Sometimes created as jingles, and sometimes parts of full songs, it’s not surprising how these 30-second or less moments of music, melody and (occasionally) lyrics, manage to stick in your head. A solid theme sets a mood for what’s to follow, while trying to be instantly recognizable and memorable.
And there’s a real art to jingles: Barry Manilow used to write them and talked about it recently on one of Conan O’Brien’s final episodes of The Tonight Show. Barry wrote jingles for State Farm Insurance ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there..."), Band-Aids ("I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!") and McDonald’s (“You deserve a break today, so get up and get away…to McDonalds”); he co-wrote the Dr. Pepper theme, and performed many others.
If you're of a certain age, I bet you were singing those jingles as you read them in the last paragraph...c'mon, admit it, you were.
Fredde Gredde plays both parts in the video, which features 22 tv themes in a 7:00 span, all neatly arranged.
Fredde Gredde as the Two Fredricks – The TV Theme Medley (2010)
Looking up Fredde online, I see that he’s done a series of videos like this in the past; seems like an accomplished player. Based in Sweden, Fredde’s youtube channel is here.
Here’s more fun:
Fredde Gredde – 32 songs in 8 minutes (2009)
