We all know that game shows often imitate one another (how many Wheel clones were tried in the '80s?), but it's interesting to note that a few game show themes songs actually were imitations as well. Currently spending way too much time on my iPod is "Give it One" by Maynard Ferguson. Apparently a quite accomplished musician in his own right, Jackson's "Give it One" served as the theme song (and probably only good thing) about the Wheel of Fortune pilot in 1974. It bears a striking resemblance to the well-loved "Big Wheels" theme that Alan Thicke put out for the show's premiere the next year.

I'm guessing that as a pilot show only shown to network executives and test audiences you don't have to worry about music clearance issues. That certainly was the case with the lofty-ambition ($1,000,000 purse?) Bullseye pilot, which used Santa Esmeralda's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" as its theme. The actual theme put out by Hal Hidey was about as close as you can get without being a total ripoff. The great thing about the original track in this case is that it was used in the movie "Kill Bill" a few years ago. You can imagine my surprise as I'm about to see Uma Thurman kick some tail and it sounds like Bonus Island is about to float on by.

The Decisions, Decisions pilot in the late '70s also used the super-extended mix of Macarthur Park by Donna Summer as its theme, a song which was definitely suited for the time period and the occasion.

Anyways, getting back on topic, the full version of "Give it One" is available for free on the 'net if you Google hard enough for it. I won't link to it here as to not crash someone else's site, but it's worth the hunt.

 

posted by Brad @ 4:26 PM   0 comment(s)