Since the beginning, kids shows have been a staple of PBS programming. If you grew up watching them, you know full well how catchy the theme songs to most kids shows are. And these are theme songs that still resonate decades after you watched them as a kid. That’s why I put together MY TOP FIVE in the following category: KIDS SHOW THEME SONGS.
5. The Electric Company – “HEY, YOU GUYS!!!!” I’m talking about the 1970s version here (nothing against the newer one). It’s groovy and poppy and so energetic (befitting, of course, its source).
4. Wishbone – He’s the little dog with the big imagination and he’s got a great theme. What’s the story? The story is I’ll find myself singing this cute, catchy ditty without prompting.
3. Bill Nye The Science Guy – If you know that science rules, you’ve probably caught the Science Guy in action back in the 1990s. That electropop theme almost seems like a dance remix of another theme, which is pretty cool. And though it hasn’t been necessary yet, I am ever ready to chant “Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!” at the drop of a hat.
2. Reading Rainbow – LeVar Burton helped kids learn about the joys of reading but who doesn’t go bonkers for that theme song? I guarantee you that if you belt out “Butterfly in the sky! I can go twice as high!” in any public place, you’ll get dozens of folks singing along with you. But you don’t have to take my word for it.
1. Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego? – Okay, if you told me I’d fall in love with a doo wop infused a cappella pop number about geography, I’d have called you crazy. But fall in love I did with Rockapella’s Carmen Sandiego theme about the villainous vixen’s global crime spree. And with lyrics like “She put the Miss in misdemeanor when she stole the beans from Lima” what’s not to love? “Do it, Rockapella!”
Keep in mind that all of these shows aired on PBS NC at some time and I’m basing this list solely on the theme song alone. These are simply my favorites – not the best or most popular in any fashion – and they represent only my personal opinion. This list is by no means definitive; merely a starting point for a discussion all your own.
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