Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that answer the question.
Query: Who wrote the Bonanza theme song?
Bonanza features a memorable theme song by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans that was orchestrated by David Rose and arranged by Billy May for the television series. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[29]
Music for the original 1981 series was by Bryan Daly (died January 2012), who wrote a number of songs including the well-known theme tune. For the 2003 series, pop writer Simon Woodgate scored the show and wrote new songs, including a new closing theme "What's in His Bag?". The theme tune "Postman Pat & His Black and White Cat" was sung by Ken Barrie for the original series in the 1980s and '90s. An extended version of the tune was released as a single in the UK where it reached number 44 in the charts in July 1982.
The Bonanza theme song famously opens with a blazing Ponderosa map and saddlebound Cartwrights. The melodic intro, emulating galloping horses, is one of the most recognized television scores. Variations of the theme were used for 12 seasons on the series. Although there were two official sets of lyrics (some country-western singers, avoiding royalties, substituted the copyright renditions with their own words), the series simply used an instrumental theme. Three of the cast members bellowed-out the original lyrics, unaccompanied, at the close of the pilot (Pernell Roberts, the sole professional singer of the quartet, abstained and untethered the horse reins). Before the pilot aired (on September 12, 1959), the song sequence, deemed too campy, was edited out of the scene and instead the Cartwrights headed back to the ranch whooping and howling. In a 1964 song, the Livingston-Evans lyrics were revised by Lorne Greene with a more familial emphasis, "on this land we put our brand, Cartwright is the name, fortune smiled the day we filed the Ponderosa claim" ("Bonanza", Bear Family Box set, Disc #2). In 1968, a slightly revamped horn and percussion-heavy arrangement of the original score introduced the series- which was used until 1970. A new theme song, called "The Big Bonanza" was written in 1970 by episode scorer David Rose, and was used from 1970–1972. Action-shot pictorials of the cast replaced the galloping trio. Finally, a faster rendition of the original music returned for the 14th and final season, along with action shots of the cast.
Generally, the program begins with "Pop Quiz, Hotshot", in which Karen reads questions from one randomly chosen Trivial Pursuit card. Most episodes are themed where the hosts prepare trivia and quizzes related to the theme. Every fifth episode is an "All Quiz Bonanza" where each host prepares a non-themed trivia quiz. A podcast listener wrote an "Um, Actually" jingle for Good Job, Brain!.Good Job, Brain! was the winner of Stitcher's 2013 "Best Games + Hobbies" podcast.
Composer and bandleader Frank DeVol (who also wrote the series' theme song) played the part of Doc Joslyn in the pilot episode but illness forced him to quit the role, and he was replaced by Leonard Stone for the actual series. DeVol's original theme song was performed by Bobby Darin. Hugo Montenegro provided a new theme song and score to the episodes.
Carlos Malcolm & His Afro-Jamaican Rhythms released a ska version of the song as "Bonanza Ska" on Trojan Records in 1964. This version was later covered by Bad Manners (1989) and the Hurtin' Buckaroos (1997). Michael Richards, as Stanley Spadowski, sang a bit of the theme song while being held hostage by Channel 8's news goons in UHF (he did not know the words to the song he was originally supposed to sing, "Helter Skelter"). Michael Feinstein was the last to record the song in 2002 on his Songs of Evans and Livingston tribute CD. The Little House on the Prairie theme (also by Rose), was heard first in a 1971 episode of Bonanza. The overture for The High Chaparral composed by Harry Sukman can be heard briefly at the start of the 1966 episode "Four Sisters from Boston". On January 29, 2011, Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives performed the song on episode 56 of The Marty Stuart Show. The band often includes the song in their live shows.[30]
The "B" side of the disc contained a vocal version of the theme song of Greene's TV show "Bonanza", with lyrics that were never used on the show.
In common with several songs off "My Generation", a theme of "La-La-La-Lies" is the "illusion of identity." "Rolling Stone" critic Dave Marsh called it "as personal as anything Pete Townshend ever wrote." The lyrics criticize a friend who lies about the singer. This makes the song a little different than other similarly themed Who songs, as in many of the band's songs about lying their complaint is that someone is lying to them; in "La-La-La-Lies" the complaint is that someone is lying about them. Christopher Ketcham sees "La-La-La-Lies" as representing a related theme common to several Who songs: the difficulty of seeing "the other." Ketcham sees this as also being a theme of "Quadrophenia" and songs such as "My Generation" and "Who Are You."
The High Chaparral is an American Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell, which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The series, made by Xanadu Productions in association with NBC Productions, was created by David Dortort, who had previously created "Bonanza" for the network. The theme song was also written and conducted by "Bonanza" scorer David Rose, who also scored the two-hour pilot.
Musician Dave Kushner, of Velvet Revolver, began collaborating with friend and producer Bob Thiele Jr. on the main theme song and end credit theme for the FX television series "Sons of Anarchy". Kushner originally wrote the riff with Shooter Jennings in mind before using it for the theme. Thiele then contacted Curtis Stigers to write lyrics and sing the theme, who recorded the song at Cunningham Audio Production in Boise, Idaho. Show creator Kurt Sutter also cowrote the lyrics to the song. When speaking about why he cowrote the theme for the show, Kushner stated that:
Thirteen pieces of theme music are used: two opening themes and eleven ending themes. The first opening theme song for episodes 1 to 76 is performed by Kazuya Yoshii of The Yellow Monkey. The lyrics were penned by Yukinojo Mori who has written numerous songs for the "Dragon Ball" series. The second opening theme song for episodes 77 to 131 is by Kiyoshi Hikawa. Mori wrote the lyrics for the rock number "Genkai Toppa x Survivor". Takafumi Iwasaki composed the music. The first ending theme song for episodes 1 to 12 is by Japanese rock band Good Morning America. The second ending theme song for episodes 13 to 25 is by Key Talk. The third ending theme song for episodes 26 to 36 is by Lacco Tower. The fourth ending theme song for episodes 37 to 49 is by Czecho No Republic. The fifth ending theme song for episodes 50 to 59 is by idol group Batten Showjo Tai. The sixth ending theme for episodes 60 to 72 is by Arukara. The seventh ending theme song for episodes 73 to 83 is by THE COLLECTORS. The eighth ending theme song for episodes 84 to 96 is "Boogie Back" by Miyu Innoue. The ninth ending theme song for episodes 97 to 108 is "Haruka" by Lacco Tower. The tenth ending theme song for episodes 109 to 121 is "By A 70cm Square Window" by RottenGraffty. The eleventh ending theme song for episodes 122 to 131 is "Lagrima" by OnePixcel.
The show's theme song that was played before and after the jump was a rendition of the popular Hartford Whalers theme song Brass Bonanza, a brass tune that had been defunct since the Whalers hockey team moved from Hartford in 1997.
The show's opening theme was written (listed in the end credits as words & music) by Mark Mueller, an ASCAP Award-winning pop music songwriter who also wrote the popular theme song for "DuckTales" and produced by Alf Clausen. The song performed over the title credits is sung by Jeff Pescetto (who also performed the "DuckTales" theme song). A full-length version of the theme song was later recorded by the pop group The Jets.
The songwriter returned to "Dragon Ball" in 2009 when he wrote "Kuu•Zen•Zetsu•Go" as the opening theme for "Dragon Ball Kai". For 2015's "Fukkatsu no F" film, he wrote lyrics inspired by the series for its theme song "Z no Chikai". That year he also penned "Chōzetsu☆Dynamic!" by Kazuya Yoshii of The Yellow Monkey, which is the first opening theme song of "Dragon Ball Super". Mori also wrote the lyrics to its second opening theme, 2017's "Genkai Toppa × Survivor", a rock song by enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa with music composed by Takafumi Iwasaki.
The songs he wrote were inspired by his family and friends. A few of the songs explored the themes of love and fulfilment. "Not Just for the Weekend" was a song he wrote after the birth of his second son, Jagger. The song "Beautiful" is a love song written to his wife Eileen. Other songs in the album explored much darker themes. "Blew It All Away" is a heartfelt song about the suicide of a friend, which happened shortly after another friend died from cancer. Another song, "Alone" was inspired from a friend who was struggling after his father's death. "Shine Like the Sun" is about a friend in Ireland who was experiencing a rough relationship.
The series theme song was titled "The Little House" and was written and conducted by David Rose. The ending theme music, also written by Rose, originally appeared as a piece of incidental music in a later-season episode of Michael Landon's previous long-running series, "Bonanza".
Two pieces of theme music were used in the visual novel. Noriyatsu Agematsu, who has previously also provided composition for "Galaxy Angel", wrote the opening and ending themes, "Tears in Snow", sung by Hiromi Satō, and , sung by Yozuca*. Tororo, who had previously provided composition and lyrics for the "Da Capo" series, written the lyrics for the songs. Two singles were released containing the two theme songs. The first, a maxi single titled "Tears in Snow", was released on December 23, 2005, containing both the opening theme, and the opening theme used in the first radio show, titled "Melody". The second single, titled "Kimi to Ashita e", was released on April 26, 2006, containing the ending theme and remixed versions of the song.
He performed with Gene Autry and was a part of the Johnny Cash road show from 1958 until 1997. He wrote and performed the theme song "The Ballad of Paladin" for the CBS television program "Have Gun – Will Travel", with Richard Boone. In collaboration with Johnny Cash, he re-wrote the lyrics of NBC's "Bonanza" and the theme song, "The Rebel - Johnny Yuma", from the ABC series "The Rebel", starring Nick Adams.
The title "Bonanza" is a term used by miners in regard to a large vein or deposit of silver ore,[5] from Spanish bonanza (prosperity) and commonly refers to the 1859 revelation of the Comstock Lode of rich silver ore mines under the town of Virginia City, not far from the fictional Ponderosa Ranch that the Cartwright family operated. The show's theme song, also titled "Bonanza", became a hit song. Only instrumental renditions, absent Ray Evans' lyrics, were used during the series's long run.[6]
The main title theme was written by Joe Raposo, who also wrote themes for "Sesame Street", "Shining Time Station", "Three's Company", and "The Electric Company". This song was also composed by Judy Henderson, who also wrote themes for "Arthur", "Mona the Vampire", and "Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat".
Bonanza was revived for three made-for-television movies featuring the Cartwrights' children: Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988), Bonanza: The Return (1993), and Bonanza: Under Attack (1995). Michael Landon Jr., played Little Joe's son Benji while Gillian Greene, Lorne Greene's daughter, played a love interest. In the second movie, airing on NBC, a one-hour retrospective was done to introduce the drama. It was hosted by both Michael Landon Jr., and Dirk Blocker, who looks and sounds much like his father Dan Blocker. According to the magazine TV Guide, producer Dortort told Blocker he was too old to play the Hoss scion, but gave him the role of an unrelated newspaper reporter. Clips of his appearance were heavily used in advertisements promoting the "second generation" theme, perhaps misleading audiences to believe that Blocker was playing Hoss' heir. Hoss' son Josh was born out of wedlock, as it is explained that Hoss drowned without knowing his fiancėe was pregnant. Such a storyline might have been problematic in the original series. (The Big Valley, however, had a major character in Heath, who was presented as illegitimate. The Gunsmoke movies of the early 1990s employed a similar theme when Marshal Matt Dillon learned he had sired Michael Learned's character's daughter in a short-lived romance. The initial story was first introduced in 1973, when depiction of fornication courted protests, so CBS insisted their hero Matt have the encounter when he had amnesia.)
The theme song has been recorded by numerous artists in a diverse variety of styles. The first recorded and released version was an instrumental by Marty Gold, on his 1960 album Swingin' West. This was followed by the February 1960 single by Buddy Morrow and his Orchestra, which included vocals. Morrow's version also appeared on his 1960 album Double Impact which featured several other then-recent television themes. In December 1960, another vocal version was issued only in the United Kingdom by Johnny Gregory (bandleader) and his Orchestra and Chorus released on the Fontana label. All aforementioned vocal versions, including the television pilot, used lyrics written by Livingston and Evans contained in the first published sheet music for the song, though not all the lyrics were sung. A Bonanza soundtrack album released in late 1961 included a version by David Rose; Rose also had a 1960 single and included the theme on his 1961 album Exodus in a different mix. The biggest hit version is a guitar instrumental by Al Caiola, which reached number 19 on Billboard in 1961. Other versions were released by Billy Vaughn, Valjean, Lorne Greene, Johnny Cash and Nelson Riddle.
Livingston and Evans, both members of ASCAP, won three Academy Awards, in 1948 for the song "Buttons and Bows", written for the movie "The Paleface"; in 1950 for the song "Mona Lisa", written for the movie "Captain Carey, U.S.A."; and in 1956 for the song "Que Sera Sera", featured in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and sung by Doris Day. Another popular song that he and Livingston wrote for a film was the song "Tammy", written for the 1957 movie "Tammy and the Bachelor". The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Livingston and Evans also wrote popular TV themes for shows including "Bonanza" and "Mr. Ed". Their Christmas song "Silver Bells" intended for the 1951 Bob Hope film "The Lemon Drop Kid", has become a Christmas standard.
Page, who could play 21 instruments, worked as a studio musician in California. He played guitar on the original recording of the theme song for the NBC western series "Bonanza" and also served as background musician for the TV shows "Wagon Train" and "Laramie". According to Bob Bain, however, the only one of the four guitarists on the "Bonanza" theme recording still living, Page was not one of the guitarists on that session.
The film Twin Town alludes to and parodies Bonanza. Some of the central characters are members of a Cartwright family, and live in a home called Ponderosa.[44] The 1969 German school comedy Hurra, die Schule brennt! features its co-star Peter Alexander wearing a duplicate of Ben Cartwright's outfit and singing a cover version of the Bonanza theme at a school play originally meant to be a dramatization of Schiller's William Tell. In American Desperado, co-authored by Jon Roberts (né John Riccobono) and award-winning journalist/author Evan Wright, Roberts shares in Chapter 3 that he missed his "Sea Hunt and Bonanza, [his] favorite TV shows", when his mother sent him to Palermo to live with his father, Nat Riccobono. Roberts confides in the book that Riccobono– a mobster and illegal alien - had been deported to Sicily following the Apalachin Meeting. After returning to the United States "after a few weeks", Roberts found that, "Watching Bonanza on TV was one thing I had in common with normal kids. [...] But when I listened to how other people talked about Bonanza, I was amazed. [...] My way of seeing it was different. To me the Cartwrights had the might and power, and they used it to take over all that land on their Ponderosa ranch. [...] From the way I saw it, the Cartwrights were the same as my father and uncles in the Mafia. They understood force." Roberts further discloses that, upon his return to the United States: "Because of all the stories in the news about my family, Riccobono was a bad name. My mother told me I had to change my last name. I changed my name to John Pernell Roberts, after Pernell Roberts, who played the oldest son on Bonanza. I liked him best because he wore black. His hat, his vest, his gun belt were all black. He was the top enforcer for the family. He was the kind of guy I wanted to be. I wanted to steal my own Ponderosa when I grew up."[45] Roberts repeats this explanation for his name change in other media, as well, such as the documentary Cocaine Cowboys. On the first season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, episode "Homo Homimi Lupus", Detective Robert Goren is able to catch and arrest Simon Matic, a former Serbian soldier wanted for extortion and rape by calling Matic's cellphone after following him into a crowded restaurant. His victim had told Goren that his ringtone was the theme to Bonanza. Matic also goes by the name of "Little Joe."[46] The couch gag for an episode of The Simpsons, titled "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere", is a parody of the show's title sequence featuring a map of Springfield burning to reveal the Simpson family riding toward the camera. In the TV series The Golden Girls, an episode titled "Wham, Bam, Thank You, Mammy", Blanche (Rue McClanahan) gives her former nanny, Viola Watkins, a music box and she opens it and the Bonanza theme song plays, to which Blanche says "The Theme from Bonanza". In the TV series Blossom's episode "The Departure", Joey (Joey Lawrence) asks if Little Joe, Hoss, and Hop Sing have their own islands. Some resources suggest that Ben Cartwright was the basis for Jeff Tracy and that the Tracy family as a whole was based on the Cartwrights in Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation series Thunderbirds. In the TV series Maverick episode "Three Queens Full" Bart (Jack Kelly) is blackmailed by Joe Wheelwright (Jim Backus), owner of the Subrosa ranch, into escorting mail order brides for Wheelwright's three sons Aaron, Moose and Small Paul.[47] The German Western comedy Der Schuh des Manitu borrows the name of the Ponderosa Ranch for a beauty ranch named "Puderosa" (engl.: "Powderosa"). In the 1987 Barry Levinson film Tin Men, aluminum siding salesman Sam (Jackie Gayle) regales his siding sales buddies on Mondays with comments on the previous night's Bonanza episode.