The Electric Company - 1971 Pilot Opening Credits

[SUPERDOOPERTUBER]

Is that what I think it is at 0:44 (watch Bill Cosby's crotch)

[murielsartre]

Melanie had a very distinctive voice, didn't she? I can hear her straightaway.

[only257]

great show seen only 30 episodes but it is better than the 2009 remake!

[Elkahatchee9]

Groovy.

[PTH4Fun]

Was that the late Joe Raposo composed a theme song?

[quizmaster85]

It sure was!

[regency98us]

I still remember this when it first came out as a kid. I loved it instantly. I miss TV back then. It was such simpler times and I have happy memories of Public TV. There isnt too much on TV today for kids that has this much innovation and music.

[mainmedic]

Back in the days before cable. Yes, I remember it well. I grew up in southern NH and we were able go get the channels from Boston including WGBH. We watched this channel more than any of the other I think which at the time wasn't that many.

[Obliverated]

i just saw this on family guy

[rtbrno65]

What's with that bizarre dance they're doing at :45?

[JGCooney]

Anybody know if the boys in the short circus ever had to leave because they became tenors? Was the Short Circus only Soprano and Alto?

[mangosandfruit]

like all kids who view this now i saw dis on family guy woo

[GVike]

Looks like some sort of acid trip... cool!

[tvgator1]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Cosby and Freeman, UNREAL!!!! And all the others were great too....

[only257]

i saw this show on tvland when i was 15 years old in 1999 interesting show!

[HaitiXchange]

This is the show everyone watched when they "graduated" from Sesame Street.

[CaptNemo100]

so true!!

[baarbear]

Thanks for posting this. I was a big TEC fan back in the day and I never saw this.

[hubbased]

Pass the joint, cos

[ebf1957]

First time I ever saw this version of the opening to the coolest kid's show ever.

[AlbieGray]

And who would have thought that those original six; Lee Chamberlin; Skip Hinnant; Morgan Freeman; Rita Moreno; Judy Graubart and Bill Cosby would start something that would last seven years and rerun until the mid-eighties. Classic group they were!

[NyeTunes]

Where is this from?!!

[kresblain]

I can recall seeing this on part of a Computer Image demo reel. Oddly enough, it never made it to air, according to some sources. The melody kinda reminds me of another Raposo-compsed theme from around the same time, but that's another story. :D

[josegomez101]

To tell you the truth, it DID air. On the pilot episode of "Here Comes the Electric Company" on October 21, 1971. It was that good that they aired it the next night.

[mythicky]

One of the best shows ever made for learning.

As I got older, I liked it more that Sesame. I miss it.

[RCast]

"Family Guy" spoofed the actual 1971 (1st season) opening, not this much more clever and entertaining TEC opening in which I can hear June Angela singing with the rest of the Short Circus. That is, I assume it is all of them, as Buddy's voice stands out substantially.

[BigBlueBeast]

I remember this opening from childhood.

[culpit]

It's just breathtaking. Joe Raposo and the people who made this series are geniuses. :)

[aman1016]

I'll tell you, I love it whn Joe gets rocking with the brass section, but this is easily the best guitar-rich version of the theme song, pity it didn't get used.

[ISNorden]

Holy smoke...if only CTW had kept this opening! The full lyrics (and their appearance onscreen) illustrate what the "electric company" metaphor has to do with reading--something the short version didn't.

[raposofan]

I completely agree! This ties in to reading so well, and the lyrics were so inspiring... dropping this opening was a mistake.

[NyeTunes]

Yeah, and now I know how the Oompa Loompa text was done! :-)

[raakone]

This is very cool. So this is the "full" version. Nice. The 1971 opening is so well known, it was even spoofed in "Family Guy"

~Ra'akone