The Mighty Hercules-Kids Cartoon Theme Song-Johnny Nash

[TISAC1]

the Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlifter transport- can be referred to as the song says-Since it can be used for humanitarian relief, or when necessary, for offensive attack- 'Only the Evil fear him'.. appropriate words to describe its' versatility!

[manofsan]

sounds like Nat King Cole

[StrickenRecord]

Gads this theme is still epic, even all these years later. ^.^

[fromthesidelines]

From the same producer who gave you "FELIX THE CAT" (that theme was also composed by Winston Sharples).

[Vonslik69]

Hahahaha!!!

[jatiles007]

Thank you for this piece of childhood memories. I listen carefully to the lyrics, some sounds like it were written by Hercules' gay lover o~O

[blackadam06]

Iron his thighs..hahahahahahahahahahaha­haha..

[webherring]

god I remember this sucked. Even though I was just a kid, I found it boring and predictable but there was nothing else on.

Did anyone else think the Mask was just Daedalus with a mask? It took me a long time to find out they were supposed to be different characters!

[TheStealthProps]

@webherring hahahahahaahahahahhahhahaahaha­hhhahahahhahahahahahahaah nice 

[Floobegusted]

Not being nasty or anything but how old is this? because it looks quite early.

[Vonslik69]

A childhood fav!!! Good one!!

[ronofontario]

@Vonslik69 Ya this cartoon and Rocket Robinhood. Does this mean we're old lol

[jake619]

i used to get up early to watch this. oh my whata nostalgia trip.

[skorpios]

he kinda looks like supermann......

put some glasses one him and ill call him clark kent x,D

[tjcurrie]

Oh man I loved this show when I was growing up in the 80s. Every afternoon I wanted to watch Herclues and my big bro wanted to watch The Flintstones. Amazing memories.

[alijn7]

Boy this cartoon brings back memories when I was a Kid in Brooklyn, NY . I used to watch this cartoon on the UHF channel on the old rabbit ears TV on channel 31 I believe ,but any way on certain part of the theme song I used to sing Hercules had the strength of 10 retarted men LOL thanks for the memories

[lowaces]

i use to hate watching this show on saturdays mornings but watch it i did

[CatAtomic99]

Yeah, Hercules, table for one? Might be under Herakles.

[Altaranalt]

Are we talking about the same Hercules who murdered his own family?

[jdsegovia23]

Johnny Nash who sang Bright Sun Shiny Day sang this theme song.

[snufpark]

@jdsegovia23 You're right, it is the same Johnny Nash--although here he's trying to sound like Johnny Mathis.

Nash introduced reggae to a US audience that wasn't yet ready to embrace the cultural roots of Jamaican music--dreadlocks, ganja, rudies and rastas. He didn't just cover Jamaican artists, though. Nash also wrote the song you are referring to: "I Can See Clearly Now." It was later picked up and covered by Jamaican artists. A reverse cultural exchange.

[jameswest1117]

Hey paulfw1961: His centaur buddy was named "Newton", and you're right. "That's me! That's me!" He was irritating!

[PurpleGurl1200]

Greece's first Superman...

[MultiMrfalcon]

Thank you for posting. I loved this show as a kid!

[paulfw1961]

Hercules looks a lot like Superman. He used to have a little centaur that followed him around who always repeated everything he said. Very annoying. Very annoying.

[barb1259]

can you watch episodes of Hercules anywhere?

[nayoluv]

I felt so safe back then. I remember my mom would drop my sister and I off at the baby sitter in the morning. While the babysitter was preparing our breakfast we would sit right in front of the tv watching Hercules. Herc! Herc!

[thevampirefreak]

This song played JUST when I watched a movie xD FUCK it was epic, when I thought this song was in the movie's soundtrack xD

[veleegygirl]

holy cow really can't believe this where did you find this.....awesome....

[darrylhaynes]

im soooo old...

[PlanetLiber]

Very cool! I remember watching this as a kid. BTW: There's nothing ghey about this. It's classic hero genre where the hero, the protagonist, is always the protector and defender of the weak or the oppressed.

[reallyfrank]

I used to want one of those rings that would get struck by lightening for super hero power

[TheArtofBedHead]

Fighting for his life

with a rubber knife,

with the strength of ten

plastic army men!

Ah, grade school humor. Good time.

[darkman3]

@TheArtofBedHead Now thats funny!!

[theimmaculatecrown]

I could never forget this. My uncles and I would watch this as kids.

[hercsgirl15]

wow the disney version is WAY better than this crap!the auality in ths sucks.u need to upload the goods.not the crap.u should upload zero to hero!

[Jaybird1103]

Didn't know that Johnny Nash did the theme song to the 1963 cartoon. It was 9 years later that Johnny recorded what would be his signature song "I Can See Clearly Now", which became a #1 song worldwide in late 1972-early 1973.

[bkthin]

@Jaybird1103 at the closing credits of the end of the cartoon, it says the mighty hercules theme sung by johnny nash

[martinf74]

I lose it when I was seven, when they replaced Battle of the Planets at 5:00 for this show.

[generatrix999]

... a gay boys dream cartoon.

[pagehasexpired]

@generatrix999 youre gay

[hercsgirl15]

@generatrix999 ur right it is a gay dream.the disney version is better.

[Keedeeg]

I HAD to watch this EVERY Sunday morning!! Such a fond memory from my childhood. Thanks for sharing!

[cindy55intexas]

@Keedeeg Me too!!!!!

[steve7138]

Kids today (under age 30) are hung up on the word " gay" and sex behaviors of cartoon characters.

In the early/mid 1960's word "gay" didnt exist--cartoons were cartoons--we kids then didnt think anything sexual about them!

Hercules was a good moral cartoon for its time!

[KyoNingyo]

Well said, steve7138

[atfatw]

@steve7138

to some of the idiots posting, masculinity itself is gay

[zeustaco]

cartoons in that time...were soo damn gay...then they went cool, now' they're going gay again.

[alemaopazeamor]

HÉRCULES, essa é sua história

HÉRCULES, feita de luta e glória

Filho de Zeus, que um povo guarneceu, com força prodigiosa e alma generosa

HÉRCULES, é lutador valente

HÉRCULES, é defensor da gente

Na terra e nas alturas, conhecem seu valor, desejam seu vigor entre nós

.

Esta é a letra em português, porém incompleta/incorreta.

Não consigo encontrar fonte que tenha a abertura antiga, ou áudio, ou ao menos a letra.

Gostaria muitíssimo de uma indicação...

[mmmm6132]

@alemaopazeamor opa!! achou o tema em portugues?

[broot4u]

This cartoon, I just learned, is 100 percent Canadian. I didn't know we had all that cheese working on animation cells here in the North. I'm so embarrassed. LOL.

Apparently we're responsible for Rocket Robin Hood and Max the 2000 Year Old Mouse as well.

Wonder if we're guilty of any other cartoons dipped in Cheese Fondue!

[raunchboy]

"Hercules, what a big fat phony,

Hercules, he's full of baloney

Flying through the sky,

dropped his apple pie

he's the mighty Hercules!"

That's the way my elementary school classmates and I used to sing the song anyway.

[rhcmlc]

I used to watch this cartoon around 1976/1977. Anyone know when this series actually began?

[broot4u]

@rhcmlc 1963 by Trans Lux cartoons.

[Blurgle3]

@rhcmlc : it began around 1964.

[chiliconcarne2006]

wow...its been a while since i heard this song.

[glsingle]

That brings back memories....and then Johnny Nash had a hit with "I can see clearly now"!!

[Gothicbrett]

Hercules had the strength of just 10 men?

[LShackley]

Hey Herc! Hey Herc! This cartoon was on the Garfield Goose show on WGN in the 1960s.

[fitasc9]

@LShackley

Garfield goose was on the morning Ray Raynor show

[LShackley]

That was a later development. Garfield had his own show from 5:00 - 5:45 through most of the 1960s. They played lots of cartoons like Herc, Clutch Cargo, Funny Company, etc.

[axo420]

lol to funny, when i was a kid in the eearly 70's cartoons were on saturday mornings only except for 1 cartoon on sunday's......this one , so if ya wanted anything on sunday morning our choices were jimmy swagart or hercules lol

[iangoblin71]

Softness in his eyes...iron in his thighs.

[faxxanadu]

Seems like Hercules might like the dick.

[hanoc101]

LOL I never noticed how homo-erotic this lyric is.

[21susan59]

@iangoblin71  oh yeah !!!!

[vincenz55]

one of the best theme songs of all time

[Lehnerd57]

Trans Lux be same people credits on speed racer which were never kept when they put speed racer on dvd..

[Brazard23]

Omg this show was so awesome ! I mean it was before my time but in the early 90's it was still on. Loved it !

[bombergal1]

Oh my god I haven't seen this show in almost 25 years when I was a little girl. I would wake up early to watch this and would turn the aerial so that I could see it clearly lol

[jeffkohut]

Haha awesome, you must be around the same age as me as I have the exact same memory!

[TheGringoLoco]

This cartoon is dripping with homosexual undertones.

[iorr247]

Herc completely ignored the advances of the busty blonde (Helena?).

[jackhillty1]

a perfect vocal performance

"iron in his thighs"

[snakepimp1]

I remember watching this when i was a kid, it was the lamest show ever, i remember that Zeus was called King Zeus instead of God, pretty dumb considering this is based on greek mythology, and don't get me started on that fucking centaur, he wasjust too damn stupid and anoying, he was the first animated character that made me feel true hatred.

[jamesjohnking]

You've got problems. I suggest a team of psychiatrists, working round the clock. They just might save you, but time is of the essence.

[madcapromanian]

Quit Dissing Little Newt! LOL!

(I hated him too! "Herk! Herk!"...then...to REALLY pour salt in the would...they brought in little Toot!)

[hemanshera777]

I wonder who can create a "The Touch" Music Video of THIS super hero?

Cause I think he diserves that.

[GALAFOUNDATION]

The disney People will not alow it because of their own version of Hercules.

I loved this original version of hercules!

Noel

[GoblinXXX]

Well, I would think the GREEKS made the original version of Hercules-- Or Herakles. If Disney really thinks they own the name and concept of Hercules, they're dreaming. They only own their version.

[brainards1]

I remember watching this cartoon...LOL

[HaroldPlatypus]

"Fighting for his life, with a rubber knife. With the strength of ten toilet paper men...." Ha, ha, used to watch this show all the time.

[rokmontez]

I remember watching this as a kid. Yeah, some of the lyrics sound super gay today, but they didn't at the time. How things change.

[RichYan33]

Wait? You're saying he WASN'T gay?

[TheLaurenGame]

Think we'll ever be able to get a complete copy of the series, remastered onto blue-ray?

[S1587915G]

DVD will be good enough. And I'd sure love to have it on DVD.

[lawsonmoonrunner]

wow did they rip off Superman's look and logo here or what

[comedyjon]

Randomhero lives in a bubble somewhere. Cartoonists have hidden all manner of sexual innuendo in cartoons since cartoons were first invented. Get a grip.

[RandomHero1971]

Who in the HELL would take a childrens' cartoon and discuss "gay overtones"? Now THAT sounds like a disturbed individual. That means they had to go through and put their neurotic spin on the words. Sad indeed.

[ChuChu353]

So you're saying that gay = bad??? There are a lot of gay male couples raising children that are better parents than some straight parents. DISTURBED because a man might be gay and otherwise normal and well-adjusted??? Sounds like you're the neurotic one. THAT'S sad :-(

[vinylsingleman]

So, ChuChu, you think it's perfectly OK to look for supposed "gay overtones" in every area of entertainment including children's cartoons? For the record, the obsession with sexual "overtones", period, is troublesome when applied to children's entertainment.

[ChuChu353]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz­zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[vinylsingleman]

oh, that's brilliant, chu chu, brilliant.

[Blurgle2]

Yes, I do. It's perfectly okay to look for anything in anything!

Not only are you a bigot, you don't even get that you are one.

[vinylsingleman]

And I will NOT be intimidated by the use of that word. If you think you can just bandy that word around to make people stop expressing their opinions, you are just an immature little thug. I don't question your right to look for sexual overtones everywhere, just saying it's gone overboard. I reserve the right to say it.

[FrankMiscavitch]

It's not gay cause newtons a man-horse..so Hercules is only have gay, and have into bestiality, but all pedophile cause newton's underage.

[sanguinestallion]

This man speaks the truth.

[123JDB789]

RE:  Man-Horse and Newton

He's a mythical creature called a Centar.

You learn something new everyday!

[Juliaflo]

I think you mean 'C-E-N-T-A-U-R'.

[123JDB789]

I offer you my middle finger in an upright position.... rotation is also an option....

[OneEyedKeys]

It's only bestiality if Hercules has his dong in Newton's arse, but not if he has his tool in his mouth. Then it's A o-kay.....depending on Newt's age.

[FrankMiscavitch]

I saw Newt with a lolly-pop and Justin Timberlake pin.

[braddockakalatis]

Thank you for posting this. This tune has been in my head for decades.

[fallout51]

@braddockakalatis

Me too. Never could get this one out of my head

[Davidpaolo777]

Hahahahaha, I loved Hercules, with his "iron in his thighs" and I enjoyed it as a child too.

I don't know why, today even in these hypocrit-opened minded XXI century, people are still talking about what's or not gay (gay means happy, isn't it???!!!) By the way there are too much people saying that Disco (70's) music was also gay too...Let's enjoy the beautiful things of life without worring the labels, just not to hurt the other...

Peace and Love and Good night for you all

[nochartmozart]

Speaking of Gay, sounds like Johnny Mathis singing.

"Hercules...Look at Me...I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree"

[tenorismo]

I know Laurel and Hardy were gay . So were the 3 stooges. Gay gay gay. Everybody is gay. Im sick of it.

[4thtroika]

You forgot Bert and Ernie.

[Lambtonboy]

I mean this simply as a commentary and not a criticism of this cartoon. I enjoyed it as a child too. But there are a few websites devoted to the so-called 'gay overtones' of Hercules cartoon. The 'too-short' tunic he wears , the buff physique, the lyrics in the theme song "softness in his eyes, iron in his thighs," and the fact that he never actually goes after Helena but seems to run away from her at the end of each episode.

It was innocent enough but it does make one wonder a little.

[tenorismo]

What do you mean gay overtones ? He's Hercules friend to the poor and week . iron in his thighs hes strong and powerfull Virtue Protects the week and the poor. Fire in every part . He stregnth is powerfull. And Helen may have been a big pain in the ass.

[DebsAnn]

I remember thinking this dude was pretty good lucking, equvalent now to what i'd say as "Hot". lol

[bus114]

This is not the Johnny Nash who sang "I can see clearly now...". That's a very popular misconception. You can find the truth -- that it was two different Johnny Nashes -- on numerous web sites.

[ChuChu353]

Where is Xena LOL

[althea1959]

I did not know it was a black man singing this. I loved this song when I was little. I did not care about the plot, just the music. SING IT, BLACK MAN. SING THAT SONG.

[CanadianRanger17]

Hercules you are one of the best heroes of all time!

[DSCOBLUE]

Saturday morning cartoons, was there anything better...

[KKKn50cal]

LOL, no I don't think so.

I remember this from when I was a kid.

[DavidChipman]

Damn! I feel 8 years old again! I remember seeing this in the early '80s.

[magistrumartium]

Damn! I feel 4 years old again! I remember seeing this in the early '60s!

[radcam69]

It IS Johnny Nash, who was literally unknown at the time of this recording, early 60's.

[vinylsingleman]

Well, not TOTALLY unknown; he had minor hits in the '50s with "A Very Special Love" and "As Time Goes By", and, oh yes, the (unintentionally hilarious) "Teen Commandments" with Paul Anka and George Hamilton IV. He changed his style quite a bit for "Hold Me Tight", which hit big not long after he did the Hercules opening here.

[flyrock45]

it's been awhile since I've seen this intro

[Lockemeister]

Wow! I remember this cartoon. I used to watch it as a child. I also remembered the theme song very well. Also I remembered what I thought as a child. Like, Why did Hercules shoot an arrow at the Sun to blow it up? I used to be disturbed with that as a kid. Isn't the Sun our friend, Don't we need the sun? And when he raised his arm only the top half of his body moved and seemed disconnected from the lower half!

[Lemlyric1]

I used to watch the Spanish version of this cartoon as a kid...brings back memories. Thanks for posting this.

[DarkBro123]

Oh, my God.... I didn't think I'd ever see this again. Great cartoon. Thanks for posting this; it brings back great memories!

[nancyzeetoo]

Ahem. Iron in his thighs? Softness in his eyes? Fire in every part? Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.....

[Cheessa]

Good cartoon theme song.

Bizarre cartoon, but back in the day, I enjoyed it..now only if Newton got killed in one episode, that would be great.

[conradragzoff]

Yup, we watched this all the time... right before we had to go to school... ugh...

[bigsteady0033]

this is a classic!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dav777]

The cartoon and the song was awesome in it's day and today. All you young'ens STFU!!!

[1975tooto]

This is the way it was back then! A very good cartoon and a very nice theme song!Its 2008 so it is easy to make comments now!You cannot compare 1964 to 2008!

[tubejawn]

Supgirls210 if u listen to the words i think u'll hear ur answer: ONLY THE EVIL FEAR HIM.

[Odor1o1]

This cartoon is an early era when things were simple and relied on the contents from Greek Mythology and entertaining the kids during that time. These cartoons are the pioneers to what we have today. Sometimes the comments I read sucks. I appreciated Hercules during it's time.

[Supgirls210]

THIS THING SUCKS

[TheFecalAvenger]

Honestly, the cartoon did suck, but this is the BEST cartoon theme song I've ever heard. And that they got a world class guy like Johnny Nash to sing it... incredible. Look deep and try to hear the awesomeness in it.

[snufpark]

Not all myths are Greek. The Johnny Nash who sang the Mighty Hercules was not the famous Johnny Nash who sang "Stir It Up" and "I Can See Clearly Now".

As to the Mighty Hercules "Johnny", it's not surprising you like his voice. He's doing a "world class" imitation of another Johnny--Johnny Mathis. Sufferin' Psyche!

[TheFecalAvenger]

Really? Well, I am a big fan of Johnny Mathis, so I guess it all makes sense. Kind of disappointing about it not being the same guy, though.  Great singer.

[TheFecalAvenger]

From Wikipedia: "Hercules's voice actor was Jimmy Tapp. The series also featured a memorable theme song sung by Johnny Nash, a singer whom some fans and web sites, such as Billy Ingram's TV Party, mistakenly claim is Johnny Nash, an African-American pop singer-songwriter of the same name, best known for his 1972 hit, "I Can See Clearly Now". A quick listen to both the cartoon's theme and one of Nash's songs clearly demonstrates that these are two completely different singers." Good call snuf!

[snufpark]

Good on you, feec! Too many Posters on 'tube don't think to check out background information. Since you're on line anyway, it's easy enough to run another search engine to cross-check your facts. And, as you have accurately reported

(cf B. Ingram), you sometimes have to check a few sites to get the true story.

As to unseen voice talent, read up on Marni Nixon. An amazing singing career behind the camera.

[kstrat]

Well, Wikipedia isn't an irrefutable source of info. So I'm going to take that with a grain of salt especially, since nothing concrete is offered to prove it isn't the same Johnny Nash. That's speculation in my book. It's entirely possible that he did session work early in his career.

To my ear there is enough similarity in the timbre of the voices. Singers have been know to change up stylistically over the course of time. Has anyone even bothered to ask Johnny himself?

[TheFecalAvenger]

"The" Johnny Nash or no, one thing is for sure: this Johnny can sing his ass off!

[kstrat]

LOL! He sure can. Go check out some of Nash's 60's recordings right here on YouTube. Give them a really good listen...and hear for yourself!

[mndandy]

Yes, Johnny Nash was all over Hollywood in the late '50s & early '60s; he's in some pretty high profile movies (I recall at least one juvenile delinquent role) and may have even seen some chart action with his early Mathis-inspired ABC 45s. I've no doubt it's him.

People find it hard to believe that he could morph into an early '70s quasi-reggae hipster covering Bob Marley tunes.

Have a listen to the bridge of "I Can See Clearly Now", he gets up into the same range he's using here.

[kstrat]

Well, Wikipedia isn't an irrefutable source of info. So I'm going to take that with a grain of salt especially, since nothing concrete is offered to prove it isn't the same Johnny Nash. That's speculation in my book. It's entirely possible that he did session work early in his career.

To my ear there is enough similarity in the timbre of the voices. Singers have been know to change up stylistically over the course of time. Has anyone even bothered to ask Johnny himself?

[kstrat]

A quick trip to Answersdotcom's bio on Johnny Nash states ealier in his career "ABC-Paramount seemed to be trying to groom Nash as a successor to pop balladeer Johnny Mathis".

Something to consider before anyone can completely dismiss "The" Johnny Nash as the theme's vocalist.