If your old enough to remember big ass tube tv’s or roof antennas dangling on the roofs of the neighborhood houses then consider this- theme songs from those TV shows can immediately bring back memories and nostalgia from your childhood or teenage life. That is pretty powerful stuff right? One of the reasons why many theme songs continue to be so memorable is because they’re truly unique, written and performed by top-notch musical talent.

But which iconic tune has had the most influence over the years?

By exploring IMDb’s 100 greatest TV theme songs, our friends at Spin Genie have revealed the composers and musicians who have accumulated the most success for their contribution to iconic TV series. Using this data we will analyze the total streams, monthly listeners, and estimated earnings in CAD dollars for the appropriate TV show theme tune.

We will also judge the TV series by reviewing IMDb ratings and Rotten Tomatoes scores, as well as the annual searches for each theme song. Sound fair? Let’s dig in.

PS If you have some spare time in between binging on your favorite TV shows, check out the latest online slots available on Spin Genie.

The most successful TV theme songs:

1. The Sopranos

Woke Up This Morning – Alabama 3

Royalty score: 8.43 out of 10

In first place is  “Woke Up This Morning”, a song by British band Alabama 3 from their 1997 album Exile on Coldharbour Lane. Best known as the opening theme song for the American television series The Sopranos. “Woke Up This Morning” has over 37.9 million streams on Spotify, with estimated earnings of $231,206, and the band has 320,321 monthly listeners. The Sopranos is one of the most influential TV dramas, smashing IMDb ratings with a score of 9.2 out of 10. On Rotten Tomatoes, the drama received a 96% audience rating and recorded 24,600 annual worldwide searches for its theme song as of July 2024.

2. Get a Life

Stand – R.E.M.

Royalty score: 7.57 out of 10

Following up in second place is “Stand”, a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from the album Green in 1989. It was used as the theme for the 1990-1992 Fox sitcom Get a Life, starring Chris Elliott. The theme song has amounted to 46.6 million Spotify streams with earnings of almost $284,100. 

Get a Life is one of the top-rated TV series on our list, recording a perfect 100% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show also performed well on IMDb, with ratings of 8.1 out of 10.

3. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

Royalty score: 7.07 out of 10

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”  rounds out the top three, heard in 1990 as the theme song for the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The lyrics were composed by rapper and sitcom star Will Smith, performing under his stage name, the Fresh Prince, with Jeffrey Townes producing the song under his stage name DJ Jazzy Jeff. Originally, composer and producer Quincy Jones pitched the song, but Smith wrote the lyrics after reading up on an episode script. Jones immediately loved it and accepted it as the theme song.

Further findings: 

• The song “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” from the sitcom of the same name is the most streamed theme song on Spotify, with a total of 123.2 million streams.
• The Sopranos achieved the best IMDb rating of 9.2 out of 10, making it the highest-reviewed TV show.
• M*A*S*H, an American war comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983, has the most-searched-for theme song with almost 200,000 people searching for it. It’s a song that was written specifically for the show by Johnny Mande and Michael Altman and is called “Suicide Is Painless”.

For the Silo, Charlotte Greaves/ Digital Loft.