Riding this week’s wave of classic TV theme songs, today’s classic song of the day is the theme from the original 1960s show, Hawaii Five-O. The “Hawaii Five-O” theme was written by Morton Stevens, although you were just as likely to remember the soundalike version recorded by the Ventures. Released as a single in September of 1968, the Ventures’ version peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Hawaii Five-O, the series, ran on the CBS television network for 12 seasons, from September 20, 1968, through April 5, 1980. At the time, it was the longest-running police drama in U.S. television history.
The series, if you recall, was based in Hawaii, the fiftieth state. (Hence the “Five-O” designation.) It starred Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, whose famous catchphrase, after they’d caught that week’s evildoers, was “Book ’em, Danno.” (Danno was Danny “Danno” Williams, played by James MacArthur.)
The Hawaii Five-O theme song was a surf-rock instrumental that started with that famous sixteenth-note drum fill. Morton Stevens, who composed a number of film scores and was, at that time, director of music for CBS’ West Coast operations, wrote the thing and used a bunch of studio musicians to make the original soundtrack recording. The Ventures also used an assortment of studio musicians to assist with their recording, with Nokie Edwards, the group’s guitarist, allegedly being taught how to play the lead guitar part by studio legend Tommy Tedesco.
Even though “Hawaii Five-O Theme” was an instrumental, that didn’t stop others from adding lyrics and still others from singing it. Notable vocal versions were recorded by both Don Ho and Sammy Davis Jr.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here are the opening and closing titles for the original Hawaii Five-O. Makes you want to grab your surf board and hit the waves, doesn’t it?
