The fascinating story behind the theme to Cheers

THERE’S AN ABUNDANCE of old television programmes to watch nowadays, and some local viewers may currently be enjoying Cheers, the American sitcom set in a bar, for the second or even third time. It was a massive success 40 years ago and was a good career move for Kelsey Grammer, Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson - and Kirstie Alley, who recently died at the age of 81.

Behind the faces there were incredible scriptwriters, and cementing the identity was a catchy theme tune. Although the least important part of the production, and perhaps the result of a chance encounter, the theme tune had been carefully selected and honed. Back in 1981 Judy Hart found herself seated in a restaurant next to a Broadway producer who was looking for someone to compose the score for Preppies, his new musical. She knew Gary Portnoy, who had just been fired as a staff writer for a major music publisher, and together they decided to take a shot at collaborating on the songs for the musical even though Gary had never written for the theatre before and Judy had never written a song.

Working on an upright piano in a Central Park West apartment, they composed the opening musical number, a song they called “People Like Us”. Several months later Gary and Judy were contacted by a Hollywood producer. It seemed that he had heard a tape of “People Like Us” and wanted it as the theme song to “Cheers”, a new show that would be debuting on NBC the following fall. They just needed to re-write the words to “People Like Us” and make the new lyrics relate to a bunch of likeable losers who populated a certain bar in Boston.

Gary and Judy were excited. Until the producers of “Preppies” said they had a binding contract and “People Like Us” was not going anywhere. All was not lost and the producers of “Cheers” encouraged them to take a shot at composing another title song, They decided to copy the style and produced a composition called “My Kind Of People”, promptly rejected by the producers of “Cheers”. They sent them the script to the first episode of Cheers and told them to be creative.

They loved the script, started writing , and the result was a song called “Another Day”, also dismissed by the writers/producers, Glen and Les Charles. But they were convinced that Portnoy and Hart were the right people to write their theme song for them, as long as they could complete it before time ran out. Despite this vote of confidence, Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart were losing hope. It seemed like they were running out of fresh ways to approach the theme, everything they tried sounded or felt wrong to them.

One day, absentmindedly playing a few chords on the piano, they began a simple melody and these words -

Singing the blues when the Red Sox lose

It’s a crisis in your life

On the run ’cause all your girlfriends

Want to be your wife

Television themes were supposed to be peppy and zippy , but this was lyrically a loser’s tale of woe. But they persevered, and there came the moment when a simple four-word phrase was uttered and instantly changed the direction of the song. “Sometimes you wanna go”. But go where?

Where people with problems can forget about them for a while. Where people who have no one may find someone even if only for an hour or two. A place where someone who is invisible in the “real world” can suddenly be someone. A place where outcasts become insiders. A place where you matter… a place “where everybody knows your name”.

Those few words took the chorus to a much happier placeWhere everybody knows your name

And they’re always glad you came

You wanna be where you can see

Our troubles are all the same

You wanna go where everybody knows your name

When they made the demo recording they thought this was the final version, but the producers wanted the opening lyrics to be less specific than “Red Sox”and more “global” in nature. They hoped Cheers would have international success. They tweaked the words, and recorded an amended version of “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”.

Making your way in the world today

Takes everything you’ve got Taking a break from all your worries

Sure would help a lot

Wouldn’t you like to get away

Success! “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” was declared The Theme From Cheers. The sitcom, launched in 1982, was nearly cancelled during its first season when it ranked almost last in ratings for its premiere.

However, Cheers eventually earned a top-ten rating during eight of its 11 seasons, including one season at number one.

If you’re a fan and would like the full story, and would like to listen to the music at each stage of its development, you’ll find it online at www.garyportnoy.com, the website used for this article.

Norman Griffiths

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