Jimmy Fallon and Will Smith Perform History of Sitcom Theme Songs
Sagaponack’s Jimmy Fallon celebrated America’s love of sitcom theme songs with the performer of one of the greatest ever—The Fresh Prince of Bel Air actor Will Smith on The Tonight Show Thursday night. The vocal duo went through the history of TV’s best sitcom jingles, from the Golden Girls to Smith’s famous tune.
They got a lot of our favorites, but they missed a few, too.
The “History of TV Theme Songs” playlist was as follows: The Golden Girls, The Jeffersons, Diff’rent Strokes, Good Times, The Andy Griffith Show, I Dream of Jeannie, Full House, The Greatest American Hero, Martin, Three’s Company, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
It was all quite fun, especially seeing Smith recall his day as The Fresh Prince with the sitcom theme’s complete lyrics followed by a a little jazzy freestyle to extend it.
We were especially happy to see Diff’rent Strokes, but the mix really could have used sitcom theme songs from The Facts of Life, Mr. Belvedere, Punky Brewster, Blossom, Friends, Cheers, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties and Seinfeld…oh wait, that’s the show that ruined this fantastic tradition.
Sorry, Jerry Seinfeld, we know you’re a Hamptonite, but that little slap-bass riff seems to have set the stage for a dark world without amazing sitcom theme songs with catchy lyrics. For shame.
Can you imagine what The Office theme would’ve been like with some hard-to-forget, cheesy lyrics?