Some of the best TV theme songs are instrumentals. Case in point is today’s classic song of the day, the theme from The Rockford Files. Not only was “The Rockford Files” the show’s theme song, it was also released as a single by co-writer Mike Post. The single, released in May of 1975, went all the way to #10 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100; it peaked at #16 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart.
“The Rockford Files” was composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter. Messrs. Post and Carpenter together and separately composed a goodly number of memorable theme songs for television shows in the 1970s and 1980s and beyond, including The A-Team, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Blossom, The Commish, Doogie Howser, M.D., The Greatest American Hero, Hardcastle and McCormick, Hill Street Blues, Hunter, L.A. Law, Magnum, P.I., Murder One, NewsRadio, NYPD Blue, Quantum Leap, Silk Stalkings, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, Toma, The White Shadow, and Wiseguy.
Mr. Post recruited a small army of West Coast studio musicians to record the theme song. Those players included Dan Ferguson on lead guitar and dobro, Stephen Geyer on guitar, Herb Pedersen on banjo, Tommy Morgan on harmonica, Lyle Ritz on bass, Gary Coleman on percussion, and Jim Gordon on drums. Mike Post himself played the synthesizer part.
The theme from The Rockford Files went through a number of changes over the seasons. It started out with a unique combination of harmonica and Minimoog synthesizer. It later added a distinctive electric guitar solo in the middle; it’s this version that most people remember best.
The Rockford Files starred James Garner as always down on his luck private investigator Jim Rockford. The series ran for six seasons from September 13, 1974, through January 10, 1980. It remains a favorite.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s the opening sequence for season one of The Rockford Files, complete with Post and Carpenter’s theme. “This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and message. I’ll get back to you”
