Can You Match the Theme Song to the ’60s TV Show?

ENTERTAINMENT

By: Bambi Turner

6 Min Quiz

Image: CBS

About This Quiz

Do you remember which show was only supposed to feature a "three-hour tour," or which series began each episode with "The Ballad of Jed Clampett?" Know which '60s TV theme took viewers along down a set of train tracks to the junction, or introduced them to a creepy and kooky bunch of characters? If so, you might have what it takes to ace this quiz on '60s TV theme songs!

The 1960s was a pretty great decade for music. Bands like The Beatles and Rolling Stones pumped out pop and rock hits, Motown dominated R&B, and The Beach Boys were full of good vibrations. It's no surprise then that this musical genius was also prevalent within the theme songs of TV shows throughout the decade.

To understand why '60s theme songs were so memorable, however, you not only have to look at the music being made at the time but also how much the television theme song changed from the previous decade. In the '50s, show intros were much simpler. Think back to "Leave It To Beaver," or "Father Knows Best;" their theme songs were basic musical affairs with no lyrics. Sure, they were pleasant, but they didn't worm their way into your brain like many '60s themes. Some '60s TV songs were so good they topped the music charts - think "The Monkees," - or became a folk legend, like the song from "Daniel Boone."

Think you can match the song to the '60s TV series? Take out the quiz to find out!

"Five passengers set sail that day, for a three-hour tour."

A three-hour tour turned into years on a deserted island for the cast and crew of "Gilligan's Island." The Sherwood Schwartz series ran from 1964 to 1967 and featured a rag-tag group of passengers led by a Skipper and First Mate with questionable skills.

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"A horse is a horse, of course, of course/And no one can talk to a horse of course."

What other show but "Mr. Ed"could have opened with such a song? The series ran from 1958 to 1966 and featured the adventures of the poor Wilbur Post -- who just couldn't seem to convince anyone else about his horse's lingual skills.

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"He will sleep til noon but before it's dark/He'll have every picnic basket in Jellystone Park."

Poor Ranger Smith spent all his time chasing down Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo, working diligently to protect the picnic baskets of park-goers on the 1961 to 1968 cartoon series.

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"Everyone loves the king of the sea/Ever so kind and gentle is he."

Who else but Flipper could be the king of the sea? This series, which ran from 1964 to 1967, featured the adventures of a super smart dolphin and his interactions with Warden Porter Ricks and his family at a South Florida wildlife preserve.

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"Here's the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls"

That lovely lady referenced, in the theme song to "The Brady Bunch," is Carol Brady, who was raising three daughters on her own until she met husband Mike. The series about a big blended family ran from 1969 to 1974.

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"Come ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to the junction."

From 1963 to 1970, "Petticoat Junction" invited viewers to ride the train down to the Shady Rest Hotel, where Kate Bradley welcomed guests, and her three crazy daughters often ended up swimming in the local water tower.

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"Say kids, what time is it?"

Each episode of the classic kids show "Howdy Doody" -- another term for hello -- opened with host Buffalo Bob asking kids what time it was, and the kids would respond (loudly), "It's Howdy Doody Time!" The show ran from 1947 all the way to 1960, and featured a freckle-faced puppet by the name of Howdy Doody.

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"His boy Elroy/Daughter Judy/Jane -- his wife."

"The Jetsons," which ran for just one season (in its original incarnation) starting in 1962, had a pretty memorable theme song despite its lack of complicated lyrics. The tune invited viewers to "Meet George Jetson!" as he dropped the family off for school and shopping and made his way to work.

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"They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky."

Morticia and Gomez Addams raised their offbeat offspring, Wednesday and Pugsley, in a creepy old house in the 1964-1966 series "The Addams Family."

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"Let's ride, with the family down the street/Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet."

The modern Stone Age family lived in the town of Bedrock, where father Fred drove Wilma and the kids around in his foot-powered car. The series ran from 1960 to 1966, and featured the adventures of the Flintstones and their best friends, the Rubbles.

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"With an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain was he."

These lyrics come from the 1964 program "Daniel Boone," which ran until 1970 and focused on a family living off the land in 18th-century Kentucky. The program starred Fess Parker, who had previously played Davy Crockett and used that role for inspiration while playing Boone.

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"I'm so glad we had this time together/Just to have a laugh or sing a song."

These lyrics come from the closing theme of "The Carol Burnett Show." Starting with the show's premiere in 1967, Burnett closed each episode by singing this song, then tugging her ear as a secret signal to her grandmother.

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"Come and watch us sing and play/We're the young generation/And we've got something to say."

"Hey, hey, we're the Monkees!" This song, written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, opened each episode of "The Monkees," starting in 1966, and a full-length version of the song was featured on a Monkees album in 1967.

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"Rollin' rollin' rollin', keep movin' movin' movin'"

"Rawhide," which ran from 1959 to 1965, starred a young Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates -- as well as a simple theme song that was impossible to forget.

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"The end of the Civil War was near, when quite accidentally/A hero who sneezed abruptly seized retreat and reversed it to victory."

With such a unique theme song, it's no surprise that the 1965 to 1967 Western series was known for its sense of satire. The series was set at the dawn of the Civil War and focused on battles between the government soldiers and the Native Americans who were here first.

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"Come and listen to my story 'bout a man named Jed."

Each episode of "The Beverly Hillbillies," which ran from 1962 to 1971, started off with a tune called "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." The song provided an intro to the show, telling of Jed's discovery of bubbling crude -- oil that is -- and his family's move to Beverly Hills.

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"The most effectual/Who's intellectual."

The 1961 series "Top Cat," about a feline who led a gang of alley cats, bragged about the lead character's attributes in the theme song, and even boasted that "Friends get to call him T.C."

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"But you're not fooling me, cause I can see/The way you shake and shiver."

This one is from "Scooby-Doo," which premiered in 1969 and featured the mystery-solving team of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo.

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"You can lose your mind/When identical cousins are two of a kind."

What show, other than "Patty Duke," could get away with claiming that a pair of cousins looked so much alike that they could be mistaken for identical twins? Patty Duke played a dual role as Cathy, who has lived everywhere, and Patty, who hasn't ventured far out of Brooklyn Heights.

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This show's theme song was just a bunch of whistling -- but it actually had lyrics too.

Andy Griffith started each episode with a whistled tune known as "The Fishin' Hole." Serious fans may know that Griffith was a well-known gospel singer, and there are recordings of him singing the lyrics to the theme song, which go, "Come on take your fishin' pole and meet me at the fishin' hole."

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"He's no stranger to the settlers and the bad men know his fame/They speak of him in whispers but they never use his name."

Set in New Mexico in the late 19th century, "The Rifleman" tells the story of widowed dad Lucas McCain and his son Mark. The show ran from 1958 to 1963, and was not only a Western but also a show about a single dad raising a child on his own.

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"There's a holdup in the Bronx/Brooklyn's broken out in fights."

The '60s police show "Car 54, Where Are You?" focused on NYPD officers Toody and Muldoon as they fought to keep the streets of NYC safe.

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"Is she blond, is she tall, is she dark, is she small, any kind of dreamboat at all?"

Proving that teenagers are still the same today as they were 50 years ago, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" featured a girl-crazy teen boy who fell in love with every girl who crossed his path -- often developing a crush to the tune of "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing."

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"He travels to wherever he must/A chess knight of silver is his badge of trust."

"Have Gun, Will Travel" featured a memorable closing theme known as "The Ballad of Paladin." The show, which ran from 1957 to 1963, starred Richard Boone as a travelin' gunfighter.

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"Diamonds, daisies, snowflakes..."

For a show that was all about advancing traditional female gender roles -- Marlo Thomas played Ann Marie, who was looking for much more than a husband and a white picket fence -- the show's theme song did little to help the cause. The song's lyrics compared the star to diamonds, chestnuts, rainbows and tinsel on a tree.

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"The most exciting people pass you by, including a private eye."

This one comes from "77 Sunset Strip," which featured a pair of former government agents turned private eyes. The series ran from 1958 to 1964, and focused on the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles and the notoriety of the Sunset Strip.

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"If you're in doubt about angels being real/I can arrange to change any doubts you feel."

Sally Field played ray-of-sunshine teen Gidget in the '60s series, which ran from 1965 to 1966. Despite living alone with her widowed dad, she managed to have all kinds of adventures and always kept a smile on her face, whether she was surfing or shopping.

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"So come on gather round/Get yourself all set/Turn on your TV set."

"Huckleberry Hound" ran from 1958 to 1962 and featured the antics of characters like Yogi Bear, sly Hokey the wolf, and a pair of mice named Pixie and Dixie.

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"Waiting for love to find us, is something worth waiting for."

"Father Knows Best" used a tune called "Waiting" as its theme song, and alternated between lyric-based and instrumental versions. The show ran from 1954 to 1960, and featured the adventures of Margaret and Jim Anderson and their three kids.

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"A plastic clown in a wedding gown is dancing with Raggedy Ann."

All-American classic "Leave It To Beaver" opened each episode with a song called "The Toy Parade." Jerry Mathers played Beaver on the show, which ran from 1957 to 1963.

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