How many game shows can you think of where the "think music", or even the music from another cue, is remembered better by most people than the main theme?
The definitive example is
Jeopardy!. Few people, other than GS fans, seem to remember the theme music from the Art Fleming years. Indeed, when "Take Ten" was played as a clue on a Trebek show, none of the contestants recognized it (though granted it was not the original, probably just a MIDI arrangement). But so many people remembered the think music, that when J! was revived in 1984, they used a “jazzed up” version of it as the main theme. Ironically, they continued to use the exact same think music arrangement from the original show until 1996, I think.
One reason that think music might be remembered better is that unlike theme music, it's typically played start to finish, and without any host or announcer’s voice or audience noises. In some cases, and especially over time, viewers might remember the think music
as the show's theme; I read somewhere that was exactly why J! chose as they did.
Other game shows where I remember the think music better than the theme music:
- The Who What or Where Game - I remember hearing a complete different version of this think music at least once, mostly on acoustic guitar. Someone said that they quickly returned to the original music after enough viewers complained.
- $128,000 Question - a sort of creepy piece IMHO
- You Bet Your Life - hosted by Groucho Marx
- Sale of the Century (Jack Kelly, maybe Joe G. as well.) The “think” part wasn’t to answer a question, but to decide on a prize. The “music” was sort of a repeater: "BOONK-a-binka BOONK-a-binka..." with each BOONK being a camera cut to a different prize, cycling around the 3 (or was it 4?) prizes.
An example of a different cue taking center stage in viewer memory would be
The Dating Game. Everyone seems to remember the intro cues of “Whipped Cream” for women and “Spanish Flea” for men, both by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. What's impressive about these is the fact that they never played more than a few bars of either,
and that the host was always talking over it. Heck, a reference to the latter even made it into the second Beverly Hills Cop movie. TDG did have think music for when they decided which bachelor/ette they were going to pick, but I don’t remember that being typical “catchy” GS music, more like easy listening or background music. I’m also not sure that their think music was consistent across shows; did they once use an instrumental cover of “Michelle” by The Beatles? But again, few seem to remember the two DG themes; Chuck Barris’ in the 60s-70s, and that other jazz one used in the later ‘70s (syndicated?) run.
