The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is celebrating the induction of three TV theme songs co-written by Alan Thicke – Facts of Life, Diff’rent Strokes, and Wheel of Fortune – with a virtual presentation that will air nationally on Global’s The Morning Show from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 7, 2020.
Alan Thicke is best recognized as TV dad Jason Seaver on the hit situation comedy Growing Pains, but his lifelong love of music has shaped a highly successful career behind the scenes, as he penning some of the most memorable television theme songs of all time. In fact, he had more than 40 television themes to his credit. Thicke wrote the Wheel of Fortune theme himself, and co-wrote the theme songs for both Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes with his first wife Gloria Loring and TV producer Al Burton.
Accepting the honour on behalf of his late father will be son Robin Thicke, the multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter best known for “Blurred Lines.” “The Thicke Family is honoured to accept this recognition on my father’s behalf,” says Robin Thicke. “My father was a proud Canadian, and although he was mostly known for his acting, hosting and philanthropic work, deep down he always wanted to be Gordon Lightfoot or Bruce Springsteen.” He adds, “There’s no doubt that Alan would consider having his songs being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame as one of his life’s greatest achievements. We’re sure he is playing his catalog for all his friends in Heaven right now. We love and miss you, Alan Thicke.”
“These three iconic theme songs that will be inducted to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame harken to the halcyon days of ‘80s television, when sit-coms and game shows brought multi-generational families together in their living rooms,” said Vanessa Thomas, Executive Director of CSHF. “Alan Thicke had a unique talent to create catchy, memorable songs that appeal to a mass audience, while concisely encapsulating the essence of a show. Each song became as popular as, and synonymous with, its show, and as the characters and actors who starred in them.”
Alan Thicke recalled what it was like to compose theme songs during their heyday: “The challenge was, you have 24 seconds to do something catchy and memorable and sum up the entire premise of the show, in case somebody had never seen it before. You had to do it with an internal rhyme scheme and a perky little ditty – so it was an interesting challenge.”
Following the televised virtual presentation of Thicke’s song inductions, fans will be able to view the permanent exhibitions honouring CSHF inductees and song inductions at the National Music Centre, located at Studio Bell, in Calgary. The National Music Centre is the physical home of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and will continue to honour and preserve the legacy of new inductees through exhibitions which feature stories, exclusive artifacts, and one-of-a-kind memorabilia.