written by Judy Hart Angelo and Gary Portnoy

 

The next tune to strike my li’l ol’ fancy was the theme to the

beloved—if semi-short-lived—children’s ’80s sitcom Punky

Brewster. All four seasons were released on DVD between 2004 and

’08, coincidentally an exact 20 years after the show originally

premiered and ended. During the early 20-00s as I was discovering

and VCR’ing syndicated episodes of such old shows, I was still utterly enchanted by the perfect encapsulation of ’80s pop culture simply by virtue of a show taking place while the decade was in fact happening. One staple of the iconic year 1984 was the introduction of a precious 8-year-old Soleil Moon Frye to America, and the tune—remember when theme songs lasted this long?—that rang it in each Sunday. The trouble with shows about children—and the downfall of which Punky Brewster became a casualty—is that once the children start to grow up, and reach the pubescent stage, both the characters and their shows start to lose the innocence that originally captured their audience’s hearts. Many viewers were disheartened by the direction the show started taking as Punky and her friends Cherie Johnson (played by—who else—Cherie Johnson) and Margaux Kramer (Ami Foster) became sassy pre-teens. One element of the show, however, which never lost its innocent appeal, was the theme song. It was written by Judy Hart Angelo and Gary Portnoy and sung by Gary, who also wrote and sang the theme song to Cheers (“Where Everybody Knows Your Name”). Similar themes can be detected in the lyrics, as well as those to yet another ’80s theme song Angelo and Portnoy wrote, but did not perform. That would be Mr. Belvedere’s “According To Our New Arrivals,” sung by Leon Redbone. As the middle child of those three, just here, we’ve got “Every Time I Turn Around.” Woof!

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On Gary’s album Pushing Sixty, alongside full-length versions of both other aforementioned TV themes, is a full drawn-out 3-minute version of the Punky theme. From the sound and slightly altered lyrics, I have to assume this version was... not a demo, but an earlier produced version from which the 84-second theme was adapted and whittled down. I’ve yet at this moment to determine precisely when this 3-minute version was recorded. If you know, please contact me! Thanks!

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full original version

full TV version

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Gary’s official website