Theme songs from some of the best TV shows can immediately bring back memories and nostalgia from your childhood. One of the reasons why many theme songs continue to be so memorable is because they’re truly unique, written and performed by top-notch musical talent. But which iconic tune has had the most influence over the years?
By exploring IMDb’s 100 greatest TV theme songs, we have revealed the musicians who have accumulated the most success for their contribution to iconic TV series. We will analyze the total streams, monthly listeners, and estimated earnings for the TV show theme tune.
We will also judge the TV series by reviewing IMDb ratings and Rotten Tomatoes scores, as well as the annual searches for each theme song.
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The most successful TV theme songs
1. The Sopranos
Woke Up This Morning - Alabama 3
Royalty score: 8.43 out of 10
“Woke Up This Morning” is a song by British band Alabama 3 from their 1997 album Exile on Coldharbour Lane. Best known as the opening theme song for the American television series The Sopranos, which used a shortened version of the “Chosen One Mix” of the song.
“Woke Up This Morning” has over 37.9 million streams on Spotify, with estimated earnings of $231,206, and the band has 320,321 monthly listeners.
The Sopranos is one of the most influential TV dramas, smashing IMDb ratings with a score of 9.2 out of 10. On Rotten Tomatoes, the drama received a 96% audience rating and recorded 24,600 annual worldwide searches for its theme song as of July 2024.
2. Get a Life
Stand - R.E.M.
Royalty score: 7.57 out of 10
“Stand” is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from the album Green in 1989. It was used as the theme for the 1990-1992 Fox sitcom Get a Life, starring Chris Elliott. The theme song has amounted to 46.6 million Spotify streams with earnings of almost $284,100.
Get a Life is one of the top-rated TV series on our list, recording a perfect 100% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show also performed well on IMDb, with ratings of 8.1 out of 10.
3. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Royalty score: 7.07 out of 10
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is a song by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince that was first heard in 1990 as the theme song for the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The lyrics were composed by rapper and sitcom star Will Smith, performing under his stage name, the Fresh Prince, with Jeffrey Townes producing the song under his stage name DJ Jazzy Jeff. Originally, composer and producer Quincy Jones pitched the song, but Smith wrote the lyrics after reading up on an episode script. Jones immediately loved it and accepted it as the theme song.
The catchy theme tune has grabbed the attention of millions, with 123.2 million streams. The pair has amassed 1.9 million combined monthly listeners on Spotify. The show also recorded a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The theme song with the most Spotify streams
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - 123.2 million streams
The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff duo accumulated the most Spotify streams, with over 123.2 million listeners. Lyrically, the song is a storytelling narrative describing how its lead actor was “born and raised” in West Philadelphia, but after a violent encounter, he was sent to live with family in Bel Air, Los Angeles.
Will Smith’s lead role in the sitcom propelled him to stardom, establishing him as a comedic talent. His incredible success led him to achieve numerous awards and accolades throughout his rapping, acting, and later production career.
The theme song with the highest estimated earnings
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - $751,060
The song “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” from the sitcom of the same name has had lasting success, with some deeming it one of the best theme songs ever. The rap duo created the song in 15 minutes, and it has remained popular for almost 30 years. In 2018, the British Phonographic Industry certified the song Silver for sales and streams of over 200,000, even though it wasn’t released in the UK.
The most searched TV show theme song
M*A*S*H - 195,500 annual searches
M*A*S*H is an American war comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983. It is widely regarded as one of the most popular and critically acclaimed television series ever.
The series has the most people interested in the theme song, with almost 200,000 people searching for it. It’s a song that was written specifically for the show by Johnny Mande and Michael Altman and is called "Suicide Is Painless".
The TV show with the highest IMDb ratings
The Andy Griffith Show, Get a Life, and Mister Ed
Audience score: 100%
The Andy Griffith Show first aired on CBS in 1968, starring Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor, the widowed sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, a fictional community of roughly 2,000 to 5,000 people. The series was never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings, ending its final season at number one. The only other shows to end their series at the top of the ratings are I Love Lucy (1957) and Seinfeld (1998).
Get a Life is a television sitcom broadcasted in the US from 1990 to 1992. The show stars Chris Elliott as a 30-year-old paperboy named Chris Peterson, who lives in an apartment above his parents’ garage. Despite receiving an audience score of 100% and excellent critical reviews, the show was canceled after two seasons due to its dark nature and weirdness. The sitcom gained a cult following, and after years of the show being in development, the complete series was finally released in 2012.
Mister Ed is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1966. The show’s title character is a talking horse which only talks to one person, thus causing a variety of opportunities and frustrations. All 143 episodes were filmed in black and white. Mister Ed is a light-hearted and entertaining show that was praised for being well-written and directed.
Methodology
The IMDb 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs was used to create a seed list of the most popular TV show theme songs.
Using this seed list, the number of Spotify streams for each theme song was taken. This data is correct as of 13/08/2024.
The Music Gateway Streaming Royalties Calculator was used to find the estimated earnings for each theme song. We calculated the estimated earnings in Canadian dollars.
We used Spotify to find each theme song artist’s monthly listeners. For songs with more than one artist, the monthly listeners' figures were combined. This data was collected on 13/08/2024.
Then IMDb was used to collect each TV show’s rating out of 10. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes was also taken. This data was collected on 13/08/2024.
Google Keyword Planner was used to find the global annual search volumes for each TV show using the keywords “[TV show] theme song” between August 2023 and July 2024. This data is accurate as of 13/08/2024.
The PERCENTRANK function was used on Google Sheets to give each TV show theme song a royalty score out of 10.
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