The Andy Griffith Show Theme

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Earle Hagen's Countrified Theme

The legendary Earle Hagen composed music for over 3,000 television series episodes during his long career, and will surely be remembered for the theme from The Andy Griffith Show, unquestionably one of the most recognizable tunes of all time. Until Hagen's passing in 2008, few people realized that it was the composer himself who whistled the famous tune at the top of each episode.

It wasn't planned that way. As a composer, Earle Hagen excelled at capturing the tone of every show he worked on. Yet, the task of creating a theme song for The Andy Griffith Show proved somewhat daunting. When he decided to create something simple, something that could be whistled, the tune unfolded in about an hour.

That same night, a demo of the show's opening theme was recorded, with Earle Hagen whistling the tune and his 11-year-old son Deane snapping his fingers. The following morning, the recording was presented to the show's executive producer, Sheldon Leonard. The concept was a winner! Leonard loved the theme and suggested the now-famous (and much parodied) opening sequence where Andy and Opie walk along a country road with fishing poles over their shoulders.

Andy Griffith and Ron Howard

The Andy Griffith Show Theme Song Lyrics 

The Fishin' Hole

Well, now, take down your fishin' pole and meet me at The Fishin' Hole,
We may not get a bite all day, but don't you rush away.

What a great place to rest your bones and mighty fine for skippin' stones,
You'll feel fresh as a lemonade, a-settin' in the shade.

Whether it's hot, whether it's cool, oh what a spot for whistlin' like a fool.

What a fine day to take a stroll and wander by The Fishin' Hole,
I can't think of a better way to pass the time o' day.

We'll have no need to call the roll when we get to The Fishin' Hole,
There'll be you, me, and Old Dog Trey, to doodle time away.

If we don't hook a perch or bass, we'll cool our toes in dewy grass,
Or else pull up a weed to chaw, and maybe set and jaw.

Hangin' around, takin' our ease, watchin' that hound a-scratchin' at his fleas.

Come on, take down your fishin' pole and meet me at The Fishin' Hole,
I can't think of a better way to pass the time o' day.


Music by Earle Hagen & Herbert W. Spencer
Words by Everett Sloane

The Andy Griffith Show Theme 

Composed and Whistled by Earle Hagen

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Earle Hagen:

While sitting at home wracking my brain for an idea for a theme for the Griffith show, it finally occurred to me that it should be something simple, something you could whistle. With that in mind, it took me about an hour to write the Andy Griffith theme.

Earle Hagen's Autobiography

Earle Hagen 

A Few Facts Courtesy of Wikipedia

Earle Harry Hagen (July 9, 1919 - May 26, 2008) was an American composer who created music for movies and television. He is remembered for co-writing and whistling "The Fishin' Hole," the melody of the main theme to The Andy Griffith Show.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, as a boy he moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, where he learned to play the trombone in junior high school, and graduated from Hollywood High School. He left home to join traveling big bands, at age 16, and played with Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Ray Noble. While with Noble he wrote "Harlem Nocturne", on the road in 1939, as a tribute to Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges. The piece was recorded by several artists, including Earl Bostic, The Viscounts, Sam Taylor, Herbie Fields, Randy Brooks, and The Lounge Lizards, and was later used as the theme to television's Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.

In order to make extra money he began teaching trombone in the 1930s. He went to work for CBS in 1940, as a staff musician, but then enlisted in the military in 1941. Hagen was an orchestrator and arranger for motion picture studio 20th Century Fox in 1940s and early 1950s, and worked on films like Call Me Madam and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. He began writing for television when he left Fox in 1952 with partner Herbert Spencer. Hagen met television show producer Sheldon Leonard when he scored the Danny Thomas series Make Room for Daddy.

Hagen's most ambitious body of work, however, came from his work on I Spy, for which he won an Emmy in 1968. Sheldon Leonard, the producer and creator of I Spy, bucked the trend of using canned music for television shows and instead decided to create original soundtracks for every episode. Since every episode of I Spy was set in a different location, Hagen made liberal use of world music in his soundtracks which were mostly written and performed within the West coast jazz genre. (Hagen did not claim the West coast jazz affiliation for himself, instead inventing the term "semi-jazz," which he defined as a union of global themes with American jazz.)

Earle Hagen

Earle Hagen:

It was hard work, with long hours and endless deadlines, but being able to write something one day and hear it a few days later appealed to me.

Emmy Award Winning Composer 

Earle Hagen in the Recording Studio

Earle Hagen was the composer of choice for television production giants Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard. At one point in his busy career, he could be working on as many as six different productions simultaneously. He wrote distinctive opening themes for a number of shows, such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Mod Squad, That Girl, and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. He scored dozens of television shows, including Make Room for Daddy, The Mod Squad, Eight Is Enough and The Dukes of Hazzard. The steadfast composer was known to put in 16-hour workdays, seven days a week, for 40 weeks a year. For his work on I Spy, Earle Hagen received three Emmy Award nominations for outstanding achievement in musical composition. He won the award in 1968.

Music and Books by Earle Hagen 

The Andy Griffith Theme (Digitally Remastered 93)

Amazon Price: $0.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

I Spy, Vol.5 No.10

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

The Dick Van Dyke Show

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Advanced Techniques for Film Scoring (Book and CD)

Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Memoirs of a Famous Composer-Nobody Ever Heard of

Amazon Price: $32.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

The Andy Griffith Show 

A Few Facts Courtesy of Wikipedia

Andy Griffith Show

Buy at AllPosters.com


The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in a fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts), a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), and a young son, Opie (Ron Howard). Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life.

Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The series was a hit, never placing lower than seventh in the Nielsen Ratings and ending its run at number one. The show spawned a spinoff series Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964), a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D. (1968), and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry (1986). The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air across the United States, and the complete series is available on DVD.

Andy Griffith Show Theme

The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

Some of Mayberry's Finest 

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Andy Griffith Show Marketplace 

Your Favorite Andy Griffith Show Merchandise

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete First Season

Amazon Price: $18.49 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Second Season

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The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Third Season

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The Andy Griffith Show

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The Way Back to Mayberry: Lessons from a Simpler Time

Amazon Price: $10.39 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Etch A Sketch Art by George Vlosich III

What's the Buzz on Mayberry? 

Here's What Bloggers are Saying About The Andy Griffith Show

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Airing during the 7th season of the classic THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, "Barney Comes To Mayberry" is an excellent episode that garnered actor Don Knotts his 5th Emmy Award.
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MOUNT AIRY, NC -- A soured love affair may have led an ex-convict to gun down four men in the town that inspired the idyllic community of Mayberry on the 1960s TV series "The Andy Griffith Show," police said Monday.

Welcome, Mayberry Fans... 

Sit a Spell!

Andy Griffith Show Theme

Marelisa wrote...

This is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. And the simplicity of the theme song went along great with living in a small town where everyone knows everybody else and a day of fishing is the best way to pass the time. You just made me realize how much I miss that show. :-)

ReplyPosted July 22, 2009

PlayGuitarToday wrote...

The show just wasn't the same after Barney left an it went to color...But still one of the greatest TV shows ever.

ReplyPosted July 12, 2009

StephenC wrote...

Amazing how the opening lake is right in the heart of Hollywood, and still looks much the same. Great lens! I also did an Andy Griffith lens and it's amazing how this show is so loved. I think I have seen more of your lenses before, so just thought I would look around more of them!

ReplyPosted May 17, 2009

JoanneOtt wrote...

What a great lens! Love all the photos. It was a great show.

ReplyPosted March 05, 2009

Chris1392 wrote...

I still watch this show late nights on tv land. 5 stars and favor

ReplyPosted February 02, 2009

view all 14 comments

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