Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring

by Jon Burlingame

Music composed for television had, until recently, never been taken seriously by scholars or critics. Catchy TV themes, often for popular weekly series, were fondly remembered but not considered much more culturally significant than commercial jingles. Yet noted composers like John Williams, Henry Mancini, and Jerry Goldsmith learned and/or honed their craft in television before going on to major success in feature films.

Music for Prime Time is the first serious, journalistic history of music for American television. It is the product of thirty-five years of research and more than 450 interviews with composers, orchestrators, producers, editors, and musicians. Based on, but vastly expanded and revised from, an earlier book by the same author, this wide-ranging narrative not only tells the backstory of every great TV theme but also examines the many neglected and frequently underrated orchestral and jazz compositions for television dating back to the late 1940s.

Covering every series genre (crime, comedy, drama, westerns, action-adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi), it also looks at music for animated series, news and documentary programming, TV-movies, and miniseries, and how music for television has evolved in the era of cable and streaming options. It is the most comprehensive history of television scoring ever published.

Genres: Music, Audiobook, Tv, Nonfiction

480 pages, Hardcover

Published March 28, 2023

Reviews

[Mai H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone that doesn't watch a lot of television, and with the television I watch being quite niche, perhaps I wasn't the right audience for this. My friend Bea, who has known since childhood that she wanted to become a television producer, is the correct audience. The first 2/3 held many shows that I never watched. That's fine. You don't need to know everything about a topic before delving in. I will say I'm offended that they recorded a lot of the scores overseas to circumvent union laws, a topic very close at hand. I would say the closer we got toward the end, the more I knew and recognized. Sex and the City and Game of Thrones are my shit.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to get to listen to this book about the history of music and television and everything from paladin and gunsmoke to the Cosby show in a different world and even Spenser for hire I found myself being able to recall the tunes for these TV shows and so many more. Even the ones I forgot like growing pains was just a quick Google search away and soon as I heard it I remembered it. This was not only a very interesting audiobook but also it was very fun and nostalgic to listen to. I thought the narrator did a great job and set the right tone for the book. I was actually surprised to learn that many famous people did themes for television shows like Quincy Jones Aretha Franklin the blues travelers and many many more not only that the stories of how somebody’s theme songs got written we’re also very interesting from a thank you song for paladin that became the main song to many other interesting tales I truly and thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought I would have something to listen to for days and it ended way too soon. If you think it’s a Yourself someone who loves useless information musical history just likes to be in the know this book is a great book to listen to it has lots of tidbits about some of the music greats and the musical ability of acting talent I highly recommend this book it is definitely a five star listen. I received this book from NetGalley but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Jennifer Colvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a little difficult for me to rate. If you are interested in the history of music composed for prime time television, this is the book for you. It is incredibly informative and seemingly well researched. While it could be a bit textbook at time with dates and back information on composers outside of their prime time work, it was also incredibly nostalgic for the avid television viewer.

For those interested in this topic & needing possible research, I recommend the physical book. For a leisure reader, I recommend the audiobook…it’s length is fairly intimidating and took me time to get thru but by the end, I enjoyed it overall.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC.

[J's Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Music for Prime Time is well researched, like an audio documentary, and is a rich resource of prime time music and those who composed it. It delves more than surface deep; the language is that of musicians and composers. It will be more relevant and understandable to that audience and probably less so to the general public. The information is deep and relevant for its target artistic musical audience. The general prime time audience might become somewhat lost in the details and vocabulary. I enjoyed this and learned much; thanks to NetGalley for opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

[Christopher Dalla Riva · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to rate a book like this. On one hand, it is effectively the Bible on television music. As a research resource, it is indispensable. That said, it can be quite boring as it often reads like a textbook. I wish Burlingame crafted more of a narrative amidst the barrage of facts.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring, written by Jon Burlingame, is a detailed account of the use of music in television, primarily theme songs but also touching on music within some shows. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Paul Woodson, and found it to be very good.

While theme music hasn't gotten a lot of attention in academic circles, it is overstatement to say it has been ignored. Both when I was a student and when I was teaching, theme music was referenced when it impacted what we were looking at. What I don't recall is attention being paid to it exclusively, always in relation to other elements of the show.

Since I am no longer in academia, I come to this book more as a casual reader rather than a researcher. I think for this kind of reading the audiobook might be the best option. There is a lot of detail here, and listening to it allowed me to catch the bigger picture without the tendency to skim the parts that, while essential, serve a closer reading rather than a broader more nostalgic reading. That said, if I were still teaching and doing research I would want the print version, it is an excellent reference book as well as a narrative history.

I found the early history, the ways in which names had to be changed or hidden, credit wasn't given, and stock music for emotions (suspense, scary, ominous, slapstick, etc) was composed en masse, to be very interesting. I wasn't aware of the union issues and the libraries that kept composers from collecting royalties. Fascinating stuff.

For a casual or popular reader, I think the nostalgic aspect will play into how much you enjoy the book. There will be a lot of times you'll start humming a theme. You may even end up doing what I did, find some of the music online. This was both for music I was humming already as well as the music I couldn't quite recall. This made the book that much more fun.

I recommend the audiobook for readers who want to get the history and the nostalgia but aren't likely to need all of the details. For those who want or need those details, I think the print version will suit your needs better. Either way, the work itself is recommended for everyone with an interest, from those who remember their TV viewing youth to academics.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's obvious that this book was well-researched, and it would make an ideal reference book, but it fell flat for me. Other than sporting events and history/nature shows, I haven't watched television on a regular basis for decades, so I'm probably not who this book was written for. It did, however, make me realize that *someone had to write even those little musical interludes between scenes - or during scenes - something I'd never really thought about before.

A good portion of the book felt like someone reading/reciting encyclopedia entries - the birth and death dates (where appropriate) were listed for every.single.musician mentioned, and it got tedious very quickly. The book was arranged more or less chronologically by type of show (sitcoms, drama, cartoons, sci-fi), and since I was listening to the audiobook, I wasn't able to skip sections that didn't appeal to me like I would have with a print book.

It would have been unrealistic to do so for every bit of music discussed, but I really wanted the ability to hear audio clips of at least some of the music, especially given that this was, after all, an audiobook. As it was, it was quite long, so maybe not having the clips was a good thing?

If you are really into television music, or aspire to write music for the medium, this book might appeal to you, but I'm glad to be able to cross it off my to-read list and move on to something else.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a trip through memory lane, exploring the music and artists who made American TV what it is today. Starting with the birth of the medium and classifying the information by genre, the author reveals the background behind these hits. From I love Lucy to Game of Thrones, from Bernard Herrmann to Mark Snow, this comprehensive and informative volume places each show in its cultural and historical context. It also explains how each of these programs influenced the ones that came after, and it even explores the new streaming series that have changed TV forever. I liked the narration by Paul Woodson, who sounds a little like a reporter, which suits the material perfectly. I kept looking up the shows online and was surprised at how many of them I remembered. After reading this book I even caught some of the details that the author had mentioned. Anyone who’s watched TV will enjoy this read.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#HighBridge Audio!

[Kristi Betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of television theme music. I can "name that tune" as soon as I hear the first few notes of just about any show. I love to sing along, even though my family doesn't always approve. Even now, with the ability to "skip intro" I will play allow the theme music to play just to enjoy the anticipation of a favorite show.

Burlingame has compiled a fascinating example of television shows in a wide range of categories (westerns, family sitcoms, cartoons, etc.) to break down the creation of and musical styling for individual television series. The majority of the shows mentioned, I knew and could hear the music in my head.

This audiobook would have been even better if the music of the shows had been included (even a little snippet). I know it would have increased the running time (or maybe have it playing softly in the background as the text was read), but I know for me it would have made it even more interesting to listen.

[Bri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers so much - at 480 pages and over 21 hours of audio - it is very thorough. I missed the prime era for TV theme songs, so I can't say definitively whether this book misses anything, but it sure seems comprehensive. I love behind the scenes info and interviews, so the content was perfect. I enjoyed the narrator and definitely learned a lot. I probably wouldn't do the audiobook again since it is quite long. But the book would be lovely to have to refer back to some sections - probably the next time I watch some classic reruns! Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Erin Wyman]

This is a book I got from Net Galley. It doesn’t work as a audiobook- too many names and dates. It was set up by genre of television programming but the preview version did not have chapter breaks so while I would have like to listen to the sections/genre I was interested in, having to listen to all of it was too much for me. I may borrow the physical book or ebook to check out the later sections.

It is obviously a well researched book and as a reference guide or trivia prep would have value but for casual reading it was not for me.

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhaustive exploration of the best and sometimes worst trends in television scoring through the decades. Burlingame has each genre covered in amazing detail, especially the early, formative years when original compositions would butt heads with stock music libraries, and the various producers who preferred one approach over the (less costly) other option. Not just for TV fans, a must for music buffs and the trivia-hound as well. Outstanding work.

[John Peel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody notices TV themes. They even hum (or sing) them. Thanks to this book, they can now look up information on how they were written and what the composers and producers were after. An excellent overview of the field, filled with interviews and commentary from the men and women involved, this book is fun and entertaining as well as educational. Go for it!

[Scott Kardel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly rich look at the history of music for TV. I would say that this is a must read for anyone interested in music for film and TV. The themes and composers for many shows familiar to me were presented and a great number of ones that I had never heard of or had forgotten about. I enjoyed this very much.

[Brennan Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s VERY dry. A bit of a slog to get to the stuff that’s actually interesting.

[Carly Gillum · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a listen this one was! Tracing the music used in television from the medium’s infancy was fascinating to listen to, especially since the songs are still so recognizable today - despite them being before my time.

I wondered how far into current television music this book would go, and was pleasantly surprised that we got as far as Succession (as I was finishing this book as the series itself wrapped up).

Television scoring is meant to elevate what the viewer is watching, but it’s sometimes so subtle that we forget how artful it is - it’s own piece of the story being told on screen.

I enjoyed the narration in this audiobook as well, as the reader’s voice was smooth and felt reminiscent of a voice we’d hear on screen in some of the older shows mentioned. I only wish they would have interspersed some of the narration with clips from the shows/scores/titles referenced, as it would have enhanced the experience. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced listen!