Let them watch a Cincinnati Bengals match or cheer for another irrelevant team, viewers tuned in Monday Night Football for over 50 years. The games were first broadcast on ABC in 1970.
In 2006, the NFL moved to ABC’s sister network, ESPN, where the coveted Monday night the slot has remained ever since.
But of course, no NFL broadcast is complete without an opening theme song.
In September, the league ruffled a few feathers announcing the program’s new theme song performed by an unlikely trio: Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana, who recorded a cover of Phil Collins’ 1981 classic “In The Air Tonight.”
The new track received mixed reviews, with comments ranging from saying “it could have been worse“to describe the collaboration as”wild but beautiful“and even compare the beginnings to be”hit on the head“.
But who sang the Monday Night Football theme song before the mismatched trio took the stage? And what other tracks did the network test before landing on the Phil Collins cover?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Who sings the Monday Night Football theme song?
Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana kick off Monday Night Football with their cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.” The song debuted this season.
Who was the original singer of the Monday Night Football theme song?
Country rocker Hank Williams Jr. was the original singer of the Monday Night Football theme song. In 1989, ABC released the singer’s reworked version of his single “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” titled “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night”.
The melody earned Williams Jr. four Emmy Awards and remained the opening song for more than two decades, even after the program moved from ABC to ESPN.
What happened to the original Monday Night Football theme song?
In 2011, ESPN started Hank Williams Jr. and his theme song Monday night after the country singer made controversial comments about former President Barack Obama. He compared Obama to Hitler on “Fox & Friends,” a morning show on Fox News Channel.
The channel tested different versions of “Heavy Action,” a jingle synonymous with the Monday night spot, for several years. But then this led Williams Jr.in 2017 and kept it with fanfare until 2019.
Who else sang the Monday Night Football theme song?
In 2020, ESPN changed things up after more than three decades of “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” and introduced rock legend Little Richard’s “Rip It Up” performed by the Virginia-based band Butcher Brown.
Two years later, the theme song switched again to a remixed version of the classic tune “Heavy Action”, which had been in the show’s music catalog since 1976.
Finally, in September 2023, the theme song landed on its current track: “In The Air Tonight”, performed by Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana.
How to watch Monday Night Football
Because of the Hollywood strikes this summer, Monday Night Football now airs on ABC and ESPN weekly starting at 8:15 p.m. ET. The game can also be streamed on Watch ESPN.
