Match Game - Music

Music

Match Game featured several theme songs throughout its various runs. From 1962–1967, Bert Kaempfert's instrumental "A Swingin' Safari" was used as the theme; a slightly different rendition (Billy Vaughn's cover of the same song) was used on the pilot. From 1967–1969, a new theme composed by Score Productions was used.

When the program returned in 1973, Goodson-Todman once again turned to Score Productions for a music package. A new theme, which was titled "The Midnight Four", was composed by Score staff composer Ken Bichel with a memorable "funk" guitar intro, and similar elements and instruments from this theme were also featured in the numerous "think cues" heard when the panel wrote down their answers. Alternate think cues were extracted from the music packages for Tattletales and The Money Maze. In keeping with the zany atmosphere, the music supervisors also used other notable musical works to add to humorous situations. Among the non-Score Productions music heard on occasion was the "burlesque" music titled "The Stripper".

The music for The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour was composed by Edd Kalehoff. None of the music used from the 1970s version was used in this version. The main theme song and several of its cue variations are still used on The Price Is Right.

In 1990, Bichel re-orchestrated his 1970s theme with more modern instruments with new think cues (with the classic intro/think cue re-orchestrated). The 1998 version again used music from Score Productions.