Can you match the TV show to its '80s theme song?

Estimated Completion Time
5 min
Can you match the TV show to its '80s theme song?
Image: ABC

About This Quiz

We all know some theme songs so well we start to sing them as soon as we hear the opening lyrics. (And sometimes, the song turns out to be more memorable than the show.) See if you can guess which theme song and which TV series go together.
"Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name ... " is from the theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" -- and what show?
"Cheers"
"Family Ties"
"Frasier"
"Night Court"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came ... In 1983, composer Gary Portnoy's song. "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," the theme song to the TV sitcom "Cheers," peaked at No. 28 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

"Love, exciting and new, come aboard, we're expecting you ... " begins the theme to which series aboard the cruise ship Pacific Princess?
"Charlie's Angels"
"Fantasy Island"
"The Love Boat"
"Miami Vice"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Set a course for adventure ... The "Theme From Love Boat" was performed by Jack Jones and written by Charles Fox and Paul Williams. And it was the opening song of "The Love Boat" from 1977 until 1986 (for the final season, it was replaced by Dionne Warwick's version). In 1980, the theme song peaked at No. 37 on the Adult Contemporary charts.

Which is the theme song Waylon Jennings wrote and performed for "The Dukes of Hazzard"?
"All My Rowdy Friends"
"Family Tradition"
"Theme From The Dukes Of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)"
"There's a Tear in My Beer"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Waylon Jennings wrote and performed the theme song, "Theme From The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)." Both the show and the song were a hit, and "Good Ol' Boys" peaked at No. 21 on the Hot 100 in 1980.

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"Some walk by night, some fly by day ..." begins the opening theme song to what private investigator series, starring Cybill Shepherd and a new-to-acting Bruce Willis?
"Cagney & Lacey"
"Charlie's Angels"
"Barney Miller"
"Moonlighting"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Moonlighting strangers, who just met on the way ... " sings jazz veteran Al Jarreau over the opening titles to "Moonlighting." The song, "Moonlighting (Theme)," peaked at No. 23 on the Hot 100 in 1987.

What was the theme song to the superhero-themed TV show "Greatest American Hero," which premiered in 1981?
"The Greatest Love of All"
"Rocket Man"
"Space Oddity"
"Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not)"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Believe it or not, the "Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)" went to No. 2 on the Hot 100 charts in 1981. Sung by Joey Scarbury, the theme song to ABC's "Greatest American Hero" was co-written by popular TV show composer Mike Post.

The theme song to this TV series about crime fighter Michael and his intelligent car, KITT, was sampled by Busta Rhymes in 1998?
"Hunter"
"Knight Rider"
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King"
"Starsky & Hutch"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was the theme song to the crime-fighting show "Knight Rider" -- starring David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight and his intelligent car, KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) -- you'll hear sampled in Busta Rhymes' song "Fire It Up. "Knight Rider" was originally broadcast on NBC from 1982 to 1986, more than a decade before the sample.

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What is the name of the song musician Jan Hammer composed for the '80s show, "Miami Vice"?
"You Belong to the City"
"Smuggler's Blues"
"Miami Vice Theme"
"In the Air Tonight"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Composer Jan Hammer scored "Miami Vice" from its premiere in late 1984 until he left in 1988 (the show continued until 1990). And that included writing the show's theme song, "Miami Vice Theme," which spent a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Pop album charts in November 1985. In 1986, it went on to win two Grammy Awards, for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Instrumental Composition.

Did "The Theme From Hill Street Blues" have lyrics?
yes, don't all TV theme songs have lyrics?
yes, but only in the first season
yes, but only in the final season
no, there are no lyrics
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Popular television songwriter Mike Post composed "The Theme From Hill Street Blues," which went on to peak at No. 10 on the Hot 100 charts in 1981. That same year, it won the Best Instrumental Composition Grammy -- "instrumental," meaning it didn't have lyrics.

Which '80s TV series, the movie it's based on and its theme song all have the same name?
"Fame"
"Flashdance... What a Feeling"
"Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
"Holding Out For A Hero"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Fame," performed by Irene Cara, is the theme song to both "Fame" the movie and "Fame" the TV show. In 1980, it won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as a Golden Globe.

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What series about a pair of brothers, Rick and A.J., who run a detective agency used a song by the Thrasher Brothers as its opening song?
"Miss Marple"
"Monk"
"Murder, She Wrote"
"Simon & Simon"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When "Simon & Simon" premiered, its opening theme song was "Best of Friends" by the Thrasher Brothers. But after the first season, it was replaced with a new theme, by Barry De Vorzon.

What radio station was "living on the air in Cincinnati"?
"Homefront"
"NewsRadio"
"Northern Exposure"
"WKRP in Cincinnati"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"WKRP" aired in part in the '70s and in part in the '80s, but it left us humming its theme song ever since. In fact, the "WKRP in Cincinnati" theme, by Steve Carlisle, peaked at No. 65 on the Hot 100 charts in 1981.

What's the opening lyric to the opening theme song to "Dynasty"?
"Come aboard, we're expecting you ... "
"Like sands through the hourglass ... "
"My dear guests! I am Mr. Roarke, your host."
it didn't have lyrics
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Because this was an instrumental song, there were no lyrics. The sweeping orchestral theme song to "Dynasty" not only broke into the Hot 100, it hit No. 18 on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1982. Maybe blame the shoulder pads?

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Award-winning composer Bill Conti, who wrote the theme song to "Rocky" and "For Your Eyes Only," also wrote the opening title music to which prime time soap opera?
"Berrenger's"
"Falcon Crest"
"Flamingo Road"
"Santa Barbara"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bill Conti, who composed the theme, is an award-winning American composer and conductor who gave us the theme songs to "Falcon Crest" and "Dynasty," as well as to popular movie title songs "For Your Eyes Only," the "Rocky" series among many others.

What song, sung by early-80s New Wave band The Waitresses, was the theme to '80s comedy "Square Pegs"?
"I Don't Like Mondays"
"Kids in America"
"Square Pegs"
"That's Good"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The TV show "Square Pegs," starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Linker as high school best friends Patty Greene and Lauren Hutchinson, was on for just 20 episodes. Its theme song, also called "Square Pegs," was performed by The Waitresses.

Which is the correct way to complete the lyric to this animated '80s staple? "Feel the magic. Hear the roar. ____ are loose!"
"The Care Bears"
"The Jetsons"
"Thundercats"
"The Transformers"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Thunder, thunder, thundercats ... ho!" That's right, it's "Thundercats." Between 1985 and 1989, '80s kids had 130 episodes of fighting humanoid cats.

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What sitcom had the theme song, "Without Us," which ended with the line, "Sha-la-la-la"?
"Family Ties"
"Punky Brewster"
"Silver Spoons"
"The Wonder Years"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

During the first season of "Family Ties" in 1982, its theme song, "Without Us," was performed by Dennis Tufano and Mindy Sterling. However, the song used for the remaining six seasons was performed by Deniece Williams and Johnny Mathis. "What would we do baby, without us? Sha la la la."

In 1989, award-winning composer John Colby wrote six notes that went, "DaDaDa DaDaDa." What sports show theme song did that become an iconic melody for?
ABC's "Wide World of Sports"
CBS' "CBS Sports Spectacular"
ESPN's "SportsCenter"
NBC's "Friday Night Lights"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Between 1989 when it was written until 2016 when it was replaced by a theme song composed by hip-hop artist Lecrae, John Colby's six-note melody, "DaDaDa DaDaDa," was one of the most recognizable opening songs on television.

The opening theme song to the TV sitcom "Growing Pains" charted in 1989. What's the song title?
"As Long as We Got Each Other"
"Brand New Life"
"Everywhere You Look"
"Thank You for Being a Friend"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"As Long as We Got Each Other," the theme song to "Growing Pains," peaked at No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1989.

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The opening animation sequence to "You Can't Do That on Television" was set to what song?
"The William Tell Overture"
"Play That Funky Music"
"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)"
"Flight of the Bumblebee"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The opening animation sequence, "The Children's Television Sausage Factory," was set in motion to Rossini's "William Tell Overture," although not like you'd heard before. It was performed in a Dixieland jazz arrangement by The National Press Club and Allied Workers Jazz Band.

Seven versions of the theme music, "Kiss Me," were used over the course of what series?
"7th Heaven"
"A Different World"
"ALF"
"The Cosby Show"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There were seven versions of "Kiss Me," the theme song to "The Cosby Show," which aired from 1984 to 1992. For Season 4, the song was performed by Bobby McFerrin.

Which is the opening song to "The Golden Girls'" spinoff, "Empty Nest"?
"At This Moment"
"Life Goes On"
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"
"That's What Friends Are For"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was "Empty Nest," the spinoff of "The Golden Girls" that used Billy Vera's "Life Goes On" as its theme song. Vera's most successful single of the '80s, though, didn't appear in "Empty Nest." It's the one '80s kids will all know him for: "At This Moment," used when Alex and Ellen break up on "Family Ties."

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For which show did Cyndi Lauper sing the theme song, although she didn't use her name when she did it?
"Care Bears Family"
"Pee-wee's Playhouse"
"Sesame Street
"Snorks"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

That's Cyndi Lauper, not "Ellen Shaw," on the theme song to "Pee-wee's Playhouse." Lauper used the pseudonym because she had an album coming out, she explains in her autobiography. The opening and closing themes were also composed by another well-known '80s musician, Mark Mothersbaugh, formerly of the band Devo.

What Billy Idol song was the opening theme music to the "21 Jump Street" spinoff "Booker"?
"Blue Highway"
"Hot in the City"
"Mony Mony"
"Rebel Yell"
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Wrong Answer

The crime drama "Booker," starring Richard Grieco, was a spinoff of the series "21 Jump Street." It only ran from September 1989 to May 1990 before it was canceled, but it used the Billy Idol song "Hot in the City" as its opening theme music. "Hot in the City" peaked at No. 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.

Which chart-topping Rolling Stones' song was used as the opening theme to the Vietnam drama "Tour of Duty"?
"Paint It Black"
"Satisfaction"
"Sympathy for the Devil"
"Time Is on My Side"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Based on events of the Vietnam war, "Tour of Duty" told the story of an Army platoon serving in the field. It used "Paint It Black" by the Stones as its theme song for the entire series, 1987 to 1990.

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What funkadelic star wrote, "You're Thinking Right," the theme song to "The Tracey Ullman Show"?
George Clinton
Prince
Rick James
Sheila E.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Tracey Ullman Show" featured choreography by Paula Abdul (who hadn't yet had her own singing success), occasional shorts of a new animated cartoon about the Simpson family and a theme song that was written and performed by Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton.

What law series had two opening theme song versions, one for lighthearted episodes and one for shows with serious storylines?
"Ally McBeal"
"L.A. Law"
"Law and Order"
"Matlock"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"L.A. Law's" theme song, which was performed by award-winning American saxophonist David Sanborn, charted in 1988, peaking at No. 13 on the Adult Contemporary charts. There were two versions that set the tone of the episode, one more lighthearted than the other.

The opening theme to what crime drama was "Theme for Laura," by Henry Mancini, for the first season, but changed to another Mancini song in succeeding seasons?
"Cagney and Lacey"
"Magnum P.I."
"Hart to Hart"
"Remington Steele"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When "Remington Steele" premiered in 1982, its opening theme was Henry Mancini's "Theme for Laura" (in reference to the main character, Laura Holt). But it was replaced in subsequent seasons with Mancini's song "Remington Steele."

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The opening credits to what series show Tom Selleck investigating crime on Oahu, Hawaii, to a brass-driven jazzy theme song?
"Hardcastle and McCormick"
"Jack and the Fatman"
"Magnum P.I."
"T.J. Hooker"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Not only did the opening song to this crime series peak at No. 25 on the Hot 100 in 1982, it was used in a successful Maybelline mascara commercial in 2010.

Danny Elfman collaborated with Tim Burton before he composed the theme song to which long-running TV show?
"Dick Tracy"
"Justice League"
"Scrooged"
"The Simpsons"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Before you knew him as the one who often composes for Tim Burton's films, Danny Elfman was a member of the band Oingo Boingo. In 1985, Elfman scored his first film, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure." And by 1989, Elfman was composing TV theme music, as well, including the theme song to "The Simpsons" -- which has since been covered by Yo La Tengo, Sigur Ros, and others.

The theme song to which medical drama, the one that ended with that talked-about "snow globe" finale, shares the name with the show?
"Doogie Howser, M.D."
"Quincy, M.E"
"St. Elsewhere"
"Trapper John, M.D"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Award-winning composer Dave Grusin wrote the memorable theme song, "Theme From St. Elsewhere," for the medical drama. The song peaked at No. 15 on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1984. "St. Elsewhere" followed the staff of St. Eligius Hospital and ran from 1982 to 1988.

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You probably know award-winning composer John Williams best from his movie scores, but what song did he write for the 1984 Summer Olympic opening ceremonies?
"Imperial Attack"
"Olympic Fanfare and Theme"
"The Raiders March"
"Three Million Light Years from Home"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You know award-winning composer John Williams from his scores like "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" and "Jaws." "NBC Sunday Night Football"? "NBC Nightly News"? Those, too. Williams has also composed music for four Olympic Games, including the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, "The Olympic Spirit" for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, "Summon the Heroes" for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and "Call of the Champions" for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The original theme song to "Bosom Buddies," a comedy starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, was a song by which piano man?
Jackson Browne
Bruce Hornsby
Billy Joel
Elton John
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Wrong Answer

Billy Joel's "My Life" was already a hit before it was used as the theme song to "Bosom Buddies" in 1980. That wasn't Joel singing, though, and when the show went to syndication and home video release, the song was removed and replaced with one called "Shake Me Loose," performed by Stephanie Mills.

The producers of what show tried to use Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" as the opening them to the show, but the rights were too expensive?
"Barnaby Jones"
"Police Squad!"
"Sledge Hammer!"
"Spenser: For Hire"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." The police sitcom "Sledge Hammer!" aired from 1986 to 1988, and starred David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer. While producers tried to get the rights to use Peter Gabriel's hit "Sledgehammer" for the titles, it was too expensive. Instead, the theme music was composed by Danny Elfman.

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Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" was the theme song to what sitcom that followed the fictional Atlanta design firm Sugarbaker and Associates?
"Murphy Brown"
"Knots Landing"
"Designing Women"
"Dallas"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It was the mid-'80s sitcom, "Designing Women," starring Dixie Carter, Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Jean Smart and Meshach Taylor, that used Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" as its theme song. Did you know that although we all think of Charles when we think of the song, he actually isn't the composer? It was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. Ray Charles didn't record it until 1960.

Between 1988 and 1993, we got by with a little help from our friends on what sitcom?
"The A-Team"
"Full House"
"Growing Pains"
"The Wonder Years"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The title music to "The Wonder Years," a sitcom set in the 1960s, was Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help from My Friends." It was originally recorded for the Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

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