Introductions and Theme Songs in Old Time Radio

"You can't judge a book by its cover" teaches conventional wisdom, but the cover of a book does much more than simply hold the pages together when we are not reading it. On the cover of a book we will discover its title and author, and perhaps how long ago it was written. Publishers actually hope that you will judge the book by its cover, so they will use attractive cover illustrations and artwork to attract the eye of the book buyer. Once we get the book home, a distinctive cover will help us to select a particular book from others on the shelf or nightstand that we may be in the middle of reading.

The name of a newspaper is generally carried across the top of the front page while a periodical magazine may have a different cover design with each edition the name will be on the cover as branding. Both newspapers and magazines have a "masthead" in a regular spot which lists the names of the publisher, editor, department heads, and business address. Individual writers may be listed in a byline for each story.

Some vaudeville theaters made use of title cards at the side of the stage so that the audience would know which act was performing. In "legitimate" theater, the title of a production would be carried on the marquee and perhaps on posters in the theater lobby. Information about the cast and production crew were often found in a printed program. Motion Pictures rarely use a printed program, but audiences generally know what film they have paid to see. However, credits for the actors and production crew are generally part of the title or closing sequence.

The introduction to radio programs during the Golden Age served many of the same purposes as the above, but full credits were often ignored due to technical limitations of the medium. There simply was not enough time in a quarter-hour or even a half-hour program to list all the players and technicians involved in the production. Usually, the only acknowledgment went to the stars, the writer and director, and of course the sponsor. Bit players and technicians may not have received on-air credit, but they were happy to be receiving a regular paycheck for their work.

Radio themes and introductions were similar to book covers because they helped the audience to know just what they would be listening to. Theme music became an important part of movie titles with the dawn of sound films, but often it was the only distinguishing element a radio program had. However, it was one that producers and sponsors were sometimes unwilling to spend a lot of money on. WXYZ station owner George W. Trendle famously selected "The William Tell Overture" as the theme for The Lone Ranger because the composition was in the public domain and he would not have to pay to use it. In syndicated productions, the theme music was also used as a background for the local sponsor's voice-over message.

Sometimes even more important than the theme music for setting the mood for a radio show was the introduction speech by the announcer or sometimes the program's star. The Adventures of Superman's "Look, up in the sky!" influenced the franchise well beyond its time in radio. The "Danger Ahead" music let the audience know that Sgt. Joe Friday would be on the case, but the mood was really set by the announcer intoning that "The story you are about to hear is true, only the names have been changed" on Jack Webb's Dragnet.

This collection includes theme music and announcer voice-overs from more than a thousand Old Time Radio programs.

See also Commercials, Commercials for Movies Collection, Radio Jingles, and Public Service Announcements.