Magnum P.I. - Early introduction / opening credits

[loughran03]

Wy did they remove this great theme to have the goofy sounding replacement?

[arnebarnard]

Anyone would be hard pressed to be able to REMEMBER this theme, let alone able to whistle or hum it.

I could see what the original intent of this theme was-Private Investigator, cool jazz, chicks, cars , mystery. ANY show that was produced in the 1950's would have killed to have this theme but MAGNUM was three decades removed from the "good ol' days" in concept and execution.

[HumungusNewsNetwork]

This song is SHIT! Jazz sucks asshole. Nothing beats the other tune. Nothing. Jazz...Jesus.

[arnebarnard]

@HumungusNewsNetwork

Don't knock Jazz dude-without it, there never would have been PETER GUNN or THE PINK PANTHER!

Or MIAMI VICE!!!!! (Think about it!)

[stepwashable]

I like this better than the new theme song, much, much better. Jazz like that should play longer.

[Harvey238]

I don't dislike this theme, but it doesn't fit the show all that well.

[rowdy8888]

Rick kind of reminds me of Mickey Rooney !

[tttooorrriiinnnooo]

@rowdy8888 You're absolutely right. T.C. says Rick looks like Mickey Rooney in Season 2's "Double Jeopardy."

[joshpugfan]

I love magnum PI have watched all seasons except 2 and 4 (still to come ^^) I prefer this theme, it sounds kinda vintage and cool :D

[MrLunitunz]

The montage for this theme is better, I've decided. It starts with the Ferrari, Magnum's (for all intents and purposes) car. The other one starts with T.C.'s chopper and the title over the sea, which wasn't as eyecatching. Themes aside, better opening. Of course, the Pilot had the best montage, and the extended version of the theme.

[zer0nable]

this sounds more like 70s music .. like kojak or streets of san francisco

[Tigadee00]

This version is jazzy and sort of funky, but lacked the energy and tempo of the intro video. Definitely prefer the established one by Mike Post - more memorable and energetic.

[pindaric]

This was written by John Cacavas, well-known as a composer for high school and college bands/choruses. He also had a modest career in Hollywood. I like this 70s jazz theme, although the Mike Post theme worked well too.

[arnebarnard]

@pindaric

Cacavas wrote the Jazzy theme?

I was under the impression that Ian Freebairn Smith ( who also did episode underscore) did the Jazzy theme.

I WISH that IMDB would list the shows THEME composers as well as the weekly music.

[Aussiebloked]

Elevator music at its worst. I like the later one better !

[here4thedonuts]

I think the creators thought, "shit, we have a seventies theme in an eighties show" and changed it. Both still rock.

[MrLunitunz]

@here4thedonuts I think the theme still has that eighties feel to it. It's just a different kind of eighties feel, the theme most people are used to is more hard hitting, this one is kind of softer and gentler.

[AMC2283]

you gotta be shittin me

[ansiaaa666]

was this one done by mike post as well?

[doriamedina]

Thank god for they changed the theme song! This is not Magnum, PI!

[SuperCruiser72]

@doriamedina

>>>>>>>>>>>"This is not Magnum, PI!"

You don't get to decide that seeing that you didn't make the show.

[doriamedina]

@SuperCruiser72 Are YOU going to decide what my opinion is?! The other theme song is way better than this one!

[pearvert]

I can't remember this version. Must not have watched season one when it was on.

Thanx for filling in a gap in my collection...

[IronChefSpam]

The only version I like better is the one from the pilot episode which is a slightly longer version of this one. For some lame ass reason it keeps getting removed.

Thanks for posting this one.

[winkydee]

YOu're the man for posting this!! I just won a bet!!

[Jaketye]

I like this theme but the 2nd one is much more fiting.

[SuperCruiser72]

@Jaketye

>>>>>>>>>>>"I like this theme but the 2nd one is much more fiting."

You didn't help make the show so you don't get to say what's more fitting and what's not.

[MrLunitunz]

@SuperCruiser72 They are honestly entitled to their opinion. The show belings almost as much to its fans as it does to the people that made it.

And seeing as Mike Post scored the series and the second theme, I'd say they were justified in that opinion.

[Lorco65]

The ORIGINAL MAGNUM P.I. Opening Credits which kinda sucked except for all of the hot shots of one of my future cars, the Ferarri 308GTS and of course, my MANCRUSH, Tom Selleck.....

[MrLunitunz]

@Lorco65 He is the king of moustaches, isn't he?

And that is the king of cars.

[maxheadroom1986]

love this orchestral jazz funk

[MakerLego]

o ya! the first one!

[crucialconflict02]

ha ha this is lame. makes me think i'm watching a soap opera....

[vampov]

This theme song SUCKED so bad. I heard this on Hulu and I was like what the hell happen to the guitar riff. The guitar riff really sets the mood I'm about to watch a bad ass PI beat up the bad guys this one makes you feel like your about to watch three's company

[MeIancholyMan]

Ian Freebairn-Smith's Theme was a hold-over from the bass-guitar-laden, rich violin and horns 'rhythmy' sound of the 70s, the twinkling piano keys towards the end add to the jazzy 70s sound. For Nastalgic reasons, I am always glad to hear this music from Magnum PI, but the Mike Post/Pete Carpenter theme from episodes 7 on really are more indicative of the 80s genre TV shows. Part of that reason is that Mike & Pete did almost half of the Theme music for TV shows in the 80s... hehe

[123DTRAY123]

I'm so glad I bough 5 seasons the other day! I'm really gonna enjoy this show! love it.

[sagaofbluewing]

Thanks for posting the video but wow that so doesn't in any way capture the spirit of the show.

[Rodimus1]

Doesn't the bass part on 0:17 sound like a sampled Busta Rhymes beat?

[sickphil71]

@Rodimus1 That's from the first season, I believe, which would have been in 1980. No one had even heard of Busta at that point.

[utahdrumtech]

Good... but it lacks the "power" and "energy" of the newer song.

[matteskes]

I don't ever remember hearing that theme. Interesting.

[misterio2K]

The very first theme is my favorite. The second one is very good too but, The Zayres Department Store I used to shop at used to play it so much till the point it drove me crazy. I declare that the store had that theme on a loop.

[a4238088]

The rhythm & tune to this MAGNUM, PI introduction reminds of the music scoring done by Keith Emerson in the 1981 flick NIGHTHAWKS with Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer, & Billy-Dee Williams.

[StefanSauer]

Cool & Funky!!! ...and not mainstream like the most known theme.

Very good bass,brass, piano and also strings and truly an amazing arrangement.

Thanxxxxxxxxx 4 posting

[a4238088]

The rhythm and beat to this MAGNUM, PI introduction reminds me of the music scoring done by Keith Emerson in the 1981 flick NIGHTHAWKS with Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer, & Billy-Dee Williams, especially at the beginning of the movie NIGHTHAWKS and at the very end where they give the credits.

[fightfan1971]

It's okay. Just not as good as the alternative.

[larmegue]

Good theme for the era, regular, expected...but...not a hit like the second version.

[IronChefSpam]

This is my favorite version of the theme for this show.

I hate that they keep pulling the original full length pilot episode theme.

[DeWina512]

hey i have a Ferrari just like wat Tom Selleck have and license plate ROBIN 1

[wilsondylanmccartney]

That theme sucks black dick compared to the Mike Post one. Where's that one at??

[impassee]

@wilsondylanmccartney , aside from the vulgarity of your comment, your ignorance of the ethnic background of Ian Freebairn-Smith is VERY apparent. There seems only party that sucks the aforementioned dick, and I'm addressing that individual.

[impassee]

The majority of comments here reflect that they just don't get it............ The character Thomas Sullivan Magnum was a Annapolis graduate of 1967. The original theme reflected what was musically "cool" to his generation (I.E. Modern Jazz). The score was not to reflect the year 1980 (with the disastrous Carter Presidency; double digit inflation; the Soviet Union occuping Afghanistan; O.P.E.C. or the goofy sounds of a Mike Post score), but reflect a time of greater accomplishments & aspirations.

[666WCW]

Best Show EVER!

[pilotprospecteur]

11 seconds with only the sound the engine. , it's a good idea. why not.

[WilllieMaysHays]

this song rocks but the show wouldnt have beeb a hit with this music

[daleyg75]

Great tune!!!!! For me it just has the edge over the second one although the second one was great. It leans more towards a kind of jazz thing, where as the other one sounds alot like most theme tunes that were out at that time.

[josephjamessilva]

just watched the pilot show, good soundtracks

[saturnday]

This was by far the better of the Magnum PI Themes! I wish they had kept it much longer AND included it with the syndication.

[luciremagazine]

At the time I liked the later theme, but listening to them both so many years later, this one is less generic. Posts theme could have really fitted any one-hour actioner. True, the Fairbairn-Smith theme was dated for the 1980s, and the producers were right to make the change, but listening to it in 2009, it has a nice cruisiness about it as well as a sense of Hawai'i being a place to chill out.

[NCfarmerdude]

luciremagazine.............tha­t was probably the best reflection upon this early theme i've read or heard.

one of the less musical reasons why i enjoy it better, is because most never knew this to be a theme for the Magnum Show. it's almost as if the first 8-9 shows with this music where another series all together because the later theme was heard in it's many arrangements for so many years. best!

[tronfan]

The original opening just doesn't seem to fit the show as well as Mike Post's version. I agree with Mainsail76 that they should've kept the Ferrari revving at the beginning -- that would have been awesome combined with the new theme!

[UMpt835]

Crikey! I hope the guy who decided to change from what would have been the lamest of TV title tracks to the coolest of TV title tracks got a big bonus

[hammr25]

The theme from the end credits is 1000x better. There's a reason they started playing it at the beginning of the episodes as well.

[Deneteus]

The timing is either off on this video or the theme song just didn't match the video. Even if the bass line was cool. It sounds more like a beat cop theme.

[madtoytle]

hey 1986Hitman i like the "70's porn music" theme better than the latter...sexier

[jonahbegone]

Annoying bass line.

[hotsonetti]

I totally prefer this over the newer one. This kicks ass. '3'

[Mainsail76]

I've always been a fan of Magnum, but I'd never heard this theme until I got the season 1 dvd set a few years back. While not better than the classic Magnum tune, this opening is better than 99% of the other shows out there. I do think they should have kept the very first part of the opening here where the Ferrari is starting up. Could you imagine the revving up Ferrari with the dash and Mag shifting and then the classic theme kicking in. That'd be better than TC's chopper starting the show.

[plasticstuntmancom]

You said: "Could you imagine the revving up Ferrari with the dash and Mag shifting and then the classic theme kicking in?"

Well, you dont have to imagine anymore...just for you man...paste the code into the youtube search box and your wish will come true:

watch?v=g43fi3jlo2Q

[MiltownPunkette21]

Yuck! How....cheesy. Disgusting.

[MiltownPunkette21]

To whoever gave me and everyone else who doesn't like this a thumbs down, who gives a crap? Our thoughts are called "opinions", and they don't have to blend with yours.

[aaronhh]

This theme is really hard to find on the internet. Thank you very much for posting it! Oh, and by the way, I noticed that nobody seems to like this theme, and you are all wrong. This theme is frickin awesome! I don't know if I like it better than the main theme. It is just different. But different in a very good way, or else I would not have spent the last hour searching for it on the internet.

[jimbopumbapigsticks]

@aaronhh This intro theme has a much more '70s jazz/disco feel to it. I prefer the later one, given that it was always kinda Magnum's theme as used in the show, but you've got to love the baseline intro to this one.

[RacerXGTO]

LOL!!! OMG, it sounds like a CHiP's/Quincy/Bionic Man/SWAT scrambled mess!

I wonder how the meeting went down with production execs about canning this theme song and coming up with another that captures the Magnum PI flavor!!!

[portabellaprincess]

Magnum was a veteran...

[1986Hitman]

It sounds like 70's porn music ,i like the other version..way better.

[djaca70]

Anyone notice upon start of this, the fellow behind the wheel is not Selleck? Also, look at the license plate, it does not say ROBIN 1.

[JessieDragons]

This Magnum Theme sucks! Period!!!

[yorick8080]

jeeeeezus...

they went from probably the worst theme song ever in a TV series to the best...

[aemfs]

The worst? yeah right... this is probably the best theme ever. But what you can you do, if one doesn't understand good music.

[NCfarmerdude]

good ear aemfs! this was used on the pilot and a handful of the first season episodes if i recall correctly. granted it was a lil dated for the era, but still an awesome score none the less. i like both the themes but would prefer this one for my listening pleasure!

[GeneralFullbright]

the new theme it better

[tharpdevenport]

Theme was by composer Ian Freebairn-Smith, who also scored the first few eepisodes before Mike Post & Pete Carpenter took over scoring almost every single episode of the series until it's end.

[IronChefSpam]

I really still prefer the pilot opening best of all. This is a good shorter version of the pilot theme. They had several opening themes and I really didn't care for any of the later season versions. But the show was great anyway.

[1370wlop]

lotsa shows and comic strips and stuff don't look right when you see year one. Dilbert, TNG, etc. I had forgotten this theme...Did they redub the first season shows, or just not show them anymore?

[jammer96]

Good show. Great shots of the Ferrari! There's a guy near me who has a silver 79 308 GTS and another guy who has a red 87 328 GTS. Sweet cars!

[sickphil71]

Wow, that's kinda different. I vaguely remember this; they tried (I think) to slip this into season two for a couple of shows. It's been so long that I can't remember for sure.

[kirkrules66]

Actually this opening theme was excellent for a 70's detective show but because the opening music was a decade behind the actual show they had to update it to the theme song that we're familiar with in order to fit the 80s era.

[MJL1914]

Was this the 1st season or the pilot only?

Great show !!!!

[corrupt200]

i know the other version better...espcially since Magnum and the Dukes were the main reasons my folks and I would turn on to CBS in the mid-80s

[rodimusslime69]

My god man, this version is utter garbage. Glad I never heard it. Good thing they switched to the better theme song. Good theme songs are 1 of those things missing from shows 2day. Its what you mainly remember from those past shows.

[BerZerK2000]

Wow, pretty decent.. But the "new" one is a lot better :P

[nousernamesarefree]

I quite like the old theme song too. The new one is good and all, but the funky bass line of this one fits the era perfectly.

[snowrocket]

I remember this opening really well. They used that Ferrari 308 as a hook. It worked on me. The show was really good, too.