Why? Because it was the coming of age of the young impressionable baby boom generation. Our parents’ generation had traded one cold war in Korea for another in the jungles of Viet Nam, but did we know? Heck no, we were in front of the tube soaking up the coolest shows on the air. The list starts in ascending order (the better to build suspense my dear) with:
#5 The Peter Gunn Theme
Now I know that most of us were too young to really know what was going on with Craig Stevens’ character, but we knew he was cool. The music was among the coolest of Henry Mancini’s mile long legacy, but his version was only good enough for second place in the Peter Gunn catalog. The version on the radio was by Ray Anthony and it simply smoked the Mancini take where it stood. Ray’s had the edge because it flat out rocked! Henry’s original was more interested in appealing to the jazz crowd.
#4 The Batman Theme
This was one of Neal Hefti’s best conceived scores and it gave a campy show a song that was worth waiting through the graphic sound effects just to hear it again.
#3 Theme from Route 66
Now this was a great song for a show specifically designed for baby boomers. Ah, to be young and hittin’ the road with your best buddy in a shiny new Corvette, cruising from Chicago to L.A. with this magnificent song on your radio. So what if this was Frank Sinatra’s buddy Nelson Riddle at the helm? This song captured the wind in your hair and the sense of anticipation that something exciting was just down the road.
#2 The Theme from the Avengers
The Brits got it right. This song build on John Barry’s well known James Bond theme and set the stage for the very stylish mid-60s secret agent duo of John Steed and Emma Peel. In reality the show was stylistically parked somewhere between the kitsch of Batman and the cool of Peter Gunn, but the lads among us didn’t care as long as we had the lovely Diana Rigg on screen.
#1 Mission Impossible Theme
Written by Argentinean composer Lalo Schifrin, this was the perfect musical lead in to a very exciting show that build on the secret agent/green beret best of the best scenario to give us the team of last resort. Who you gonna call when everyone else fails? Zat you Mr. Phelps? The only thing vaguely wrong with this terrific TV theme is that it’s simply too short, just over a minute.
All five of those songs are still available from any number of music services and are well worth adding to your collection, even if you’ve never seen the shows. The music stands on its own beautifully.
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