They were funky. They were jazzy, and they were catchy to a fault.

The 1970s’ television themes just had some steam today’s show themes lack.

To get you into the work week, here are some groovy original versions and covers I found of old school 70s television themes:

“The Streetbeater” by Quincy Jones

Bet you didn’t know this was the name of the Theme for Sandford & Sons, but you know the song. I wanted to find a cool cover version of this, but you can’t improve on the original.

Theme from Barney Miller from The Daniel Caine Orchestra

Bassists love doing covers of this opening riff, and it is such a groovy standout in themes. It will make you want to skip work and find a dive bar to chill at.

“Welcome Back” cover from The Beach Bums

John Sebastian was behind the theme from “Welcome Back Kotter” that was many of Gen X peeps’ introduction to John Travolta. These dudes do it right, and you and can’t not love a duo who goes by the names of Captain Sam and Tommy Tequila.

Happy Days Theme Cover from Crystal Swing

You know this song by heart whether you want or not. Pratt & McClain performed the television version, but here’s Irelands “most watched YouTube channel” giving their all in this fun dance cover.

The Rockford Files Theme by Mike Post

My parents and grandmother watched the heck out of this James Garner classic, and the theme is peak 70s television down to the funky guitar solo efforts from a musician named Dan Ferguson.

Hope you enjoyed this trip through your childhood memories, or time travel if you weren’t around yet., but if the themes from the 70s taught us anything, you need to kick back and just groove a little.