Old School Friday: TV Theme Songs

One of the most popular TV partnerships was the teaming of Robert Culp and Bill Cosby on the 1965-1968 series I Spy. For this week's OSF, I'm focusing on the theme songs to two series that Cosby and Culp did separately, post-I Spy. Not only that, but both series feature characters who teach.

The first is the theme to the 1969-1971 sitcom The Bill Cosby Show, in which The Cos played high school gym teacher Chet Kincaid. Although it's been years since I've seen this show, I've never forgotten the funky theme song (written by Cosby and Quincy Jones).

The second theme is to the 1981-1983 fantasy/adventure series The Greatest American Hero starring William Katt as high school teacher Ralph Hinckley and Robert Culp as FBI agent Bill Maxwell. I recall watching this as a kid with my mother. She would always laugh when reluctant superhero Ralph would say "damn!" after one of his crash landings. Although the show itself was never a huge with the Nielsen families, the theme song (Believe It or Not by Joey Scarbury) peaked at #2 on the Billboard pop chart during the summer of 1981.

You can hear both theme songs in the player below.

This meme was developed by Marvalus View and Ms. Grapevine. The rules are simple:

1. Anyone can participate; any music genre
2. Old School is defined as music created before 1999
3. No offensive words allowed, please use edited radio version
4. Post a video of your favorite Old School song to take us back down memory lane
5. Add your name to the meme list so that others can check you out
6. Have fun & don't forget to leave comments for other participants

If you want to join in on the fun, click here.