still gives me chills when I hear it.  FUN FACT: The painting you see details of during the closing theme is Ernie Barnes' "Sugar Shack", which you can purchase a fine quality print of if you CLICK HERE.  Oh yeah, JJ's sister Thelma is one of the most underrated sexy ladies in television.  CLICK HERE to listen to visit Tim's TV Showcase and listen to the theme song.

#13 HAWAII FIVE-O
COMPOSED BY MORTON STEVENS (1968)
The memorable and exciting theme from Hawaii Five-O was one of this cosmic miracles that worked out perfectly with seemingly little work, and a lot of genius.  The show's creator wrote of the show on the original soundtrack LP, "In our seven-island FIVE-O state, Mort discovered for himself what I had already found: the last Eden, palm trees and skyscrapers, aloha spirit and snarling traffic jams, America's heartbeat in the Pacific, Mecca for more than two million tourists annually, and home for the polygenetic golden people of Hawaii, a vital, hip, swinging place, Polynesia now! That's what I asked Morton Stevens to put into music. The value of a great one-minute theme to any television series is inestimable and I wanted one for my then brand spanking new HAWAII FIVE-O. No ukuleles or steel guitars or falsetto singers or overused bongos, but a kind of melding of the Polynesian, the classic, the jazz and most of all the pop sound of today. HAWAII FIVE-O is all of these things and so, happily, is Morton Stevens' music, as you will discover. Aloha!"  The Five-O theme was reportedly written in just 11 minutes by Stevens, who was a veteran of TV music arrangements already with shows like Gunsmoke, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and even Gilligan's Island on his resume.  Even more interesting is the fact that the outstanding CBS SPECIAL THEME (#99 ON OUR LIST) was taken straight out of some other Morton Stevens composed music from Hawaii Five-O.  You can listen to theme if you CLICK HERE.

#12 DOCTOR WHO
COMPOSED BY RON GRANIER (1963)
Ron Granier's Doctor Who theme, nearly unchanged for 25 years that the original series ran, is one of the more trippy, exciting, and original TV tunes of them all.  You can almost imagine yourself going through time when you listen to it, just like the title character.  Back to a time when dinosaurs walked the earth.  Only in this time, something's been changed because a previous time traveler taught the dinosaurs how to spell big words and smoke cigarettes!  These super cool new dinosaurs became too cool to get killed by a meteor so now they walk the earth today.  And their dominance in spelling bees has never been equaled.  Thanks a lot, jerk! Granier is a legendary British composer who also composed the hip TV theme for The Prisoner.  CLICK HERE to listen to the Doctor Who theme song, and CLICK HERE to visit BBC's official Doctor Who site.  The folks behind the goofy Brit group, The KLF (as "The Timelords"), put a fun remix of the theme together with Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2" that worked rather seamlessly called "Doctorin' The Tardis" (you can listen to some samples of it HERE).

#11 ABC'S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS
COMPOSED BY CHARLES FOX (1966)
This theme is exciting and dramatic.  The orchestral music with full of energy that's as good as the theme for The Olympics or the immortal 20th Century Fox beginning, in my opinion.  By itself, it's legendary enough, but when you add sportscaster Jim McKay's narration to the breathtaking accompanying footage during the show's opening, it's one of the best beginnings to any show, ever!  How can you not love it when Gray talks of "the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat" as some skier tumbles down a hill into a heap of human wreckage?  ABC redid the theme with a shitty overproduced disco flavor to it in 1989, and that made me very mad, indeed.  Though Irving Robbin and Jack Shandlin composed the theme when the show was introduced in 1961, it was Charles Fox's all new masterpiece that was introduced in 1966 and is the one everyone remembers.  The versatile Fox also composed the themes to 3 other songs on our list, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and The Love Boat.  Some other Fox favorites of mine (that unfortunately didn't make The Top 100 cut) include The Bugaloos, Love American Style, and Wonder Woman.  He's made some spectacularly cool and trashy genre film soundtracks as well, with scoring work on Barbarella, The Green Slime, Strange Brew, and one of my all time favorites, Scot Baio's Zapped! You can CLICK HERE to read a swell Charles Fox biography, and CLICK HERE to listen to a Real Audio version the Wide World theme (sans narration).

#10 ALL IN THE FAMILY
COMPOSED BY CHARLES STROUSE (1971)
The pilot for All In the Family was originally titled Those Were The Days, but when a song by Mary Hopkin became a hit at the same time, it was renamed.  Lucky for all of us, they kept the wonderful theme song, performed memorably by the clunky voice of Carroll O'Conner and the fingernails on blackboard shrieking of Jean Stapleton.  It's easily the worst sounding best TV theme of them all, and that's part of the charm.  When Jean screams, "And you know who you were then!", you can feel the fillings inside of your teeth rattle with pleasure.  And I love the utter disgust that Archie sings the line "Didn't need no welfare state" line.  To have the characters of the show, just sitting down at the piano and singing the theme song worked wonderfully for this show.  It's not a slick performance, but it's one of the most charming TV themes ever recorded.  And it fits in perfectly for the Archie Bunker's dream world of how things used to be.  There's even a longer version of the song that was recorded for an All In The Family LP, that has extra lyrics longing for the days when "Freaks lived in a circus tent" (which I mistakenly misheard as "Greeks" and with Archie being so racist, it wasn't hard to believe). You can hear all the versions of this masterpiece, including the great closing piano theme if you CLICK HERE and scroll down to the THEME SONGS section.  Charles Strouse composed the song, and you may know him from some even more legendary tunes like "Put On A Happy Face", and a little ditty called "Tomorrow" from the Annie musical.  He's a 3 time Tony award winner who turns 77 this year.  He apparently still gives lectures about the music business, so keep an eye open for the lad.

#9 FAT ALBERT AND THE COSBY KIDS
COMPOSED BY HERBIE HANCOCK (1972)
PERFORMED BY MICHAEL GRAY (FAT ALBERT), KIM CARNES and MICHAEL FOURNIER
The infectious theme to Fat Albert makes good on it's promise that you're "Gonna  Have A Good Time!" It's such a great happy song with a funky greatness that no other cartoon theme has ever achieved.  The theme was composed by jazz/funk legend Herbie Hancock, who was fresh off a spell of working for Miles Davis, and was hired by Cosby to create music for the new cartoon (Record executives were so impressed with Hancock's work, that they funded a new album called "Fat Albert Rotunda" which centered around the style of music Hancock did for the toon).  For the longest time, I thought that P-Funk All-Star Bootsy Collins sang the theme, but I've found several sources (that I still have trouble believing) that Michael Gray was the singing voice for the theme, who is also known for playing Billy Batson in the live action Shazam! show from the 70s.  Even more weird than that, is Kim "Bette Davis Eyes" Carnes provides the female vocals in the theme.   Fellow Fat Albert fan Steve from THE SNEEZE says, "Bill Cosby would always end the song with "If you're not careful, you may learn something before it's done." But no one ever learned that calling him Fat Albert to his face might hurt his feelings. Poor tubby bastard!" TV PARTY has a great look at the entire history of the show if you CLICK HERE.  And if you wanna have a good time, CLICK HERE to listen to the theme.  You just might learn something!

#8 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS
COMPOSED BY MARK HARRISON (1999)
PERFORMED BY PAINTY THE PIRATE (PAT PINNEY)
When I first heard about Spongebob Squarepants, I was watching an entertainment show that had Jeri Ryan (Seven of 9, from Star Trek Voyager) expressing her love for the theme song.  When I finally saw the show, I was not disappointed. Though it's less than 5 years old, the theme to Spongebob Squarepants is so damn good, it's an instant timeless classic.  For some reason, the planets aligned perfectly to give this amazing piece of work EVERYTHING a good theme song needs: a catchy set of lyrics, accordion music, a singing pirate, and a nose flute.  How could you not love a theme song that asks you to "hop on the deck and flop like a fish?"  The vocals by Painty The Pirate are the stuff of legend.  One only wonders how much better the theme to Perfect Strangers would have been had they let Painty rock the microphone.  Though Spongebob's voice, Tom Kenny, does the voice of Patches the Pirate, it's Pat Pinney who actually gives Painty the Pirate his singing voice. Avril Lavigne completely BUTCHERED the theme song in the Spongebob movie, however, and should be keelhauled for her crimes against humanity.  TRIVIA BIT:  The painting that greets you at the beginning of the Spongebob theme is painted by Calvin Liang!

#7 TWIN PEAKS
COMPOSED BY ANGELO BADALAMENTI (1990)
Dreamy, eerie, disturbing, and sad are words that best describe the haunting melody that's the theme song to David Lynch's immortal 90s defining cult classic, Twin Peaks (inhale here).  Every bit of Angelo Badalamenti's music for the show's soundtrack is incredible, from the equally spooky "Laura Palmer's Theme", to the suggestive and coy "Audrey's Theme", there's an otherworldly quality to the score that makes your hair stand on end.  For a show that has a woman that talks to a log, twitchy midgets speak in a reverse language about a chewing gum that's coming back in style, and bloody donuts, you can expect nothing less.  You can hear samples from the whole soundtrack on Amazon if you CLICK HERE.  For a really cool TWIN PEAKS site with a lot of neat info, VISIT THIS ONE.  And if you're in Seattle at the end of July, check out TWIN PEAKS FEST.  Badalamenti has worked on a ton of movies, and some of David Lynch's most memorable work including Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and Wild At Heart.  When asked by Film Score Monthly to name his favorite work, Badalamenti replied, "If you're working on a score, it's your favorite because you're inspired to create something new. But in terms of success, there's no question that it's my score for the Twin Peaks television show. It was just mind-boggling experience, because Twin Peaks put me on the map on a worldwide level. I was called on to write the "Torch Theme" for the Summer Barcelona Olympics, and I know that was mainly because of the worldwide success of Twin Peaks and its music." 

#6 STAR TREK
COMPOSED BY ALEXANDER COURAGE (1966)
The brilliant theme to the original Star Trek series still stands out today, nearly 40 years later, as one of the best theme songs of them all.  From the inspiring instrumentals, to the eerie vocals, to the intense narration by William Shatner, it's a thing of beauty.  When he exclaims, "TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE", you can't help but get excited.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry actually threw lyrics on the theme when it was first written, much to the dismay of the original composer Alex Courage.  According to the urban legend site, SNOPES "Courage created the memorable Star Trek theme, as well as a number of other key pieces of incidental music and sound effects. Once the Star Trek pilot was sold to NBC , Courage was in an enviable position: he would receive royalties every time an episode of Star Trek was run (or re-run), and even more royalties if the show lasted long enough to be sold into syndication after its network run was finished. Courage's windfall lasted only a year, until Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry suddenly laid claim to half the royalties. How? Pressured by Roddenberry, Courage had made a "handshake deal" a couple of years earlier that gave Roddenberry the option of composing lyrics for Courage's Star Trek music (and Courage signed a contract — unknowingly, he later claimed — to that effect). Roddenberry exercised that option, writing lyrics for the main theme and then asserting his right to half the performance royalties as a co-composer. It made no difference that the lyrics were not intended to be used in the show itself and had not been recorded or released. As the lyricist, Roddenberry was entitled to an equal share of the royalties, whether or not the lyrics were ever used."  Those lyrics were never used but Roddenberry ended up getting half of the royalties, anyway, and boy were they awful!