Real Song Theme Tune: Difference between revisions
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In some cases the new version may become better-known than the original. In some rare cases it might blow the first popular version out of the water, leaving future generations to assume that the song hadn't been all that popular beforehand. See ''[[The Lone Ranger]]'' below for an example.
This trope does ''not'' cover cases where the theme music already existed, but is not well known in its own right. (Thus, the use of "As Time Goes By" in ''[[Casablanca]]'' does not count.) Most [[Anime]] have J-pop theme tunes that change every season, but that doesn't count, either - [[Anime Theme Song]] is its own trope.
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* ''Knights of the Zodiac'', the [[Bowdlerise|DiC dub]] of ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', used the Bowling for Soup cover of [[A Flock of Seagulls]] song "I Ran (So Far Away)".
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': Every episode ends with a different cover of the standard "Fly Me To The Moon"; several were performed by [[Megumi Hayashibara]], both in and out of character as Rei Ayanami.
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* ''[[Romeo X Juliet]]'' uses a Japanese translation of "You Raise Me Up" as an OP... then uses the original version in the finale.
* ''[[Texhnolyze]]'' had "Guardian Angel" by Juno reactor as its opening theme.
* Every ending theme of ''[[
* The opening theme of ''[[A Little Snow Fairy Sugar]]'' is a Japanese remake of "Sugar Baby Love," the 1974 debut single of the British band The Rubettes.
* ''[[The Legend of Black Heaven]]'' uses a shortened version of John Sykes' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIZF50kMlKc "Cautionary Warning"] both as the show's theme and as a song played by the main character...to save the universe.
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* ''[[Supernatural]]: The Animation'' uses "Carry on My Wayward Son" as its ED.
* ''[[Kamisama no Memochou]]'''s ED is Mr. Big's "Colorado Bulldog", of all things.
* The voice actors of the three female leads of [[
== Comic Books ==
* Invariably, every time [[Iron Man]]'s radio malfunctions, the song blaring out through his speakers is the Black Sabbath song of the same name.
== Film ==
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* [[Watchmen]] used Bob Dylan's 'Desolation Row' as the theme over the credits - except that [[My Chemical Romance]] covered the rather folksy lyrics as a punk song, which worked surprisingly well.
* For its opening theme tune, ''[[Dr. Strangelove|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb]]'' uses a lush arrangement of the old standard ''Try a Little Tenderness'' over B-52 aerial refueling footage, turning it into machine porn.
** Closing the film with stock footage of nuclear explosions overlaid with
* The [[Transformers Film Series|Transformers Films]] seem to have this strange obsession with Linkin Park's music and this trope was played straight with the first film and 'What I've Done'. This was subverted with the second film with 'New Divide' being recorded specifically for the film. The third film is keeping the tradition proud by having the song 'Iridescent' as its theme, but slightly re-recorded.
* [[Little Manhattan]] used ''Only The Strongest Survive'' by [[Elvis Presley]] as its opening credits song.
* ''Hatari!'' opens - after a cold opening - with Henry Mancini's arrangement of ''Just For Tonight'' by Hoagy Carmichael.
== Live-Action TV ==
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* ''Beauty and the Geek'' used [[Pet Shop Boys]]' "Opportunities ([[Refrain From Assuming|Let's Make Lots Of Money]])".
** The Australian version uses Wes Carr's cover of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?"
* ''[[Betty White
* The [[Beverly Hillbillies]] used "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" by legendary Bluegrass duo Flatt & Scruggs.{{verify}}<!-- Not that this is the song, but that it wasn't written for the show. -->
* ''[[Benny Hill|The Benny Hill Show]]'' used a version of Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax" as its closing theme.
* [[The Big Bang Theory]] uses "The History of Everything" by [[Barenaked Ladies]].{{verify}}<!-- Not that this is the song, but that it wasn't written for the show. -->
* ''[[Big Love]]'' uses the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows."
** In season 4, it was replaced with "Home" by The Engineers.
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* ''Charmed'' used Love Spit Love's version of The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?", which was first used in the movie ''The Craft'', which was thematically similar to the first few seasons.
* ''[[China Beach]]'' opens to the Diana Ross and the Supremes song, "Reflections".
* ''[[Chuck]]'' opens to an instrumental cut of "Short Skirt Long Jacket" by
* ''[[Cold Case]]'' uses E.S. Posthumus' ''Nara''.
* The US and UK versions of ''[[Coupling]]'' each used different covers of "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps". The UK original uses a version by Mari Wilson. The US remake uses a sped-up version by [[CAKE (band)|CAKE]].
* ''[[Community]]'' uses [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEGbjR1Y9Qo "At Least It Was Here" by The 88.]
*The Filipino cooking show ''Cooking with Sandy Daza'' on TV5—then known as ABC 5—used [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CVc98tKtSk "Invitations"] by the English jazz-funk band Shakatak as its theme.
* ''Cosmos'', the [[Carl Sagan]] documentary series, used ''Heaven and Hell [side 1, third movement]'' by Vangelis as its theme tune. Several other Vangelis pieces were used in the soundtrack, including "Pulstar" and "Alpha".
* ''Cover Up'', a short-lived CBS action-drama, used Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" as its theme.
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* ''[[Densha Otoko]]'': (a Japanese live-action drama) used The [[Electric Light Orchestra]]'s ''Twilight'' as its theme song.'
** This was of course a [[Shout-Out]] to the legendary "Daicon IV" con opening animation from 1984, which also used the song.
** The first episode used "Mr. Roboto" by [[Styx]].
* ''[[Dirty Jobs]]'' uses "We Care A Lot" by Faith No More; some older episodes use a [[Suspiciously Similar Song|replacement written by the show's composer]] due to rights issues, though.
* ''[[Doctor Doctor]]'' used "Good Lovin'" by the Rascals.
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* ''[[InSecurity]]'' uses "The Sun Ain't Shining No More" by [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXKEQB5Fzao The Asteroids Galaxy Tour]
* ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' used a medley of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Love in Bloom" as its opening theme, and "Hooray for Hollywood" as its closing theme.
* ''[[
* ''[[Jackass]]'': The jangly polka is "Corona" by Eighties alternative punk trio [[The Minutemen|Minutemen]]. An interesting choice, considering that it's a recording that's as old as most of the show's audience.
* ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]'' used a version of "One Of Us" that Joan Osborne specially re-recorded to fit the length and pace of the credits better.
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* FOX TV's short-lived legal procedural “Justice” used Warren Zevon's “Lawyers, Guns and Money” as its opening theme.
* ''[[Las Vegas]]'' used "A Little Less Conversation", sung by Elvis Presley
* ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' uses Ryan Star's "Brand New Day" (no relation to the [[Sting (music)|Sting]] song).
* ''[[Life Goes On]]'': "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da", a cover version sung by the cast.
* ''[[The Lone Ranger]]'': The opera ''William Tell'' reached the pinnacle of its popularity in [[The Thirties]]. Everyone had heard of it, and more importantly everyone knew the overture by heart. Unfortunately, the use of the final movement of the overture as the theme song for ''[[The Lone Ranger]]'' associated it so strongly with the Western genre that the opera basically became unstageable in America. Because of this, some might assume the song doesn't fit the trope because the opera isn't popular ''now''.
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** Originally it did, but they later changed it to a [[Suspiciously Similar Song]] version.
** A late 80s Final Jeopardy! Answer "Current sitcom whose theme is sung by Frank Sinatra" stumped all three contestants.
* ''[[Made in Canada]]'' used "Blow At High Dough" by [[The Tragically Hip]].
* ''[[MasterChef]] Australia'' uses the [[Katy Perry]] song "Hot 'N' Cold".
* ''[[Misfits]]'' uses "Echoes" by ''The Rapture''.
* ''[[Mock the Week]]'' uses a short clip of ''News Of The World'' by [[The Jam]].
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** [[The Price Is Right]]: From 1956 to 1961, they used "Sixth Finger Tune," which was taken from a stage show called "Six Fingers For A Five-Fingered Glove."
** [[Password]]: Its 1961-1963 theme was called "Holiday Jaunt" and was used as early as 1958.
** ''[[Seven Keys]]'': "Everything's Coming Up Roses."
** [[Match Game]]: From 1962 to 1967, it was "A Swingin' Safari" by Bert Kaempfert. The pilot used the Billy Vaughn arrangement.
** ''Eye Guess'': For the first two years the theme was Al Hirt's "Sugar Lips."
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* ''[[The Wonder Years]]'': The Joe Cocker version of "With a Little Help From My Friends".
* ''[[You Bet Your Life]]'' (Groucho Marx's [[Game Show]]) used an instrumental version of the song "Hello, I Must Be Going/Hurray for Captain Spalding" from the classic Marx Brothers movie ''[[Animal Crackers]]''.
* ''[[NYC 22]]'' uses [[Jay
== Professional Wrestling ==
* ''Pro Wrestling This Week'', a syndicated wrestling program in the late 1980's with Gordon Solie and Joe Pedicino, used the intro to the [[Eddie Murphy]] hit "Party All the Time" (Which was also the theme for Knoxville, TN's Continental Championship Wrestling).
** Heck, lots of local Pro Wrestling shows used well-known songs as their themes. WWE used to use [[Michael Jackson]]'s "Thriller", the Pointer Sisters' "Jump", and later Animotion's "Obsession" as themes. And Memphis' CWA Promotion used a techno version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra."
* [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] has used several "real" hard-rock and heavy-metal songs as theme tunes for their various programs, including Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" and Papa Roach's "To Be Loved". When they don't use a real song, they often use a [[Thematic Theme Tune]] recorded by a popular artist (such as Smackdown's theme, "Rise Up" recorded by Drowning Pool, and Raw's former theme, "Across the Nation" by Union Underground)
** This was pretty much the case for most wrestler's entrance themes, until the music industry started cracking down on "unauthorized use" of copyrighted music and demanding royalties. After that, in all but a few exceptions (Ex. [[Hulk Hogan]] shelled out of his own pocket for the rights to "Voodoo Child"), organizations either switched to a [[Suspiciously Similar Song]] version of songs ([[
*** The biggest exception would be [[ECW]], who continued to use real songs as entrance themes as part of their image as an "outlaw organization". Even their TNN/SpikeTV theme counted (White Zombie's "More Human Than Human").
* ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'' uses a version of "Tishomingo Blues" with rewritten lyrics. [[Popcultural Osmosis|Nobody really seems to remember the original.]]▼
** The original 1970s-80s run of the show opened with Garrison Keillor singing Hank Snow's "Hello Love", a #1 country hit in 1974.▼
* The [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC Radio]] international affairs program ''Dispatches''
* [[Rush Limbaugh]]
* [[A Christmas Story|Jean Shepherd]] opened and closed each episode of his long-running local New York radio show with "Bahn Frei" by Austrian composer Eduard Strauss.▼
* The theme song for
* ''[[The Doctor Demento Show]]'' used the 1947 jazz song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyz3g3vRb-8 "Pico & Sepulveda" by Felix Figueroa and His Orchestra] as its theme.
* ''[[As It Happens]]'' has, over the years, used and uses different versions of Moe Kuffman's "Curried Soul" as its theme.
* The Filipino Christian radio station DWXI—owned by Mike Velarde as part of his El Shaddai charismatic movement—uses the theme song from ''[[Somewhere in Time]]'' as its background music for the opening prayers on most if not all of their programmes.
==
* Both ''[[Twisted Metal]]: Black'' and ''Conflict: Vietnam'' used ''Paint it Black'' by the [[Rolling Stones]].
** The use of ''Paint it Black'' in ''Conflict: Vietnam'' might have been intentional, to promote a mood similar to and as a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[Tour Of Duty]]''.
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* Here's a somewhat obscure one: Did you know that the main theme from ''[[Frogger]]'' is the original Japanese opening theme from the anime ''[[Rascal The Raccoon]]''? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9rhPLnV8bY See for yourself here.] Naturally, this one wouldn't have been obscure to Japanese kids who watched the cartoon, but since the show's theme was changed for international release, it went completely unnoticed even in other countries where the show aired.
** Additionally, among the little jingles that play when you safely guide the frogs to their homes, three of them are snippets of other anime themes. They are "Oshiete" from Heidi, Girl of the Alps, "Hana no Ko Lunlun", from the show of the same name (split into two jingles), and "Ore wa Arthur" from Moero Arthur: Hakuba no Ouji.
* ''[[Rock
** Even more impressive was that he did this without the manual, and actually did a better job than the people who developed the program Tim used. When [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] heard it he wanted to know how it was done.
* ''[[Fat Princess]]'' has, of course, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-lot.
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** The US version of ''[[Gran Turismo]] 4'' uses a choral version of Moon Over The Castle, followed by Van Halen's "Panama". It also has a techno remix of [[Mo TC]].
** GT 3 used "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and "Again" by Lenny Kravitz for its opening and ending themes, respectively.
* ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' uses "Horst Wessel Lied", the Nazi national anthem, as its theme tune. This in part led to the game being banned in Germany for its use of [[No Swastikas|Nazi iconography]].
* ''Sled Storm'', at least the [[PS 1]] version, used Rob Zombie's "Dragula" (Hot Rod Herman remix).
* The first version of the arcade game ''[[Pengo]]'' features the late 60's-early 70's electronic instrumental "Popcorn" which was famously (though not originally) recorded by a group called "Hot Butter" in 1972. A later version used an original composed tune.
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* ''[[Jet Set Radio|Jet Set Radio Future]]'' had a remix of "Concept of Love" by Hideki Naganuma, as well as a soundtrack mostly comprised of remixes from the first game.
* Primal for the Playstation2 uses 16Volt's And I Go for the theme music, along with instrumental versions and edits of other 16Volt songs for the game's soundtrack.
* ''Inverted'' in the case of ''[[Silent Hill 2]]''. One of the songs from the game, "Promise (Reprise)" was used by the Philadelphia Eagles' [https://web.archive.org/web/20101125134511/http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/multimedia/index.asp?mm_file_id=9797&play_clip=y splash page] on their official website.
* The original ''Mario Bros.'' used the first phrase of Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" for its game start jingle.
* ''Spy Hunter'' had the theme from "Peter Gunn" as its theme, which was then updated into "The Spy Hunter Theme" by Saliva for the PS2/XBOX installment.
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* ''Xenon 2'' for the [[Atari ST]] and [[Amiga]] has "Bomb the Bass" by Megablast as its title theme.
* ''[[Hatoful Boyfriend]]'' uses Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" as Shuu's character theme.
* The title screen music of ''[[Rockman 6: Unique Harassment]]'' is a chiptune remix of Nona Reeves's "Love Together" from the ''[[Parappa the Rapper]] anime''
▲== Web Originals ==
* [[The Twilight Chronicles]] uses Ke$ha's "We R Who We R". Episode 7 had a special opening credits montage consisting of:
** "Yes" by [[LMFAO]] (Jacob)
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*** The Big Box - ''[[Automan]]''
*** Brad Tries... - ''[[Newhart]]''
*** ''[[
*** Brad and Jerrid - Bay City Blues, another extremely obscure one.
** Chad Rocco uses the famous remix of "[[Elvis Presley|Little Less Conversation]]" for his [[Familiar Faces]] show.
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* Kit Harrison's [[MachineCAST]] starts with Pendulum's "Showdown" and ends with "The Other Side".
* ''[[Two Best Friends Play]]'' uses "Green Greens" from ''[[Kirby]]'', but with their own lyrics on top of it.
== Western Animation ==
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* ''[[Transformers]]: [[Beast Machines]]'' used the techno song "Phat Planet" for its theme, spiced up with animal noises. The music in the series itself modeled itself off the theme.
* ''[[Mission Hill]]'' uses an instrumental version of Cake's "Italian Leather Sofa".
* ''[[
* G4's ''[[Code Monkeys]]'' uses [[Jonathan Coulton]]'s song "Code Monkey", one of his better-known works.
* The French cartoon ''[[A Kind of Magic]]'' uses the [[Queen]] song of the same name.
* ''[[Fillmore!]]'' uses the instrumental opening to "Das Uber Tuber" by Ookla the Mok.
* In 1985, [[DiC Entertainment]] created an animated show called ''[[Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling]]'' which was based on the WWE (then known as the WWF) superstars of the era. The theme song was a Bonnie Tyler song called "Ravishing", however, this is a subversion of the trope since it doesn't use the actual song proper (it doesn't even feature any of the lyrics), just various musical sections of the song as an instrumental with occasional chants of "Hulk! Hulk!".
* ''[[Finding Nemo]]'' features a Robbie Williams cover of Bobby Darin's "Beyond The Sea" (originally Charles Trenet's French-language "La Mer") during the closing credits.
* ''[[Father of the Pride]]'' opens with John Goodman's rendition of [[Elvis Presley]]'s "Viva las Vegas".
* The ''[[Totally Spies!]]'' theme uses the tune of Moonbaby's "Here We Go" with [[Expository Theme Tune]] lyrics.
* ''[[The Beatles (animation)|The Beatles]]'' cartoon used real Beatles songs throughout the series, including the title sequences. "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Help!" were both used as theme songs, but the one that seems to be the best remembered is "And Your Bird Can Sing," which was used during the last season.
* The ''[[Back to The Future (cartoon)|Back to The Future]]'' cartoon used "Back in Time" by [[Huey Lewis and the News]] (which also appeared in the first movie).
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* Though it's best known as the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' theme, "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" was originally a #1 hit in 1937.
▲== Other ==
▲* ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'' uses a version of "Tishomingo Blues" with rewritten lyrics. [[Popcultural Osmosis|Nobody really seems to remember the original.]]
▲** The original 1970s-80s run of the show opened with Garrison Keillor singing Hank Snow's "Hello Love", a #1 country hit in 1974.
▲* The CBC Radio international affairs program ''Dispatches'' uses "What It Is" by Mark Knopfler, which this troper is now unable to hear without superimposing the comforting yet authoritative voice of Rick MacInnes-Rae.
▲* [[Rush Limbaugh]] uses the instrumental parts of "My City Was Gone" by The Pretenders as his theme.
▲* [[A Christmas Story|Jean Shepherd]] opened and closed each episode of his long-running local New York radio show with "Bahn Frei" by Austrian composer Eduard Strauss.
▲* The theme song for most ''[[Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy]]'' media is "Journey of the Sorcerer" by [[Eagles|The Eagles]]. It appeared as the opening theme for the television and radio programs and appears in the scene introducing the titular guide in the 2005 film adaptation.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Theme Tune]]
[[Category:Shout-Outs Index]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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