GREG MAY of Orlando, FL says: "My mother, the late Ruth May, never missed an episode of ATWT. She got hooked while she was awaiting my 'debut' into the world in 1956 when my dad bought her a 20-inch Motorola TV while she was on maternity leave from Kroger's in Winchester, Kentucky. I am pleased to have been able to get them tickets to see Eileen Fulton (Lisa) when she brought her cabaret act to Orlando in 1977."
Is this is a real song all unto itself? Does it have a name? I used to watch ATWT everyday from '83 until sometime in the late '80s. Of course, this song was no longer used by then. I do remember this song from the early '60s when I was a very small child. Someone must have watched this in front of me but I don't remember it really. I like it because it is a nice tune and because it takes me back MANY MANY years ago to a much simpler time.
GREG MAY of Orlando, FL says: "While my mom was expecting me in 1956, my dad bought their first TV - a 20" Motorola. RUTH MAY got hooked on AS THE WORLD TURNS from its very beginning. In 1977, after we were living in Orlando, I bought my parents tickets to go see EILEEN FULTON. She was performing in Orlando. My parents talked about seeing 'Lisa' for years afterwards."
I love this theme song. I remember watching the show as a little boy with my Mom sitting on the sofa. I didn't start school yet as I was just a 5 yrs old. It would be impossible today for ANY shows on TV to spend this much time on a Theme Song. They would ruin the music with News or Commercials. This is unfortunate.
This show lost me around the turn of the century when the eternal 'flavor" (cast, families, writing, stories) was replaced by new sex obsessed youths. 9/17/10 was still a sad day for me because my favorite soap of a lifetime (1978-99) would be gone forever. I already have, and will miss you dearly -- but am so grateful you graced my life for over 20 years. Thanks to everyone who contributed to those fantastic years that I will simply never forget...
Watching this now, having just seen the final episode makes me sad. This is the end of an American pop culture institution and the end of a fictional shared universe. The P & G shows had enough crossovers that it was firmly stated that Oakdale, Bay City and Springfield were surely--and Henderson (Search) and Monticello (Edge) were possibly--in the same reality. They are all gone now. Thank you to everyone who brought us that world. It will always turn in our hearts and memories.
@saml760 ...yes...so true, and ATWT was a true American Icon ....so so sad to see this show end...I remember watching wih my Mother back in 1962....I am sad now to see it end.....................
@mikeyb2049 . . . I concur on your point. I think that soaps in the 1970's. Seriously!! Now soaps are sooooo youth oriented!! It's like everyone has a cell-phone and a Starbucks container in the other. Soo, sooo, awful are today's soaps!!
Simply beautiful......so long gone are the great soap opening & closing theme music........no wonder the soaps are dying today.........very sad to see for what was once an American Icon........
I heard this theme everyday growing up since I think it was mom's favorite show. I just turned 50 this year and I'm quite nostalgic. I don't so much want to go back to the past, but I do want to remember things that make me who I am today. But there is something about this theme that has quite an emotional impact on me and I don't quite know what is.
@ActorGuy I feel very much the same way. I'm 48 now, and when I was a kid, I used to cut grass for a "widow woman." I always timed it so I'd be done with the backyard right about the time ATWT came on. She'd pour me a glass of lemonade, we'd watch the show and we'd talk during the commercials. John Dixon gave her fits back then. But I associate this particular theme the most with ATWT and with Miss Bessie. Missing her a lot today w. the last airing of the show.
@ActorGuy . . . Dude I feel the exact same way ! ! I remember I stopped watching this soap in late 1981, I was also a middle-high school student also. But things changed in soap-dom when Procter & Gamble changed this theme and the themes of their other soaps. This theme is too beautiful, it should've never changed!! Too bad soaps will be an element of the past :-( But the soaps now are way too youth oriented. I remember watching them in the 70's and everyone was middle aged. Not 15 going on 30.
The beauty of this theme is in its simplicity. The theme is played by the whole orchestra, then the horn takes it, the orchestra responds, the piano takes the theme, the orchestra responds, the violin takes the theme and the orchestra responds. This is a fine piece of music, far greater than anything heard on TV now.
@rockhopper10r If the orginal theme was redone, it would have a 21st Century twist to it. I don't mean disco or eletro pop but it would not sound so dated. Its a great theme otherwise.
What a gorgeous and haunting piece of music!! I'd forgotten this theme. Well, actually, I think that it had submerged into my unconscious memory. Listerning to it again brought back a lot of very fond memories from the late sixties when I used to watch "Lisa" with my Grandmother. Thank you for this.
@danke1217 It is very haunting to me as well. I was born in 1970 so I was pretty young but I think I remember the music. Times were simpler in some ways. Wish I could have a look back to those days. Things have changed.
I can remember as a child that 12:30p we were not to disturb my mother as she would have lunch with Bob, Lisa, Nancy, and the rest of the Hugheses and the Stewarts. Those characters were so real to me I thought they were a part of my family. No such connection exists on today's soaps.
@TimothySEnglish Yes I remember we'd eat lunch at my grandparents around noon and the local news was on then ATWT would come on at 12:30. I liked that schedule and wasn't happy when they put Bold and the Beautiful on at 12:30 instead. It was a ritual for years with ATWT starting at 12:30.
Having watched since 1965 I could always hum this melody even though they haven't used it in 20 years. A magnificent piece of music that fit the greatest soap of all time.
@Robert4770 You couldn't have stated it better. This should've been the last theme that ATWT used. Ever ! ! I stopped watching in 1981 when that other theme was utilized. Will miss the days of the late 1970's and the early 1980's ! !
I would like the show to air the old "organ & piano version" in it's final few months before they leave the air. It's so sad to hear of this legendary soap leaving television since I was only a year old when it first debuted in 1956. This show will definitely be missed by millions of people, including myself.
And, the date was April 2, 1956(which was on a Monday)Dan McCullough was the first announcer and Dan Region followed suit in 1982(and stayed until 1998)
I'd like to see this theme reinstated for its final months on the air. It was the longtime theme fans identify with and was used during its years as the #1 soap on television.
I agree. I had hoped that Telenext/CBS would throw a bone to the fans by using the classic opening themes for the last couple of weeks of the show. There is probably not enough time to do the closing themes.
The greatest closing theme in daytime television history. At least you get to hear the whole theme of the closer in this video. Can that get any better?
@AMEwrestling Awesome comments you made ! ! Too bad this theme is no longer used. I wonder if this theme hadn't been changed so often, would this soap ever have been cancelled? Today's soaps are awful. Too much focus on the under-30 Starbucks, cell-phone using crowd. I like tradition, it is an under rated virtue. Hate these soap themes that sound like a smooth-jazz radio station. Viva older soap themes ! !
All of the comments above are right on the mark! This orchestral piece is very moving, but I like the organ and piano version as well...I remember them both and miss it all: Grandpa, Chris, Nancy, Claire, Ellen, David, Penny, Alma Miller, Sandy, Paul, Dan, Liz, etc. What a great cast! And what a magnificent piece of music!
I hear this and close my eyes and I'm back at my grandmother's house and it's 1972 all over again....brings tears to my eyes! I can smell the cookies being baked.
Dogsledfan . . . I totally agree with you the horn section is too beautiful. Since this this theme hasn't been used since 1981 . . . it sounds sad now. The late Charles Paul . . . God bless you wherever you are ! !
A wonderful show back then and so many long-running characters. Icing on the cake would've been names in the credits of Judge Lowell, Betsy Stewart, Alma Miller, Emmy/Emily Stewart since they were in the cast as well. My guess is they were noncontract, but still I remember their names in the credits in the late '70s.
My thoughts exactly. Although for whatever reason, they have had an announcer saying that for over 10 years. To me by saying that, it kind of tied the shows together in the lineup, but CBS ruined that.
Simply beautiful......so long gone are the great soap opening & closing theme music........no wonder the soaps are dying today.........very sad to see for what was once an American Icon........
@JONROSE44 Its not just the music, they can't attract younger viewers. Remember that ATWT and its sister shows used organ and piano. They did not change that until The Young and the Restless signed on. That show intend to go for a younger audience deal with issue that the young people of the time were dealing with used contempary music and they won. The orchestra version of the orginal ATWT theme was done in responce to Y&R.
Back in the 1970's I used to love this show ! When I was home from college during the summer vacation, I would watch all of CBS soap operas. One of my high school teachers starred briefly in " As The World Turns", and I loved actress Marcia McClain (Dee Stewart). Soon after college, one of my first jobs was in a store close to the CBS studio in Manhattan. I met several of ATWT stars . That was great !
That's the thing I don't like about what television is doing nowadays , eliminating the ending themes to practically ALL TV shows now. Got to get all those ridiculous ads in, "who the hell cares"?
GOD!!!!...the day of great soap closings. Beautiful and bold for this then powerhouse of a show. I watched from 1978-98 (20 years) until the show fell apart in 99. Closings went away and they lost a technique they had held on to for over 40 years. New characters were woven in to the core characters and families that were already there. In 99 all of that went away to make a complete cast change (sexy youth) and the show became "As Some Other World Turns". To this day it is unwatchable...
I could not agree more. Not having openings/closings has helped in ruining the soaps. I wish the shows were like these old clips. The end of the 1990s is when things went sour for some of the soaps esp ATWT and GL.
I noticed watching these credits that some of the stars had one time or another made an apearance on Guiding Light. Phil Peters who played Steve at the time was Lenore Kasdorf (Rita GL) real life husband at the time.
I remember watching this soap opera back when this was its opening and thinking it had one of the most beautiful theme songs ever written for a TV show. I still do and wish they would bring it back; think what it could sound like today!
I agree. Today's so called opening sucks. I think viewers identify with openings and themes more than the show execs realize and viewers don't like the current ones at all.
Yes, this was, and still is, a beautiful melody, whether played by an orchestra or by an organist. If they updated it with a modern arrangement, they could bring it back today. Heck, "General Hospital" updated its old theme song, and they are still using it. Why not ATWT?
Nothing beat the CBS soaps in the 70s and 80s. Too bad they aren't near as good today or draw in the ratings that they once did. ATWT should use the 80s theme or this one--get some tradition back on the show--the crap theme they used today sucks!
Every time I hear this theme I think of JFK's assassination. CBS cut into an ATWT broadcast with the first news of the shooting. Plus, my mom was a big fan of Jeff on the show. She cried for three days when the character died in a car accident.
I notice Gillian Spencer was one of the show's writers at this time. She had recently played Kim's sister Jennifer, before Jennifer died in a car accident.
Gillian went on to play Daisy on "All My Children." (She was also the first Viki Lord on "One Life to Live" when it premiered in the 60s.)
1970's and 80's....and extraordinarily exceptionally sweet time for probably all of daytime drama that is sorely missed by so many who are waiting and needing for these masterpieces to come back around again. It's been way too long already...
I remember this well. This was from 1978 but one cast member is missing....little Suzanne Davidson who played Betsy Stewart since 1972. She was still on the show at this time. However it is great to see Don Hastings, Helen Wagner, Kathryn Hays, Marie Masters, Coleen Zenk and Eileen Fulton in the cast list. I wish Larry Brygmann, Pat Bruder and Rita Walter were still on the show today. THank you for a nice memory when the show was still great!!
I watched ATWT from 1985 to 1999 with a different theme but I grew up hearing this one every day as my mother and grandmother watched. Thank you for bringing back a piece of my childhood!
I'm guessing this is from 1978 because that is when Barbara Ryan returned to the show played by Colleen Zenk. Also, because Emily's father Dan Stewart is still in the credits, as he died in 1979
You are correct: it had to be no later than 1978 since a pre-Dynasty Michael Nader was listed in this episode's credits. He played Kevin Thompson from 1977-1978.
Anybody remember when ATWT premiered in April 1956 with the organ and piano music and later switched to orchestrational music in 1973? I rememeber watching this fine show as a baby in the '60s and a kid in the '70s and also the two Dans(McCullough & Region)
Eileen Fulton was THE star of "ATWT," so in the great tradition of soap operas everywhere, the eventually put her at the end (the old "best-on-the-bill" trick)...they also did that with the late Beverlee McKinsey in "Texas", if I remember right. The lone exception I recall was "This is MacDonald Carey, and these are the DAYS OF OUR LIVES."
When did they start listing Eileen Fulton/Lisa at the very end? I thought they included her with the Hughes at the beginning throughout most of the '70s, but maybe I'm remembering incorrectly.
They started doing this in the early '70s. ATWT and THE EDGE OF NIGHT were the only soaps with the special credit. Donald May had this special billing during his decade-long run on EON (1967-77). Eileen's started in 1970-71.
I have to sadly agree with you..I hate the way programmes are cut and bastardised to make room for more commercials..I would really love for it to return to a one or two sponsors per show the way it used to be, but that will never happen!
And the networks wonder (?) why viewers have lost interest in network TV viewing... Back in the day, TV shows had theme songs and closing credits, without all of the logos on the screen.......
I could not agree more!! I have been saying the lack of good classic themes and opening and closing sequences have caused people to lose interest in soaps. I have such fond memories of the show themes in the 80s growing up. I have to say i'd be more inclined to watch if there were still that way today.
ATWT and Guiding Light are both produced by Procter and Gamble, Bold and the Beautiful isn't. So at the time ATWT and GL partnered with one another to promote each other's show.
why would a show bother anymore? TV networks clutter the end of programs with commercials and so on.....the credits are pushed to one side of the screen.
I used to hear this ALL THE TIME as a kid, staying with my grandparents when I wasn't in school. What a beautiful piece of music. Thanks for letting us hear it again. Makes me think of my grandmother who's been gone a while now.
@tigerbandalumni I lost my grandma in 1973 and grandfather in 1975. I think this was my grandma's favorite show....and pretty sure it was my mom's too. I'm 50 now and I have a long association with this theme. It's kinda burned into my memory and that last bit with the violin just reminds me of her and how much I miss her even though she's been gone 37 years.
I think that this was by far the BEST soap opera theme ever written. It was originally composed by the late Charles Paul who first played it on the organ when the show was broadcast live on the radio. Love that horn solo in it. As usual, the producers ruined it by changing the theme to something more youth-oriented. Fools. Thank you SciFi for putting this up here; it brings back MANY memories of days when I actually thought I'd make a difference in world. Sigh........
I definitely agree with you about this theme. It's EPIC. I can only imagine having that thing blaring through the TV every afternoon...definitely time for ATWT!
the only thing 'missing' from this theme, which i enjoy both live and recorded, is the one-note piano intro that began the opening and closings to this theme - which, i think, 'disappeared' about a year and a half after the orchestral premiered...
Yes, I agree. There's a reason they kept this same theme (in one arrangement or another) for twenty-five years. Also, did ya' notice, ATWT was consistently the number-one rated soap for the over two decades, and it's around the time they stopped using this theme that their ratings started to drop. Coincidence? Maybe.
"As the World Turns" was never broadcast on radio, although it was broadcast live on CBS Television Network for many years, starting with its premiere in 1956, up to, and including, a portion of 1975. (You are perhaps thinking of "Guiding Light," which did, in fact, originate on radio.) Charlie Paul (a truly phenomenal composer and musician) used a Steinway piano, Hammond B-3 organ, and Simone celeste to play the long closing theme for ATWT. Check out my tribute channel.
While the orchestral rendition of this theme was used from 1973-81, the Helevtica credit font seen here wasn't used until 1978 (it would turn yellow for the new CGI visuals in 1981 and remain altogether until 1991). The episode this was taken from aired sometime in 1981, but obviously no later than October 30th.
Wait..this wasn't the exact same closing seen at WoST for years! My apologies. Fred Bartholomew wasn't EP, certain cast members I was looking for who were on in '81 aren't here, and most noticeably..there's no copyright date. I now deduct that this aired between 1978 and June 1980 (when P&G first added copyrights on all their soaps). Anyone remember the date from when WW first posted the episode that went along with this?
After various you tubers continued pointing the finger at WW accusing him of stealing material from the old WoST website, he deleted all his videos and account. Another user who did the same thing because of hateful messages was the user who went by the name GhstWhisperer and had about 82 Santa Barbara episodes posted.
It only takes one to ruin the experience for everyone and thanks to those individuals we will now never know what WW had waiting in the wings that he would have posted.
I love those orchestrated late 70s soap themes like Another World, Search For Tomorrow, and Guiding Light. They brought back many childhood memories. WashesWhiter used to have a clip of this ATWT theme, except it cut off slightly less than halfway through.
Good stuff !!
Tatumthirty2 5 days ago
The most regal music ever composed for a soap fit perfectly the greatest soap of all time.
Robert4770 1 month ago 2
GREG MAY of Orlando, FL says: "My mother, the late Ruth May, never missed an episode of ATWT. She got hooked while she was awaiting my 'debut' into the world in 1956 when my dad bought her a 20-inch Motorola TV while she was on maternity leave from Kroger's in Winchester, Kentucky. I am pleased to have been able to get them tickets to see Eileen Fulton (Lisa) when she brought her cabaret act to Orlando in 1977."
keither1969 3 months ago
i think this closing is from 1978 or 1979...
DigimonDarkMaster700 3 months ago
If they had had colour TV in 1950, it would have looked like this.
anonUK 7 months ago
Is this is a real song all unto itself? Does it have a name? I used to watch ATWT everyday from '83 until sometime in the late '80s. Of course, this song was no longer used by then. I do remember this song from the early '60s when I was a very small child. Someone must have watched this in front of me but I don't remember it really. I like it because it is a nice tune and because it takes me back MANY MANY years ago to a much simpler time.
elliott021 8 months ago
GREG MAY of Orlando, FL says: "While my mom was expecting me in 1956, my dad bought their first TV - a 20" Motorola. RUTH MAY got hooked on AS THE WORLD TURNS from its very beginning. In 1977, after we were living in Orlando, I bought my parents tickets to go see EILEEN FULTON. She was performing in Orlando. My parents talked about seeing 'Lisa' for years afterwards."
publicitypunk 8 months ago
Good God, this is such beautiful music, it actually brings tears to my eyes
krystlerita 9 months ago 4
0:51-0:56 is beautiful.
dcat918 10 months ago
That was very pretty music wasn't it. Too bad all the good soaps have been canceled.
Sheri451 1 year ago 3
This is the best!
tscubfan 1 year ago
I love this theme song. I remember watching the show as a little boy with my Mom sitting on the sofa. I didn't start school yet as I was just a 5 yrs old. It would be impossible today for ANY shows on TV to spend this much time on a Theme Song. They would ruin the music with News or Commercials. This is unfortunate.
quinox 1 year ago 6
@quinox I remember watching this show with my mom too. Every afternoon at 1230p (in L.A. when it was KNXT).
TimothySEnglish 1 year ago
It puts me in a Good Trance and Lowers my Blood pressure.
quinox 1 year ago 6
This show lost me around the turn of the century when the eternal 'flavor" (cast, families, writing, stories) was replaced by new sex obsessed youths. 9/17/10 was still a sad day for me because my favorite soap of a lifetime (1978-99) would be gone forever. I already have, and will miss you dearly -- but am so grateful you graced my life for over 20 years. Thanks to everyone who contributed to those fantastic years that I will simply never forget...
TimsDale4ever 1 year ago 7
Six cast members from this closing were in the finale on September 17, 2010--Bob, Kim, John, Susan, Barbara, and Lisa.
jmsweat 1 year ago 11
Watching this now, having just seen the final episode makes me sad. This is the end of an American pop culture institution and the end of a fictional shared universe. The P & G shows had enough crossovers that it was firmly stated that Oakdale, Bay City and Springfield were surely--and Henderson (Search) and Monticello (Edge) were possibly--in the same reality. They are all gone now. Thank you to everyone who brought us that world. It will always turn in our hearts and memories.
rockhopper10r 1 year ago 9
RIP ATWT,1956-2010,we have lost a true classic.
saml760 1 year ago 8
we will never forget this classic soap...the finale broke my heart...i cried throught the whole thing......long live these clips!!!!
mikeben1958 1 year ago 2
@saml760 ...yes...so true, and ATWT was a true American Icon ....so so sad to see this show end...I remember watching wih my Mother back in 1962....I am sad now to see it end.....................
JONROSE44 1 year ago 14
This is such a sad day. The last episode ever of ATWT. Even the show is nothing as good as it was at one time, I'm extremely saddened that this it.
mikeyb2049 1 year ago 3
@mikeyb2049 . . . I concur on your point. I think that soaps in the 1970's. Seriously!! Now soaps are sooooo youth oriented!! It's like everyone has a cell-phone and a Starbucks container in the other. Soo, sooo, awful are today's soaps!!
softwater88 1 year ago 3
RIP Helen Wagner :(
cameliapage 1 year ago 7
This has been flagged as spam show
Simply beautiful......so long gone are the great soap opening & closing theme music........no wonder the soaps are dying today.........very sad to see for what was once an American Icon........
JONROSE44 1 year ago 2
I heard this theme everyday growing up since I think it was mom's favorite show. I just turned 50 this year and I'm quite nostalgic. I don't so much want to go back to the past, but I do want to remember things that make me who I am today. But there is something about this theme that has quite an emotional impact on me and I don't quite know what is.
ActorGuy 1 year ago 5
@ActorGuy I feel very much the same way. I'm 48 now, and when I was a kid, I used to cut grass for a "widow woman." I always timed it so I'd be done with the backyard right about the time ATWT came on. She'd pour me a glass of lemonade, we'd watch the show and we'd talk during the commercials. John Dixon gave her fits back then. But I associate this particular theme the most with ATWT and with Miss Bessie. Missing her a lot today w. the last airing of the show.
charlotteguy7 1 year ago 7
@charlotteguy7 ....that was a beautiful comment.......long live ATWT....
JONROSE44 1 year ago 6
@ActorGuy . . . Dude I feel the exact same way ! ! I remember I stopped watching this soap in late 1981, I was also a middle-high school student also. But things changed in soap-dom when Procter & Gamble changed this theme and the themes of their other soaps. This theme is too beautiful, it should've never changed!! Too bad soaps will be an element of the past :-( But the soaps now are way too youth oriented. I remember watching them in the 70's and everyone was middle aged. Not 15 going on 30.
softwater88 1 year ago 2
Thank you for the memories. I remember watching this with my grandma too.
msgreeneyez26 1 year ago
The beauty of this theme is in its simplicity. The theme is played by the whole orchestra, then the horn takes it, the orchestra responds, the piano takes the theme, the orchestra responds, the violin takes the theme and the orchestra responds. This is a fine piece of music, far greater than anything heard on TV now.
rockhopper10r 2 years ago 38
@rockhopper10r If the orginal theme was redone, it would have a 21st Century twist to it. I don't mean disco or eletro pop but it would not sound so dated. Its a great theme otherwise.
donmccullen 1 year ago
@rockhopper10r And as all that is happening, the world turns.
smpage09 3 months ago
What a gorgeous and haunting piece of music!! I'd forgotten this theme. Well, actually, I think that it had submerged into my unconscious memory. Listerning to it again brought back a lot of very fond memories from the late sixties when I used to watch "Lisa" with my Grandmother. Thank you for this.
danke1217 2 years ago 10
Me too.
puppyshoes 2 years ago 3
@danke1217 It is very haunting to me as well. I was born in 1970 so I was pretty young but I think I remember the music. Times were simpler in some ways. Wish I could have a look back to those days. Things have changed.
craig9843 1 year ago
I can remember as a child that 12:30p we were not to disturb my mother as she would have lunch with Bob, Lisa, Nancy, and the rest of the Hugheses and the Stewarts. Those characters were so real to me I thought they were a part of my family. No such connection exists on today's soaps.
TimothySEnglish 2 years ago 20
@TimothySEnglish Yes I remember we'd eat lunch at my grandparents around noon and the local news was on then ATWT would come on at 12:30. I liked that schedule and wasn't happy when they put Bold and the Beautiful on at 12:30 instead. It was a ritual for years with ATWT starting at 12:30.
jmsweat 1 year ago
Having watched since 1965 I could always hum this melody even though they haven't used it in 20 years. A magnificent piece of music that fit the greatest soap of all time.
Robert4770 2 years ago 9
@Robert4770 You couldn't have stated it better. This should've been the last theme that ATWT used. Ever ! ! I stopped watching in 1981 when that other theme was utilized. Will miss the days of the late 1970's and the early 1980's ! !
softwater88 2 years ago 7
I would like the show to air the old "organ & piano version" in it's final few months before they leave the air. It's so sad to hear of this legendary soap leaving television since I was only a year old when it first debuted in 1956. This show will definitely be missed by millions of people, including myself.
luvthoseclips 2 years ago 6
And, the date was April 2, 1956(which was on a Monday)Dan McCullough was the first announcer and Dan Region followed suit in 1982(and stayed until 1998)
Chicago10281 2 years ago 3
The announcer's name in this segment was Dan McCullough and this is probably from 1978
Chicago10281 2 years ago 4
we will definitely miss you as the world turns. 1956-2010.
aaronlobbley 2 years ago 8
I'd like to see this theme reinstated for its final months on the air. It was the longtime theme fans identify with and was used during its years as the #1 soap on television.
jmsweat 2 years ago 6
@jmsweat
I agree. I had hoped that Telenext/CBS would throw a bone to the fans by using the classic opening themes for the last couple of weeks of the show. There is probably not enough time to do the closing themes.
Pila426 1 year ago 3
the best ...
lugnuts6 2 years ago 4
The greatest closing theme in daytime television history. At least you get to hear the whole theme of the closer in this video. Can that get any better?
AMEwrestling 2 years ago 8
@AMEwrestling Awesome comments you made ! ! Too bad this theme is no longer used. I wonder if this theme hadn't been changed so often, would this soap ever have been cancelled? Today's soaps are awful. Too much focus on the under-30 Starbucks, cell-phone using crowd. I like tradition, it is an under rated virtue. Hate these soap themes that sound like a smooth-jazz radio station. Viva older soap themes ! !
softwater88 2 years ago 10
All of the comments above are right on the mark! This orchestral piece is very moving, but I like the organ and piano version as well...I remember them both and miss it all: Grandpa, Chris, Nancy, Claire, Ellen, David, Penny, Alma Miller, Sandy, Paul, Dan, Liz, etc. What a great cast! And what a magnificent piece of music!
59frex 2 years ago
I hear this and close my eyes and I'm back at my grandmother's house and it's 1972 all over again....brings tears to my eyes! I can smell the cookies being baked.
mca320 2 years ago 13
Couldn't said it better myself, takes me back to those snow days and Christmas break, getting to watch the soaps all day long.
wilsonpreston84 2 years ago 4
Can you just travel back in time? That music is timeless. Soaps were much better back then. That familiar voice of
the announcer saiyng" Stayed tuned for The Guiding Light" Those were good times.
CadillacL 2 years ago 10
This theme has such a classic feel to it...listening to it takes you back in time when life wasa so much simpler than today.
jmsweat 2 years ago 5
God! How I love that horn section. Charles Paul - one of the most underrated composers of our time
Dogsledfan 2 years ago 6
Dogsledfan . . . I totally agree with you the horn section is too beautiful. Since this this theme hasn't been used since 1981 . . . it sounds sad now. The late Charles Paul . . . God bless you wherever you are ! !
softwater88 2 years ago 4
A wonderful show back then and so many long-running characters. Icing on the cake would've been names in the credits of Judge Lowell, Betsy Stewart, Alma Miller, Emmy/Emily Stewart since they were in the cast as well. My guess is they were noncontract, but still I remember their names in the credits in the late '70s.
NoHu4 2 years ago 2
"Stay tuned for [The] Guiding Light" -- a statement that can never be made again after tomorrow.
GOPMom 2 years ago 2
My thoughts exactly. Although for whatever reason, they have had an announcer saying that for over 10 years. To me by saying that, it kind of tied the shows together in the lineup, but CBS ruined that.
jmsweat 2 years ago 2
Simply beautiful......so long gone are the great soap opening & closing theme music........no wonder the soaps are dying today.........very sad to see for what was once an American Icon........
JONROSE44 2 years ago 51
@JONROSE44 Its not just the music, they can't attract younger viewers. Remember that ATWT and its sister shows used organ and piano. They did not change that until The Young and the Restless signed on. That show intend to go for a younger audience deal with issue that the young people of the time were dealing with used contempary music and they won. The orchestra version of the orginal ATWT theme was done in responce to Y&R.
donmccullen 1 year ago
Remember Dan McCullough's voice?
Chicago10281 2 years ago
Back in the 1970's I used to love this show ! When I was home from college during the summer vacation, I would watch all of CBS soap operas. One of my high school teachers starred briefly in " As The World Turns", and I loved actress Marcia McClain (Dee Stewart). Soon after college, one of my first jobs was in a store close to the CBS studio in Manhattan. I met several of ATWT stars . That was great !
fairnorth 2 years ago 3
That's the thing I don't like about what television is doing nowadays , eliminating the ending themes to practically ALL TV shows now. Got to get all those ridiculous ads in, "who the hell cares"?
luvthoseclips 2 years ago 4
Comment removed
JONROSE44 2 years ago
GOD!!!!...the day of great soap closings. Beautiful and bold for this then powerhouse of a show. I watched from 1978-98 (20 years) until the show fell apart in 99. Closings went away and they lost a technique they had held on to for over 40 years. New characters were woven in to the core characters and families that were already there. In 99 all of that went away to make a complete cast change (sexy youth) and the show became "As Some Other World Turns". To this day it is unwatchable...
dalehinely 2 years ago 4
I totally agree, 1999 is when I stopped watching, after 14 years, for the same reason.
GOPMom 2 years ago
I could not agree more. Not having openings/closings has helped in ruining the soaps. I wish the shows were like these old clips. The end of the 1990s is when things went sour for some of the soaps esp ATWT and GL.
jmsweat 2 years ago
I noticed watching these credits that some of the stars had one time or another made an apearance on Guiding Light. Phil Peters who played Steve at the time was Lenore Kasdorf (Rita GL) real life husband at the time.
Tommy6583 2 years ago
I remember watching this soap opera back when this was its opening and thinking it had one of the most beautiful theme songs ever written for a TV show. I still do and wish they would bring it back; think what it could sound like today!
CajunGypsy 2 years ago
I agree. Today's so called opening sucks. I think viewers identify with openings and themes more than the show execs realize and viewers don't like the current ones at all.
jmsweat 2 years ago
Yes, this was, and still is, a beautiful melody, whether played by an orchestra or by an organist. If they updated it with a modern arrangement, they could bring it back today. Heck, "General Hospital" updated its old theme song, and they are still using it. Why not ATWT?
OceanKingNY 2 years ago
Was Heather Cunningham the same one that worked as the co-host to Jim Peck on the ABC game show Big SHowdown c. 1974-75.
zachhoran 2 years ago
Nothing beat the CBS soaps in the 70s and 80s. Too bad they aren't near as good today or draw in the ratings that they once did. ATWT should use the 80s theme or this one--get some tradition back on the show--the crap theme they used today sucks!
jmsweat 2 years ago 3
I Agree.
puppyshoes 2 years ago
Every time I hear this theme I think of JFK's assassination. CBS cut into an ATWT broadcast with the first news of the shooting. Plus, my mom was a big fan of Jeff on the show. She cried for three days when the character died in a car accident.
jpcfit 2 years ago
That's right, watch this clip -- Nancy is speaking as Walter Cronkit breaks in with the news about JFK.
GOPMom 2 years ago
I notice Gillian Spencer was one of the show's writers at this time. She had recently played Kim's sister Jennifer, before Jennifer died in a car accident.
Gillian went on to play Daisy on "All My Children." (She was also the first Viki Lord on "One Life to Live" when it premiered in the 60s.)
OceanKingNY 3 years ago
In the credits I noticed the character Nick Conway. 3 years later the character Nick Andropulus came on. Then another Nick came later. Nicks on ATWT.
Tommy6583 3 years ago
1970's and 80's....and extraordinarily exceptionally sweet time for probably all of daytime drama that is sorely missed by so many who are waiting and needing for these masterpieces to come back around again. It's been way too long already...
dalehinely 3 years ago
I remember this well. This was from 1978 but one cast member is missing....little Suzanne Davidson who played Betsy Stewart since 1972. She was still on the show at this time. However it is great to see Don Hastings, Helen Wagner, Kathryn Hays, Marie Masters, Coleen Zenk and Eileen Fulton in the cast list. I wish Larry Brygmann, Pat Bruder and Rita Walter were still on the show today. THank you for a nice memory when the show was still great!!
larkpraise 3 years ago
@larkpraise
Larry Bygmann's (John) back on the show - he was on today's episode.
RIP, Helen!
alexisdiva9 1 year ago 2
I really enjoy listening to the Charles Paul Orchestra theme on ATWT.The BEST Soap Opera theme music in the Post-Organ era.
DJRakow 3 years ago
I watched ATWT from 1985 to 1999 with a different theme but I grew up hearing this one every day as my mother and grandmother watched. Thank you for bringing back a piece of my childhood!
GOPMom 3 years ago
I'm guessing this is from 1978 because that is when Barbara Ryan returned to the show played by Colleen Zenk. Also, because Emily's father Dan Stewart is still in the credits, as he died in 1979
kdizzle79 3 years ago
I have been wondering for the longest time what ever happened to John Collenback who played Dan Stewart? He was one of my favorites on the show.
Robert4770 3 years ago
You are probably right on this. This really brings back some good memories from ATWT's heyday.
rickram1961 3 years ago
@kdizzle79
You are correct: it had to be no later than 1978 since a pre-Dynasty Michael Nader was listed in this episode's credits. He played Kevin Thompson from 1977-1978.
alexisdiva9 1 year ago
Anybody remember when ATWT premiered in April 1956 with the organ and piano music and later switched to orchestrational music in 1973? I rememeber watching this fine show as a baby in the '60s and a kid in the '70s and also the two Dans(McCullough & Region)
Chicago10281 3 years ago
Eileen Fulton was THE star of "ATWT," so in the great tradition of soap operas everywhere, the eventually put her at the end (the old "best-on-the-bill" trick)...they also did that with the late Beverlee McKinsey in "Texas", if I remember right. The lone exception I recall was "This is MacDonald Carey, and these are the DAYS OF OUR LIVES."
bongomanfromdalou 3 years ago 3
When did they start listing Eileen Fulton/Lisa at the very end? I thought they included her with the Hughes at the beginning throughout most of the '70s, but maybe I'm remembering incorrectly.
mthivier 3 years ago
They started doing this in the early '70s. ATWT and THE EDGE OF NIGHT were the only soaps with the special credit. Donald May had this special billing during his decade-long run on EON (1967-77). Eileen's started in 1970-71.
Soapking1965 3 years ago
I have to sadly agree with you..I hate the way programmes are cut and bastardised to make room for more commercials..I would really love for it to return to a one or two sponsors per show the way it used to be, but that will never happen!
frjohn65 3 years ago
And the networks wonder (?) why viewers have lost interest in network TV viewing... Back in the day, TV shows had theme songs and closing credits, without all of the logos on the screen.......
CaliforniaGuy888 3 years ago 4
I could not agree more!! I have been saying the lack of good classic themes and opening and closing sequences have caused people to lose interest in soaps. I have such fond memories of the show themes in the 80s growing up. I have to say i'd be more inclined to watch if there were still that way today.
jmsweat 3 years ago 4
Even the "Stay Tuned" is long gone ! Although I understand why, since Guiding Light airs at different times throughout the country.
CaliforniaGuy888 3 years ago
Yeah even though most markets air ATWT right after B&B, I've never heard them say stay tuned for As the World Turns.
jmsweat 3 years ago
ATWT and Guiding Light are both produced by Procter and Gamble, Bold and the Beautiful isn't. So at the time ATWT and GL partnered with one another to promote each other's show.
TimothySEnglish 3 years ago
Don't forget that B&B wasn't around until the mid 80's as well.
TheChrisCassidyShow 3 years ago
B&B premiered in March, 1987.
Soapking1965 3 years ago
such a beautiful tune..so few shows anymore even bother with opening or closing themes.
frjohn65 3 years ago
why would a show bother anymore? TV networks clutter the end of programs with commercials and so on.....the credits are pushed to one side of the screen.
CaliforniaGuy888 3 years ago
I used to hear this ALL THE TIME as a kid, staying with my grandparents when I wasn't in school. What a beautiful piece of music. Thanks for letting us hear it again. Makes me think of my grandmother who's been gone a while now.
tigerbandalumni 3 years ago 2
@tigerbandalumni I lost my grandma in 1973 and grandfather in 1975. I think this was my grandma's favorite show....and pretty sure it was my mom's too. I'm 50 now and I have a long association with this theme. It's kinda burned into my memory and that last bit with the violin just reminds me of her and how much I miss her even though she's been gone 37 years.
ActorGuy 1 year ago 13
Bring this back! It should have never went off the air. The present theme sucks!BRING BACK THE HORNS.
Maestrob8 3 years ago
I think that this was by far the BEST soap opera theme ever written. It was originally composed by the late Charles Paul who first played it on the organ when the show was broadcast live on the radio. Love that horn solo in it. As usual, the producers ruined it by changing the theme to something more youth-oriented. Fools. Thank you SciFi for putting this up here; it brings back MANY memories of days when I actually thought I'd make a difference in world. Sigh........
Dogsledfan 3 years ago
I definitely agree with you about this theme. It's EPIC. I can only imagine having that thing blaring through the TV every afternoon...definitely time for ATWT!
allmyshadows 3 years ago
Because CBS was competiting with ABC Soaps who were huge at that time.
jammasterjayfan 3 years ago
the only thing 'missing' from this theme, which i enjoy both live and recorded, is the one-note piano intro that began the opening and closings to this theme - which, i think, 'disappeared' about a year and a half after the orchestral premiered...
grhdanny 3 years ago
Yes, I agree. There's a reason they kept this same theme (in one arrangement or another) for twenty-five years. Also, did ya' notice, ATWT was consistently the number-one rated soap for the over two decades, and it's around the time they stopped using this theme that their ratings started to drop. Coincidence? Maybe.
mthivier 3 years ago
"As the World Turns" was never broadcast on radio, although it was broadcast live on CBS Television Network for many years, starting with its premiere in 1956, up to, and including, a portion of 1975. (You are perhaps thinking of "Guiding Light," which did, in fact, originate on radio.) Charlie Paul (a truly phenomenal composer and musician) used a Steinway piano, Hammond B-3 organ, and Simone celeste to play the long closing theme for ATWT. Check out my tribute channel.
Soapluvva 2 years ago 7
While the orchestral rendition of this theme was used from 1973-81, the Helevtica credit font seen here wasn't used until 1978 (it would turn yellow for the new CGI visuals in 1981 and remain altogether until 1991). The episode this was taken from aired sometime in 1981, but obviously no later than October 30th.
VaultMasterDBT 3 years ago
Wait..this wasn't the exact same closing seen at WoST for years! My apologies. Fred Bartholomew wasn't EP, certain cast members I was looking for who were on in '81 aren't here, and most noticeably..there's no copyright date. I now deduct that this aired between 1978 and June 1980 (when P&G first added copyrights on all their soaps). Anyone remember the date from when WW first posted the episode that went along with this?
VaultMasterDBT 3 years ago
I was almost expecting the 1981 copyright myself. Good copy though!
fanotv 3 years ago
God that was a hell of a lot of fun seeing that again... thanks for posting!!
TimothySEnglish 3 years ago
Whatever DID happen to WashesWhiter?
scifiradioguy 3 years ago
After various you tubers continued pointing the finger at WW accusing him of stealing material from the old WoST website, he deleted all his videos and account. Another user who did the same thing because of hateful messages was the user who went by the name GhstWhisperer and had about 82 Santa Barbara episodes posted.
It only takes one to ruin the experience for everyone and thanks to those individuals we will now never know what WW had waiting in the wings that he would have posted.
Paul
EONSFTFAN 3 years ago
I love those orchestrated late 70s soap themes like Another World, Search For Tomorrow, and Guiding Light. They brought back many childhood memories. WashesWhiter used to have a clip of this ATWT theme, except it cut off slightly less than halfway through.
RolandTaylorJr 3 years ago