Monthly Archives: November 2015

S01E01: Go West, Old Man – Adult Westerns of the 1950s (Part 1)

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This episode of TUBE TUNES explores the rise of the adult westerns in the 1950s by focusing on ten of them (Part 2 will cover another ten or so in a later episode). Included are the iconic theme tunes of each show, brief biographies of the theme composers and lyricists for each series, a rundown of the stars, synopses and broadcast histories of each show, and trivia about all of them.

The series explored in this episode: GUNSMOKE, THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF WYATT EARP, CHEYENNE, HAVE GUN – WILL TRAVEL, SUGARFOOT, WAGON TRAIN, MAVERICK, WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE, BRONCO, and THE TEXAN. A few vintage commercials (Budweiser Beer, Great American Soups, Hershey Chocolate, and Sergio Valente Jeans) are also interspersed throughout the podcast.

Thanks to Zerbinator for helping me get this podcast off the ground and running. His encouragement and expertise are very much appreciated by me. You can find all of his fun-to-listen-to podcasts here. And I’d also like especially to thank him for providing the opening and closing theme music for TUBE TUNES; all of his fantastic music can be found here. Thanks, Burford.

Next Episodes: “S01E02: A Wacky Week in 1965 (Part 1)” and “S01E03: A Wacky Week in 1965 (Part 2)” (available December 13, 2015)

S01E00: Introduction

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TUBE TUNES is the first podcast that takes an in-depth look at the history of American television through the theme music that began and ended most every series from TV’s earliest days in the late 1940s through to the present day. Biographies of the composers, lyricists and performers are included in each bi-weekly episode. Also featured are brief biographies of the series’ stars, a look at the series’ broadcast history, a synopsis of each show, and fun facts about all of them. And full audio clips of the theme music itself accompany each episode.

I’ve arranged each episode to cover a certain “theme” (pardon the pun), such as a genre of shows (westerns, crime dramas, sitcoms, etc.) or maybe a look (and listen) at a specific composer. Also included in every episode are vintage audio clips of commercials, psa’s, promos and jingles, interspersed throughout the podcast. And eventually a mystery theme tune will be added to future episodes to give my intrepid listeners an exercise in memory.

I hope you enjoy the podcast!

Next Episode: “S01E01: Go West, Old Man: Adult Westerns of the 1950s (Part 1)” (available December 1, 2015)