Philly's Old "Action News" Theme

Someone's found it and uploaded it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ62nY68eWo

For anyone who was around in Philly back in 1970-1972, this was the iconic theme to Action News on Channel 6. The Action News format catapulted Channel 6's news to first place where they've remained pretty much ever since.

In 1972, they changed themes to a new "Move Closer To Your World" piece of music - which is still in use to this day.

But THIS is the original theme. I had it on tape somewhere, dubbed from a TV broadcast, but someone's found the actual record!

Harry

 

Wow. Thanks for posting this link. I've never heard this before. I grew up with "Move Closer To Your World," which premiered (some claim) as early as 1971, so this one couldn't have been around for long.

 

If I'm reading the chronology right, the "Move Closer To Your World" theme debuted up in New England (WTNH?) and was brought down to Philly's Action News by a news director coming from the New England station.

The original Channel 6 Action News theme was penned by a local student and was itself very popular. I recall them making a big deal out of the changeover saying that this would be the last time we'd hear the old Action News theme - and they were darned near right. It's been effectively buried all these years until this "video" surfaced.

Harry

 

Detroit's WXYZ-TV had an Action News telecast that for many years used the "road-tarring music" from Cool Hand Luke as its theme.

 

ah yes, Jim O'Brien, Dave Parks, Larry Kane, and the yummy Gwen Scott.

 

Actually in Boston, on then WNAC-TV (Channel 7, later WNEV-TV and now WHDH-TV). The anchors at the time were Lee Nelson (formerly of WPIX Channel 11 in New York) and Chuck Scarborough (later to join WNBC-TV in New York where he remains to this day).

In Philly, that is. In other cities, Tom Sellers' (that's the student; was also involved with The Electric Indian's "Keem-O-Sabe" and, later, arranged The Hues Corporation's "Rock the Boat") "Action News Theme" was used by the following stations, including a few then owned by Triangle as was WFIL/WPVI (WNHC-TV, later WTNH-TV in New Haven, CT; WNBF-TV, later WBNG-TV in Binghamton, NY; WFBG-TV, later WTAJ-TV in Altoona, PA; WLYH-TV in Lancaster, PA - and that's that I know of) and others (KSTP Channel 5 in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles during the late George Putnam's second stint as anchor there in the early 1970's; WWL-TV in New Orleans, LA; and WOWK-TV in Huntington, WV; to name a few).

 

That was because in Detroit, the Eyewitness News title (which three of ABC's five O&O's used, and with which the Cool Hand Luke "Tar Sequence" music was associated) was already taken by WJBK-TV.

 

Also used as the Eyewitness News main title on WWL-TV Channel 4 in the early 1970s.

 

I found the record a while ago and cleaned up the audio, making it true mono.



Harry

 

We were an KYW Eyewitness News family when I was younger. They used the music from the Thunderball underwater battle scene back then.

 

I remember when our marching band in high school rehearsed the "Action News Theme"...apparently it was so prevalent across the country that one of the larger
school music publishers decided to put an arrangement out there.




Now playing on Ariel Stream: Thievery Corporation w/Loulou - Shadows Of Ourselves

 

Yea, I remember this very well. Glad someone found it.
Jim O'Brien (now there was someone with self loathing), Garner, Tollefson (presently under investigation for fraud), the Daver (ever wonder about the beard? He grew it to cover a tattoo), and later Dave Roberts the giggling *****.
And don't get me started about Robin Garrison, and the other hotties. Who was the noon one named Gwen? I discovered at college she had many admirers.

 

We were WCAU'ers. My father would come home from work, eat dinner, then tune in to Walter Cronkite on channel ten. Then it was John Facenda with "the Eleven O'clock Big News". Got Tommy Brookshier doing the sports too!

 

Totally agree about Jim O'Brien