Top Ten 90s TV Themes - Number 9

I realize one of the flaws with my original Top Ten 80s TV Themes list was my lack of properly weighing cultural significance to a show’s placement in the charts.  A late-coming reader had correctly pointed out that the Dallas theme was iconic throughout the 80s, and unfortunately I left it completely off my rankings and honorable mention.  (Same thing with The Dukes of Hazard theme but luckily I caught that and admitted the mistake).  Thus, though I may not particularly enjoy this song as much as others, its cultural impact is far too large to ignore.

Top 10 90s TV Theme Song #9 “I’ll Be There For You” by the Rembrandts from Friends.

To be honest, I really don’t have much to say about the song itself.  It’s a really catchy, well-crafted theme.  It doesn’t speak much to anything in particular except to establish that the show will have some conflicts, some bad times, but the folks dancing in the fountain will always be there for each other. Short, sweet, successful*.

*Remember, at one point the full version of the theme was the most played song over American and UK radiowaves.

I guess the most unique thing about “I’ll Be There For You” is that a real argument could be me that the show may not have been nearly as successful without the theme.  Sure, at least in its infancy, Friends was a funny, clever show filled with attractive people (and David Schwimmer); but it was the theme song that thrust the show into the American Zeitgeist.  What if they had used this intro instead?  REM wasn’t just losing their religion at that point, they were losing their relevance in America. Moreover, “Shiny Happy People” had been out for a good three years before Friends debuted. Thankfully for Chandlermonicarachelphoebejoeyandross, they ended up using The Rembrandts and made theme song history.