Can you feel it coming in the air tonight? Or are you ready for some foooootbaaaall?
“Monday Night Football” will unveil a new pregame song ahead of both games tonight, and we know from a trailer released by ESPN that it will be Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana performing the beloved hit by Phil Collins “In The Air Tonight”.
But for those who love the timeless dun-dun-dun duunnn rhythm of “Heavy Action,” don’t worry. ESPN says he will still be on the shows.
Here’s a look at each theme song in the series’ history:
‘Score’
“Monday Night Football” began airing on ABC in 1970 and opened with the opening theme “Score” composed by Charles Fox. The groovy and funky pop number was produced by Bob’s Band, led by Bob Israel, who also created theme songs for other ABC shows such as “20/20” and “Nightline.”
“Score” remained the series’ introductory song until 1975.
“Heavy action”
Composed in 1970 by Johnny Pearson, the song that ultimately became one of the most famous show intros in television history was first heard on “Monday Night Football” during the broadcast of the 1976 season opener. The song was used primarily as background music during more than a decade of broadcasting on MNF and became an integral part of the show’s 1989 opening, when it was modernized by Edd Kalehoff.
Before MNF, the melody was chosen as the theme song from “Superstars” a British sports show that was eventually purchased by ABC.
In 2018, after many years of re-recorded and re-vamped versions of the song, Pearson’s original arrangement returned as MNF music.
“All my rowdy friends are here Monday night.”
In 1989, ABC opened its 19th season by airing “Monday Night Football” with Hank Williams Jr.’s cover of his 1984 hit “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” as the show’s first official theme song.
Williams’ “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” earned the country legend four Emmy Awards in the 1990s and remained the show’s pregame staple for most of the next three decades, even after MNF’s broadcasts moved to ABC’s sister network, ESPN. .
In 2011, Williams and his song were dropped by ESPN after the country singer’s controversial statements regarding President Barack Obama aired on Fox News. The tune returned as an aired theme song from 2017 to 2019.
‘Tear it’
In 2020, as football fans stayed indoors rather than gathering in stadiums due to COVID-19 restrictions, ESPN executives changed the intro tune from Williams’ heckle to the Little Richard’s re-recorded rendition of “Rip It Up”, courtesy of Butcher Brown.
The original “Rip It Up” was released in 1956 and spent two weeks at #1 on the R&B charts.
The song remained MNF’s theme song for two years.
Marshmello’s “Heavy Action” Remix
In 2022, the beloved first four notes of “Heavy Action” returned as the main theme of “Monday Night Football,” this time in a remix performed by DJ Marshmello.
The new and improved version made Marshmello the first artist to remix “Heavy Action” and ushered in a new era for ESPN’s award-winning MNF broadcasts, led by new voices Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Other songs used
From 1976 to 1989, MNF broadcasts began with a variety of unnamed tracks while featuring “Heavy Action” as background music. An Israeli-produced theme song titled “ABC – Monday Night Football Theme” aired from 1976 to 1981, while an updated theme titled “ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football Theme” aired from 1983 to 1987.
During ABC’s final broadcast in 2005, Williams closed the broadcast with a rendition of Willie Nelson’s “Turn Out the Lights, The Party’s Over.”
The song had previously been popularized on MNF broadcasts by former color analyst Don Meredith, who sang part of the song during blowouts.
Required reading
(Photo: John Pyle/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
