Knots Landing - Music

Music

The theme song, which lasted all 14 seasons was composed by Jerrold Immel. Immel, along with Craig Huxley composed the background music for the pilot. The original background music cues by Immel and Huxley were never fully abandoned by the show, and were heard as late as the final season. The early Knots Landing background music cues heavily emphasized the brass section, and were often played with a very sparse bass line accompaniment. It was, in fact, the only aspect of the series ever to win an Emmy award, for the music orchestration during its 1979–80 season.

By season 4 of Knots Landing, the lushness of the 1980s was in full swing and Knots Landing's background cues reflected that style. The new dramatic cues emphasized full orchestral arrangements as formerly middle class Knots Landing became upwardly mobile. The background music of seasons 4–7 was frequently composed by either Lance Rubin or Ron Grant.

Season 8 introduced a completely new score for Knots Landing. By 1986 New Wave artists and bands had taken America by storm and the new style of music cues made good use of the synthesizer instead of a full orchestra. Bruce Miller was one of the main composers during this era. Updated orchestrations of the by-then-familiar Lance Rubin cues were also re-arranged to be played by the synthesizer, and the Immel/Huxley cues were similarly utilized, albeit less commonly.

In the early 1990s, soft contemporary acoustic music became popular and Knots Landing began incorporating this into its background music during season 12. Lance Rubin's music cues were completely phased out at this point. Patrick Gleeson and Kennard Ramsey composed during this period.