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The theme to Moonlighting was more than a simple lead-in to the show

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11 Jan 2022
5 min read
Question: he crooned the popular theme to moonlighting...

Whatever the TV series across the past eight-plus decades of television, rare is a show’s accompanying theme an idyllic fit – if not furthering compliment – to the tenor and engagement of a particular program.

The theme to Moonlighting is undoubtedly counted among such rarities.  Though the ABC comedy-drama detective show ran a mere 67 episodes from 1985-89, the rapport between Blue Moon Detective Agency pairing of David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Sheppard) was palpable, funny, sexy, engaging and amply celebrated; Sheppard was awarded thrice for her on-screen efforts (one Emmy and a pair of Golden Globes), while Willis was nominated for four Golden Globes, winning “Best Actor” in 1987 and capturing an Emmy in the same category in the same year.  The Moonlighting accolades for Willis proved a springboard for a starring career, which took off on the silver screen with 1988’s Die Hard.

With lyrics written and sung by six-time Grammy winner Al Jarreau (Lee Holdridge composed the music), the show’s version of “Moonlighting” runs less than a minute; yet, based on the crossover popularity of the tune, an extended version runs well over four minutes.  Released as a single, the song soon climbed to No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in ’87; the year following, “Moonlighting” was nominated for a pair of Grammy’s (“Best Pop Vocal,” and “Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture of Television”).

Smooth and alluring, “Moonlighting” the theme song offers an R&B backbeat which finds perfect pairing with Jarreau’s ethereal voice, and lays out the tenor for the show’s SoCal backdrop.

Moreover, the song’s lyrics nearly narrate the program viewers were soon to view, an effort no doubt aided by having the title of the show within the lyrics of the tune.

But, even more poignantly, the dichotomic, fire/ice opposites of the compelling characters within can be found before an opening scene.

The song achieves such duality and chemistry between David and Maddie from the outset: “Some fly by night, Some fly by day.”

The lines ensuing only up the ante about the characters’ being set in their respective ways: “Nothing could change you, Set and sure of the way.”

As the song extends and soon ends, the lyrics achieve the common-ground found by the attracting opposites of David and Maddie: “There is the sun and the moon, They sing their own sweet tune.  Watch them when dawn is due, Sharing one space.”

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