Where Everybody Knows Your Name

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name"
1983 7" vinyl single (UK)
Single by Gary Portnoy
Released	1982
Recorded	1982
Genre	Pop Soft rock
Writer(s)	Gary Portnoy Judy Hart Angelo
Gary Portnoy singles chronology
"Theme from Cheers (Where Everybody Knows Your Name)" (1982) "Theme from Punky Brewster (Every Time I Turn Around)"

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is the theme song from the 1980s television sitcom Cheers. The song was written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo and performed by Portnoy. Shortly after the premiere of Cheers, Gary Portnoy went back into the studio to record a full-length version of the song that made the US and British pop charts.

It was not until the release of Gary Portnoy's album, Keeper (2004), that the full-length version was made available on CD (and shortly thereafter on iTunes). In 2010, Portnoy released a new CD, Songs Along The Way, that includes his original demo recording of the Cheers theme (with the original lyrics as referenced below.)

In a 2011 Readers Poll in Rolling Stone magazine, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was voted the best television theme of all time.

History

By 1981, New York songwriter Gary Portnoy had already written songs for the likes of Air Supply ("I’ll Never Get Enough") and Dolly Parton ("Say Goodnight"). One night in the summer of that same year, his friend Judy Hart happened to be seated next to a Broadway producer at dinner. Upon finding out that Hart was working for a music publisher, he asked her if she could recommend someone to compose the score for a new musical he was producing. On a whim, Hart, who had never written a song, approached Portnoy, who had never written for the theater and, together, they set out to compose the words and music for the musical named Preppies.^[1]

In the spring of 1982, Judy (now using her full married name) Hart Angelo sent a tape of Preppies' opening number, "People Like Us", to a friend in California, who then passed it on to television producers Glen and Les Charles. Upon hearing it they each felt that, with a lyric re-write, "People Like Us" would be the perfect theme song for their upcoming NBC sitcom Cheers. Upon learning that "People Like Us" was legally bound to the musical Preppies, the Charles Brothers asked Portnoy and Hart Angelo to take a shot at composing a theme specifically for Cheers. The song that resulted, "My Kind of People", was somewhat of a reworked version of "People Like Us". It was subsequently rejected.

Portnoy and Hart Angelo then wrote and submitted two more potential themes for Cheers. One of them, entitled "Another Day" contained a lyric line "There are times when it's fun to take the long way home" that greatly appealed to the Charles brothers. But, overall, the song missed the mark and was passed on. The fourth song began with a catchy intro followed by simple, alternating chords on a piano. The opening verse lines, both musically and lyrically, were something of a lament. The verse then transitioned into a soaring refrain that seemed to capture the essence of why people might want to go to a place like "Cheers" — a place "Where Everybody Knows Your Name". The two songwriters recorded a simple piano/voice demo of the new song for the Cheers producers. Upon hearing it, the Charles Brothers gave it their stamp of approval and, once Portnoy and Hart Angelo had complied with a request for a few lyric changes intended to broaden the song's appeal to a more general audience, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was officially designated the "Theme From Cheers". The original verse:

Singing the blues when the Red Sox lose

It’s a crisis in your life

On the run 'cause all your girlfriends

Wanna be your wife

And the laundry ticket’s in the wash

Was changed to:

Making your way in the world today

Takes everything you got

Taking a break from all your worries

Sure would help a lot

Wouldn’t you like to get away^[1]

After several months of mulling over possible outside singers, the producers eventually asked Gary Portnoy to record the vocal for the opening credits of their new series. (The chorus of the song is six of Portnoy’s vocals that he recorded one on top of the other to create the "group sound" of the hook.) It was also decided to maintain the simple feel of the New York demo in the TV version by keeping the number of instruments to a minimum. The final Cheers Theme was recorded on August 13, 1982 at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, California.

The song received an Emmy Award nomination in 1983, for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics.^[2] It is frequently cited as one of the very best television theme songs of all time.^[3][4]

This recording was used by the show for its entire duration. When Cheers switched to stereo sound instead of mono for the 4th season, the original mix of the theme song was simply transferred to 2-channel stereo. However, six episodes into this season, the theme was completely overhauled, with a new mix that took more advantage of the stereo sound. This version was used for the remainder of the series, and has been the one used when released on soundtracks.

When the show was remastered in the early 2000s, all of the mono episodes were converted to stereo. This included a different mix of the theme to stereo (unlike the early season 4 episodes), which takes advantage of 5.1 channel surround sound.

External links

• Gary Portnoy's official website - includes a video history "Outside Cheers" that showcases the life of the song both on and off the series. There is also a detailed, biographical account of the story behind the Cheers theme (including audio recordings of rejected earlier efforts), the original demo recording, and full lyrics.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Gary Portnoy's official website, http://www.garyportnoy.com
2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000223/1983
3. ^ http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/television-theme-songs-we-rank-the-best-and-worst-1.2764095
4. ^ http://www.life123.com/arts-culture/television/sitcoms/sitcom-theme-songs.shtml