TWIB theme music

Hi there - Jeff Scott here. There are themes to television shows that I grew up watching in the '60s that are still rattling around in my head as if I heard them just yesterday. For instance:

There's a holdup in the Bronx, Brooklyn's broken out in fights, There's a traffic jam in Harlem that's backed up to Jackson Heights, There's a scout troop short a child, Khrushchev's due in Idlewild, Car 54 Where Are You?

I will spare you the lyrics to The Patty Duke Show, Branded, The Addams Family and Green Acres, but they are all still in my brain too. Even instrumental intros like the ones for Combat, The Rifleman, Bonanza and Mission Impossible still resonate loud and clear. Television people put a lot more emphasis on opening and closing theme songs back then. Consider that today, the enduring theme of 24 is five pulsing beats, Law & Order is two clanging beats, and Lost just one lonely beat.

Which brings us to TWIB. Despite the fact that the show has undergone myriad changes throughout the years, both the opening and closing music are pretty much exactly as you first heard them in June of 1977. They are iconic -- as much a part of our culture as the (instrumental) opening music to Monday Night Football and the old Wide World of Sports theme. You simply can't imagine TWIB without the "Da Da" at the beginning and the "Dum De De Dum" at the end. The open theme -- originally called "Jet Set" -- was written by Mike Vickers sometime in the early '70s and was put on vinyl for use through Associated Production Music (APM). The vinyl gave it that warm '70s tone. Following some slight variations throughout the years, MLB Productions music maven, Jam Master Jon Nanberg, contacted a London based composer named Bill Bayliss to do a remix of the early '70s version in 2003. He added a few modern components but stayed true to what made the original sound so great. His version is the one you hear leading off our show today. By the way, Mike Piazza does an awesome a cappella rendition of it that we've featured in the show a number of times.

The closing theme - also owned by APM - was written in 1974 by John Scott (no relation) and was entitled "Gathering Crowds." This inspiring string composition became so identifiable with TWIB that when APM repackaged the song in a 1994 compilation they renamed it "Major League Baseball (America)." We have heard from many folks who have recorded this song off the air and used it in their weddings. I presume they use it after the ceremony when everyone practically runs back down the aisle and not for the entrance, when the bridal party has to do that "one step -- two step" shuffle while trying desperately not to move too fast.

I love the closing theme of TWIB and have made it my goal in life to ensure that the final note always hits precisely when the MLB logo ends. Obviously it doesn't take much to make me happy. Apparently Bill Simmons - aka "The Sports Guy" of ESPN.com fame, agrees. He once made a list of the six top non-movie sports themes from his childhood that still get him fired up and he rated the TWIB closing theme song as his number one favorite of all time. And Mark Bechtel, in his July 6, 2005 Daily Blog for SI.com, rated the TWIB closing music the greatest sports theme song of all time. Said Mark, "There was no way you could listen to that music... and not get fired up for your afternoon Wiffle Ball game or Little League practice." That's TWIB -- all access, motivational music.

If you too have an affinity for the TWIB music and have been likewise inspired by it, let us know by sending a TWIB note of your own to twib@mlb.com. Thanks.