Great theme songs to well-known films and television often have special place in people's hearts.
They have inspired many generations past and present and will no doubt continue to do so thanks to the great power of music.
Take a look at some of the all-time greats, which featured in IMDbs countdowns of top TV and movie theme tunes.
"Over the Rainbow" (The Wizard of Oz)
The Wizard of Oz stars Judy Garland as hopeful Dorothy Gale, and according to the American Film Institute, this is possibly "the most famous and best loved family film ever made."
"Over the Rainbow" is the No.1 song on AFI's "Top 100 Songs" and the film is number 3 on its "Top 100 Musicals."
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Garland's dreamy ballad about that universal childhood desire to escape has been described as the song of the 20th century. In 2001, "Over the Rainbow" was voted the greatest song of the 20th century in a joint survey by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Singin' in the Rain"
The song "Singin' in the Rain" gave the famous 1952 musical its name. And it's probably one of the cheeriest songs linked to a movie.
It was first recorded by Nick Lucas in 1929—a solid 23 years before Gene Kelly.
"Meet The Flintstones" (The Flintstones)
Composed in 1961 by Hoyt Curtin, Joseph Barbera and William Hanna for the television series The Flintstones (1960-1966), is one of the most memorable cartoon intros of all time.
"Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, they're the modern Stone Age family," as it goes.
"Batman Theme" (Batman TV series)
"Batman Theme," the title song of the Batman TV series (1966-1968), was composed by Neal Hefti.
Both the show and the theme song were a huge success with audiences, helping Batman and Robin quickly become pop culture icons.
"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" (Main Theme)
The theme music of the 1966 Sergio Leoni-directed spaghetti western resembles the howling of a coyote. It is familiar even to those who haven't watched the classic film.
It was composed by Italian master Ennio Morricone, whose traits include whistling, yodeling and gunfire.
The soundtrack is considered one of the most iconic pieces in film history and it was a hit in the charts, staying in the Billboard 200 album chart for over a year. In 2009 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"
"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" is the theme song used for the hit animated mystery comedy TV series (1969-1970) of the same name.
Now more than 50 years old, Scooby-Doo has become one of the all-time most popular American cartoon characters—and so has the catchy intro tune.
"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" (The Beverly Hillbillies)
"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" is the theme song for one of the most popular TV shows of the '60s, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971).
The show follows the journey of a poor family who go from rags to riches when they find oil on their property and end up moving to Beverly Hills.
The theme song spent 20 weeks on the Billboard country singles charts.
It was composed by Paul Henning and sung by Lester Flatt.
"Shark Theme" (Jaws)
The 1975 classic directed by Steven Spielberg was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean. A great white shark attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town, prompting police chief Martin Brody, a marine biologist and a shark hunter to try to find it.
John Williams composed the iconic film score, which is ranked the sixth greatest score of all time by the American Film Institute. Jaw's theme music has become a classic piece of suspense music, synonymous with approaching danger.
Williams described the theme as "grinding away at you, just as a shark would do, instinctual, relentless, unstoppable".
"Stayin' Alive" (Saturday Night Fever)
by The Bee Gees
"Stayin' Alive" was written and performed by the Bee Gees. It plays during the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever, a 1977 coming of age film staring John Travolta.
The song is now one of the most classic disco songs of all time.
"Star Wars (Main Title)"
"Star Wars (Main Title)" composed and conducted by John Williams is the main musical theme of the Star Wars franchise and has been part of cinema history ever since the first movie was released in 1977. It will never get old.
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"March for Superman" (Superman: The Movie)
John Williams motion picture score captures all the heroism and fun of the best superhero of the 70's, his famous "March for Superman" proved almost as popular as the film and is now part of the repertoire of orchestras worldwide.
The 1978 superhero film was directed by Richard Donner.
"The Raiders March" (Indiana Jones)
'The Raiders March', the Indiana Jones theme composed by John Williams, is one of the most famous film scores ever created and the franchise's most catchy piece.
It was created for the first film of the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) directed by Steven Spielberg.
"Ghostbusters"
The 1984 supernatural comedy film, directed by Ivan Reitman, was a box-office success.
And so was "Ghostbusters," the song written by Ray Parker Jr. as the theme to the film.
"The Power of Love" (Back to the Future)
The 1985 blockbuster directed by Robert Zemeckis is arguably one of the best science-fiction films ever made. So much so, in fact, that in 2007 the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry.
The song was specifically written for the film and it appears in the first and third parts of the trilogy.
When the first movie hit cinemas, the original song, "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News, went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 at number 1.
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" (The Breakfast Club)
The famous pop anthem by Simple Minds, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" plays during the closing credits of the classic high school coming-of-age film The Breakfast Club, directed by John Hughes.
Its theme song was a hit after its release in 1985, particularly with Generation X during their teen years.
"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" (Cheers)
"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" written by Portnoy and Judy Hart Angel is the theme song of the long-running hit sitcom, Cheers (1982-1993).
"Knight Rider Theme Song"
The original opening theme song from the 1980s television show Knight Rider, created by composer Stu Phillips, became an instant hit.
The series ran between 1982 and 1986 and audiences the world over, loved watching the adventures of lone crime-fighter Michael Knight who drives an artificially intelligent supercar named K.I.T.T.
"Yo Home to Bel-Air" (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
'Yo Home to Bel-Air' written by Quincy Jones is the theme song of the famous NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996). The song sets the premise of the show in the opening sequence as the lyrics are pretty much the show's plot.
One of the best TV show theme tunes ever, the song still gets played in certain nightclubs.
"I Will Always Love You" (The Bodyguard)
Whitney Houston's performance of "I Will Always Love You" can take your breath away.
The song was written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973. Almost 20 years later, Houston recorded her version for the film The Bodyguard (1992).
"I will Always Love You" broke a record in the early '90s, after spending 14 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
After her death in 2012, Houston's version of the song topped the U.S. iTunes charts, and the single returned to the Billboard Hot 100.
"I'll Be There for You" (Friends)
Friends (1994 to 2004) main theme song "I'll Be There for You" by the Rembrandts is just as iconic as the popular NBC sitcom.
The song was written by David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Michael Skloff, and Allee Willis and it has become an anthem about the wonderful powers of friendship and the hardships of adulthood.
