THEME = TV songs: “Reba” & “The Rockford Files”
This week’s edition features a 2000s sitcom & a 1970s drama….
#1 “Reba” | The WB & The CW | 2001-2007
Have you heard the full edition of “I’m A Survivor”!? Chances are good you might have. This single debuted 07/28/2001, spent 21 weeks on the country charts & peaked at #3; it crossed over & reached #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song was her only release in 2001, partly because she scaled back her singing career (mid 1976 to today) in favor of her acting career. She also acted in the movies ‘Tremors’ & ‘North’ as well as on Broadway in “Annie Get Your Gun”. 10 years prior to this song’s release, 7 members of her band & her tour manager were killed in a plane crash 03/16/1991, prompting the release of a dedicated album, ‘For My Broken Heart’.
The lyrics were altered & the tune was shortened for the series’ opening credits:
FYI: this series is 1 of the only series on The WB not produced by Warner Bros. Television & is 1 that made the switch to The CW, after initially being canceled with the end of The WB. Set in Houston TX, the exterior shots for Reba’s house is from 13522 Butterfly Ln, Houston TX. This show also featured Reba’s song “Walk On” & 3 un-released tunes: “Angel’s Lullaby”, “So Far Away” (Reba’s cover of Carole King’s hit) & “9 to 5” (Melissa Peterman & Reba’s cover of Dolly Parton’s hit). Originally in The WB’s Friday night lineup, this series set an all-time viewership record for any The WB Friday night program. Then, when the series made its The CW debut as the lead in to the popular & critically acclaimed “7th Heaven”, it instantly became that network’s highest-rated sitcom, even surpassing dramas ‘Supernatural’, ‘1 Tree Hill’ & ‘Veronica Mars’. The cast includes McEntire, Peterman, Christopher Rich, Joanna Garcia, Steve Howey, Scarlett Pomers & Mitch Holleman, with McEntire, Rich, Garcia & Howey appearing in every episode.
#2 “The Rockford Files” | 09/13/1974 – 01/10/1980
Have you heard the full version of this theme? You may have! Written by Mike Post & Pete Carpenter for the show, this single version was released & reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on that chart for a solid 16 weeks. In 1975, the tune won the Best Instrumental Arrangement Grammy Award.
FYI: this series, 1 of my all-time childhood favorites, was created by Roy Huggins & Stephen J Cannell. Huggins, who had created “Maverick”, which starred James Garner, wanted to recapture that same magic in a modern detective setting; so, he teamed with Cannell, who was behind such hits as “Adam-12”, “Chase” & others. Set in the Los Angeles CA area, Rockford’s trailer sat on the Pacific Coast Highway during the 1st season, then was moved to the famous 29 Cove Road, where it sat near a restaurant (The Sand Castle, now known as the Paradise Cove Beach Cafe), which was also prominently featured in other series, including an episode of “Knight Rider” (starring KITT, a 1980s Pontiac Firebird). Coincidentally, Rockford’s vehicle of choice was the 1970s gold Pontiac Firebird Esprit, with license plate 853 OKG. Each year, the show featured the newest model, until 1979. As Garner did not like the front end styling of the 1979 & newer models, the 1978 model was used for the last few seasons. One recurring show element was the “Jim Rockford Turn Around” (“J-Turn” or “Rockford”), which has since been employed as an evasive driving technique taught to Secret Service agents driving for the President Of The United States. Also unique to the show was the opening sequence, which featured a different answering machine message for each episode. This series is also credited with influencing later TV series, including “Magnum PI”, starring Tom Selleck who appeared twice on “The Rockford Files” as Lance White, who was actually referenced a few times in “Magnum”. Garner was scheduled to appear in a 7th season “Magnum” episode (in which Cannell guest starred), but the ongoing dispute between Garner & Universal kept that from happening. This series began as a 90-minute made-for-TV movie & ended on CBS with 8 reunion TV movies between 1994 & 1999. The cast includes Garner, Noah Beery Jr, Joe Santos, Stuart Margolin, Gretchen Corbett, James Luisi, Tom Atkins, Luis Delgado, Bo Hopkins, Pat Finley, Isaac Hayes, Tom Selleck, James Whitmore Jr, Dennis Dugan, Kathryn Harrold, Simon Oakland, Louis Gossett Jr, Rita Moreno & Al Stevenson.