Cheesy background "rock music" in 1960s/70s TV

Anyone ever notice (even at the time) how cheesy the supposed "hip" music played in the background or part of a party or club scene were on television shows during the 1960s and '70s?

I assume it partly had something to do with licensing costs and "unhip" producers. But given the fact that much of the hit music produced in L.A. in the 1960's was actually performed by studio musicians like the "Wrecking Crew" one wonders why they couldn't have produced better stuff for these shows by utilizing such talent. Probably a lack of interest.

 

Yes. As someone who watches a lot of 60s shows, it seems that its always lame instrumental music. I guess that's what the unhip middle aged producers thought was current.

 

Well, I liked a lot of it. Sometimes these came from music library recordings which were supplied for film and television use, especially in Europe. It's where a famous recording was used where there are often huge problems in reshowing or releasing some old programs, to the point where someone will edit in something generic in it's place with little chance for seamlessness.

 

This is what came to my little mind.

 

It probably varied on who was working the show. And what is called background music.

Buffalo Springfield was on an episode of Mannix. They weren't involved in a plot, just were playing in a club where Mannix was meeting someone.

Barnaby Jones was one show where I thought when the episodes did feature music, the quality was higher than usual.

 

A fine example of the genre...

 

Yet another, with a sublime pastiche of Neal Heftiesque big band psychedelia - plus The Chocolate Watchband! Craaaaazy, man. From the 1967 American International release, Riot on Sunset Strip.



And if you dig that one, baby, let me turn you on to this groovy happening, from 1968's I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!

 

I always assumed that it was some aging television executive's perception of what the latest "rock 'n' roll music" sounded like. The kids really liked the guitars with the wah-wah pedals, didn't they?

 

The funniest instances of this were on The Brady Bunch, where they didn’t even try to make the songs sound like something kids would be listening to. Instead, when the kids said, “Hey - listen to this groovy new song!”, they’d play an extended version of one of Frank DeVol’s incidental music cues, with trumpets blaring. LOL.

 

Peppermint Trolley Company was also on Mannix, doing Trust, a great Paul Williams song which didn't chart.

 

Unpopular Movie Opinion--
I didn't like the soundtrack to Dirty Harry.

 

Interesting how un-hip Hollywood liked to depict the hipsters musically...almost as if they'd never learned anything paying attention to the Brits, with their endlessly-beguiling production library music.

It's no wonder BBC and Italian library discs have so many cultish fans, here in the States.

 

Lots of KPM albums on iTunes. The Italians were lucky, as Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Alessandro Alessandroni, and other greats made lots of library albums.

 

Here’s a clip of David Letterman revealing that Eagles wanted $250,000 for CBS to play “Life in the Fast Lane,” so they instead commissioned a soundalike song, “Supercharger.” (It’s a longish clip, but if you’re a music fan, I think you’ll find it’s worth the watch.)

 

The old 60s daytime soap, DARK SHADOWS had a few specially-written 60's instrumentals that played every time anyone was seen in the town's hot spot, The Blue Whale. This was the "wild, rock'n'roll" tune on the jukebox that was issued on soundtracks as "Back At The Blue Whale".


The more gentle song that played endlessly there was called "No. 1 At The Blue Whale".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15j1LuRbWT8

 

One thing I remember is that if a scene called for teenagers dancing to rock music in a show from around 1972, the music would be fake 1966 go go music.

 

Beat me to it! It's pretty hilarious when the theme comes on when something serious and bad is being talked about in the bar/club.

 

Performed by The Charles Randolph Greane Sounde, I believe.

 

I know it's not TV, but this is mega cheesy

 

I don't care if it's cheesy, that's one fun song!

 

No. Though the Charles Randolph Grean sound re-did the song for possible radio airplay, the original composition and recording was handled by DARK SHADOWS' one and only composer, Robert Cobert. It's available on several different DARK SHADOWS official soundtrack issues, including the old original LP:

 

While I agree with your basic premise, (when I watched TV shows or movies from that
era I thought this dance music is really bad) and that most of that music usually sounded
like bad disco music, Henry Mancini was doing music for these types of scenes that
was first class rock and roll instrumental music. He composed the music, wrote the charts,
and most of all hired his usual group of the best West Coast jazz musicians to do the recordings.
I could post a slew of Mancini tracks that would give you an idea (I've often thought some
label should compile a "Mancini Rock and Roll" collection), but this is from way back in
1958 for his "Touch OF Evil" film soundtrack, and it rocks. And as usual, it features
Plas Johnson on tenor sax, who was Mancini's go to sax soloist for 15 years.

 

Barnaby Jones rocks out to some fake rock band playing Jethro Tull badly at around 2:13 (and then Buddy Ebsen does an off-key acoustic version)....

 

How bizarre! And that guy with the band is a truly terrible singer.