"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale" of a time when television shows began with awesome TV Theme Songs. "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name" and sometimes you want to go back to when TV Theme songs were special. "Here's a story... of a lovely" time when TV Theme Songs served to identify, distinguish and set the stage for the television program that followed. "You take the good, take the bad, take them both and there you have" what unfortunately has become a lost artform. "Believe it or not", sadly it seems no effort or pride is taken in the TV Theme Song ever since Seinfeld proved a short synth-bass riff could be used instead. “Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!” This regular feature may not "make all our dreams come true", but it will remember some of the best TV Theme Songs from years past (with a focus on the '80s decade). "Come aboard, we're expecting you."
This time we will cover the theme song for It's Showtime at the Apollo. Filmed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, the show features live performances from both professional and up-and-coming artists as well as an infamous Amateur Night competition. It debuted in syndication in September of 1987 running a total of 22 seasons and 1,094 episodes. Sinbad became a permanent host from 1989-1991 followed by Mark Curry and Steve Harvey. Dancer Kiki Shepherd was a co-host and mainstay on the show and I always remember Sandman Sims pull the bad performers off the stage during Amateur Night. I remember it running late on Saturday nights after Saturday Night Live and I watched it quite often into the early '90s.
The theme song was composed by producer, songwriter, arranger, composer and musician Barry Fasman. In 1982, Fasman was a producer at BBC Records and produced the chart-topping album The Kids from Fame. That year he received the British Record Producer of the Year Award. Fasman's other production and writing credits include working with Johnny Mathis and 32 songs for the NBC TV show Fame. He arranged and conducted the top 10 hits "Don't Cry Out Loud" by Melissa Manchester, "It's My Turn" by Diana Ross and Air Supply's "Every Woman in the World".
Here is a promo for It's Showtime at the Apollo (15 year anniversary Best Of episodes) but you can hear the theme song playing in the background...
"Tonight from the village of Harlem in New York City, the world-famous Apollo Theater, where dreams are born and legends are made, is proud to present... It's Showtime at the Apollo!"
Hope you enjoyed tuning in for another "episode" of TV Theme Songs!