Earlier on Monday, I hammered out some thoughts about the pending end of daytime soap operas on television. As you could probably tell (or not), I have a soft spot for these shows. I spent a good part of my summers as a kid glued in front of the television. I remember some of the story plot lines and characters, but the opening themes of each show is what got my attention every day.
Who doesn’t forget the piano striking the eight most recognizable notes in television? Or this 3 measure “tick-tock” one?
I’m fascinated with television history and how it is a daily part of our lives. We referenced it, talk about what we saw or heard, how it affects us, and our emotions towards it when it ends or changes.
So, rather than write about it, we’re going to watch some stuff after the jump, starting with the first standard opening of “All My Children” from 1970.
This was the original opening of AMC. Notice that musical arrangement was different than the one that everyone remembers from the mid-70’s until around 1990.
This is the version I grew up with. Simple and clean.
Around 1990, AMC changed the opening to show a photo shots of the characters, ending with Susan Lucci to close out the piece. This was another favorite opening of mine. There is an updated version, but I’ll let you look it up, as I have some more stuff to show you.
“One Life to Live” was my favorite soap opera. The story centered around the Buchanan and Lord families, namely Viki Lord Buchanan and Dorian Lord. Here is a collage of the opening standards during the show’s long history.
The second and third opening standards (the sun rising and the character montage) stood out in the viewers minds during between 1975 through 1991.. The vocals for the 3rd version (’84-’91) was done by Peabo Bryson, a best-selling R&B singer.
OLTL lyrics sung by Peabo Bryson
We head over to NBC for this next one. “Search for Tomorrow“ originally began on CBS and then was picked up by NBC for it’s latter run until ending in 1986.
This was the 2nd opening of SFT. This theme was used from 1974 until 1981, when a more cool jazz-like version replaced it.
Another NBC staple was “Another World” that had a long run on the Peacock Network from 1964 to 1999. The show mainly centered around exploits of Rachel Cory and her family.
This opening ran from 1974 until 1981. In late 1963, the creators of the show wanted to begin the series with a funeral. So the creators had a meeting to discuss it. The day that the meeting took place was November 22, 1963.
The day that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
From 1981 to 1987, this was the third opening (and a favorite). The last AW opening is the next one they used in 1987. This one had lyrics sung.
I’m going to stop here for now. There are a few more clips to gather and show later on this week hopefully.
I hoped you enjoy traveling down memory lane.
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