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Author Topic: Game show themes that were actually stock music.  (Read 11386 times)

PYLdude

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Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« on: September 04, 2014, 10:06:10 PM »
If I remember correctly the theme to the 1987 Blockbusters series was a piece of stock music. How many game shows over the years employed such compositions as themes? Legitimate curiosity.
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gamed121683

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2014, 10:21:05 PM »
The $10,000 Pyramid quickly comes to mind. I believe Debt, too.

TimK2003

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2014, 10:22:34 PM »
The original Jackpot! with Geoff Edwards:  "Jet Set", by Mike Vickers (one of the members of the 60's group Manfred Mann)

I believe Debt, too.

Debt indeed used stock music from Alan Ett.

Chief-O

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2014, 08:28:20 AM »
"Winning Streak": "Saturday About Town" by Barry Stoller.

If pilots count, then this could be quite an exhaustive list.
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JakeT

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2014, 09:52:05 AM »
Weren't game show themes almost entirely stock music until both Bob Cobert and Score Productions came into the picture? 

JakeT

Dbacksfan12

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2014, 04:01:03 PM »
Weren't game show themes almost entirely stock music until both Bob Cobert and Score Productions came into the picture? 
If we're talking about things such as Plink, Plank, Plunk and A "Swingin' Safari", I don't think those are "stock" pieces, are they?
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JakeT

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2014, 07:22:07 PM »
Weren't game show themes almost entirely stock music until both Bob Cobert and Score Productions came into the picture? 
If we're talking about things such as Plink, Plank, Plunk and A "Swingin' Safari", I don't think those are "stock" pieces, are they?

True enough...but also keep in mind that they were not composed/released with the thought that they'd one day become a game show theme..

JakeT

PYLdude

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #7 on: September 05, 2014, 09:52:36 PM »
Weren't game show themes almost entirely stock music until both Bob Cobert and Score Productions came into the picture? 
If we're talking about things such as Plink, Plank, Plunk and A "Swingin' Safari", I don't think those are "stock" pieces, are they?

True enough...but also keep in mind that they were not composed/released with the thought that they'd one day become a game show theme..

JakeT

Yes, but that doesn't qualify them as stock necessarily.

I'm looking for stuff that was written specifically as production music but not intended for a specifc use (kind of along the same lines as the NFL Films library).
I suppose you can still learn stuff on TLC, though it would be more in the Goofus & Gallant sense, that is (don't do what these parents did)"- Travis Eberle, 2012

“We’re game show fans. ‘Weird’ comes with the territory.” - Matt Ottinger, 2022

The Ol' Guy

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #8 on: September 05, 2014, 10:06:26 PM »
I heard bits and pieces of the theme from Every Second Counts on a comedy album by Billy Crystal, which made me wonder if that was stock/production. Would appreciate any info on that.

SuperMatch93

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #9 on: September 05, 2014, 10:14:13 PM »
Bob Barker's Truth Or Consequences used "Stop Gap", and 1952-57 episodes of What's My Line? had "Melody in Moccasins", both of which were written by Wilfred Burns.

This is a good resource when looking up the title and composer information of early TV themes.
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clemon79

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #10 on: September 05, 2014, 10:39:32 PM »
I heard bits and pieces of the theme from Every Second Counts on a comedy album by Billy Crystal, which made me wonder if that was stock/production. Would appreciate any info on that.

I have that album. (He only did "Marvelous" to my knowledge.) Which track?
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oaklandfan2kx

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #11 on: September 05, 2014, 11:02:57 PM »
Atinale Al Precio (the Mexican Version of TPiR) uses many stock music as prize cues usually shown in the Closing Credits of each episode so here's a list of these cues including "Go For The Gold" by Family Guy Composer Walter Murphy which used as a Car Cue.

clemon79

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #12 on: September 05, 2014, 11:15:26 PM »
That's a short list.
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BrandonFG

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #13 on: September 06, 2014, 12:07:09 AM »
I heard bits and pieces of the theme from Every Second Counts on a comedy album by Billy Crystal, which made me wonder if that was stock/production.
I remember reading here that it was indeed a stock piece, and I want to say Hollywood Connection's theme was as well.

As far as other shows, I'm seriously drawing a blank, but it seems that a few of Bob Stewart's NYC shows used stock music until about the mid-70s. Then he simply recycled the Shoot for the Stars theme for about another 15 years*. ;-)

Did any of Stone Stanley's mid-90s shows use stock music? I'm thinking Quicksilver and Free 4 All...I know the former used a repurposed Shop Til You Drop cue, but not sure if that was stock.

*ObTongueInCheek: Which did Bob recycle more, the SFTS theme or what would become Go's format?
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JasonA1

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Re: Game show themes that were actually stock music.
« Reply #14 on: September 06, 2014, 03:41:42 AM »
Did any of Stone Stanley's mid-90s shows use stock music?

Their music was in-house. I forgot which half of the pair it was, but one of the two names in the Stone-Stanley partnership was a composer.

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