“The Playlist” Wonders How Well Do You Know Music From TV Shows?

The Emmy nominations came out a few days ago, saluting the top performers of this past season on television.  You watch your favorite shows, get wrapped up in the characters, but do you ever pay attention to the music.  This week "The Playlist" tests your knowledge with 20 hit songs that benefited from exposure from a hit TV series.

We have seen some TV theme songs over the years go on to become hit songs, and we have seen the development of soundtracks to many TV shows help produce hit songs for bands.  The Playlist managed to look at the last 30 years of TV and found 20 songs you probably know, but can you match the TV show to the hit song?

One example would by "My Life" by Billy Joel, which became the theme song to Bosom Buddies in the early 80s (remember that this is how Tom Hanks started out?)  The song was already a hit a couple of years earlier for Billy so we did not include him this week (but definitely worth mentioning).

Mike Post has been the king of TV theme songs, creating about 30 for the likes of The A-Team, NYPD Blue, and Law and Order to name a few.  His creation of the theme to Hill Street Blues became significant hit singles for Post (reaching #10 on the Billboard Top-100).  The Playlist is not using any instrumentals (sorry Mike, and apologies to Jan Hammer for the Miami Vice theme which was a #1 hit in 1985)

Enjoy this edition of The Playlist, see if you can connect the song to the TV series, don't try to cheat by searching on-line, and I'll give you the answers by Friday:

Al Jarreau -- Moonlighting (starting easy with this Top-20 hit from 1987)

Jeremy Jordan -- Right Kind of Love (got to #14 on the Billboard chart in 1993 thanks to a TV soundtrack)

Paula Cole -- I Don't Want To Wait (Top-10 smash in 1997, and if you get this one wrong I have to ask what rock were you under between 1998-2003)

A3 -- Woke Up This Morning (cracked the Billboard Top-100 in 2001, gained significant Rock radio airplay, and has ties to NJ)

Joey Scarbury -- Believe It or Not (hit #2 30 years ago, despite the fact it was the theme to a show that lasted only 2 seasons)

They Might Be Giants -- Boss of Me (the song won a Grammy in 2002 thanks to being the theme to a successful FOX series)

Billy Vera and The Beaters -- At This Moment (one moment on a successful NBC sitcom in 1985 leads to a #1 hit in 1986)

Remy Zero -- Save Me (cracked the Top-40 in 2001 thanks to a superhero)

Journey -- Don't Stop Believing (the Top-10 hit of 1981 started a TV revolution in 2009, and helped the band sell over 5 Million digital downloads!)

Gavin DeGraw -- I Don't Want to Be (before he was on Dancing With The Stars, he had a TV theme song that scored him a Top-10 single with over 1 Million copies sold in 2004)

Letters to Cleo -- Here and Now (their one hit cracked the Top-40 in 1995 with help from a FOX TV soundtrack)

Miley Cyrus -- He Could Be The One (her biggest hit by her alter-ego, hitting #10 in 2009)

Elvis Presley / JXL -- A Little Less Conversation (The King still makes hit even when he's dead, reaching #1 in 9 countries in 2002 thanks to this great re-mix and then becoming the theme to an NBC series)

Gary Portnoy -- Where Everybody Knows Your Name (one of the most known TV theme songs did not make the Top-40 on the Billboard chart until almost 2 years after the show debuted in 1982)

BoDeans -- Closer To Free (was on their 1993 album, but became a Top-20 hit in 1996 by becoming the theme to a successful FOX series)

Glen Frey -- You Belong to the City (went to #2 in 1985, and guest starred on the show the song appeared on)

Vonda Shepard -- Searching My Soul (a Top-30 hit in 1998, and was featured in the show she sang the theme for)

Red Hot Chili Peppers -- Love Rollercoaster (this cover in 1996 was featured in the movie version of the animated TV series)

Jamie Walters -- How Do You Talk to An Angel (Walters sang the #1 hit from 1992, which was from a fictional band named for the series)

The Fray -- How to Save a Life (the song spend an unbelievable 58 weeks on the Billboard Top-100, thanks in part to the TV soundtrack released in 2006)

Good Luck playing today!