“Today” 1985 – 2005 Open
This is the cue from The Mission that NBC selected to open the Today Show and is the only John Williams cue that was still used...
News music
“Today” 1985 – 1990 Theme
This is the third part of the four-part package that John Williams composed for NBC News. For Today, he wrote Scherzo for Today. In musical terms, a scherzo...
“ABC News Closeup” 1982 – 1987 Theme
This is the theme used for a few years on the long running ABC News documentary series titled Closeup. The first documentary that ran under the...
“NBC News Overnight”
“You hear something that may be music or may be the sound Donald Duck would make if you held his head underwater a while,” that is...
“NBC Nightly News” 1979 – 1983 Open & Close
NBC Nightly News debuted in July of 1970 after Chet Huntley left the Huntley-Brinkley Report. David Brinkley anchored with John Chancellor and Frank McGee as part...
“World News This Morning” Theme
World News This Morning has had a variety of anchors since its debut in 1982, including Steve Bell, Anderson Cooper and Paula Zahn. This theme was...
“Today” 1982 – 1985 Theme
The next Ellis theme, a different arrangement of his “This is Today” theme, debuted during Bryant Gumbel’s first show on January 4, 1982, and was used...
“This Week” 1981 – 1992 Theme
In 1981 This Week hit the airwaves as ABC’s answer to NBC’s Meet the Press and as successor to Issues and Answers. Its moderator was David...
“20/20” 1979 – 1993 Theme
In June of 1978, Roone Arledge’s first news magazine hit the airwaves. It was called 20/20 and created to compete with 60 Minutes, the show that...
“World News Tonight” 1979 – 1990 Theme
Legendary ABC News president Roone Arledge wanted orchestral music to open World News Tonight and so in 1980 the evening newscast started to use this theme....
“Today” 1979 – 1981 Theme
This bright and sunny piece called “This is Today” is perhaps one of the most popular themes used on the Today Show. It’s the second theme...
“World News Tonight” 1978 – 1996 Theme
This is the teletype theme that was for World News Tonight in its early days. In 1980 World News Tonight stopped using this theme as its main...
“NBC Nightly News” 1977 – 1979 Theme
John Williams is not the first famous movie composer to do a news theme for NBC. This funky theme, used during the latter period of the...
“Decision” 1976 – 1992 Theme
NBC used this theme by Henry Mancini for a long time, from the election of Jimmy Carter as president to Bill Clinton. It has the patriotic...
“Good Morning America” 1975 – 1987 Theme
ABC’s Good Morning America was launched in November of 1975. The first host was David Hartman with Nancy Dussault as his co-host (later replaced by Sandy...