[others in the cast besides Donna Reed were Carl Betz,
Shelley Fabares and Paul Peterson]
(ABC Primetime, 1958 - 1966)
[original title in the Capitol "Hi-Q" library: "Happy Days";
alternate previous ASCAP title: "Donna Reed Theme";
alternate May-Loo Recorded Music Catalog titles:
"TC-430" and "TC-430A";
"Happy Days" verified as the THEME in TV Guide article "Looking
For A Lost Chord?" April 28, 1962, pp. 12-13;
In the book "TV's Biggest Hits", Jon Burlingame quotes Capitol
library executive Jack Cookerly about how this production
library track was chosen as the THEME for the series:
"When Screen Gems began production on 'The Donna Reed Show',
executives 'came over looking for a theme'. Cookerly recalled,
'Bill (Loose) had written a real nice, pleasant little melody"
...(originally titled 'Happy Days' in the Hi-Q library)...
"which we eventually called 'Music To Wash Dishes By,' because
it's so insipid. They picked that piece of music for 'The
Donna Reed Theme'."
Following its use as a main theme, it was removed from the
Capitol Hi-Q library for other uses...but still shows up in
episodes of older TV shows...one correspondent mentioned
he heard the familiar melody in the underscoring of an
episode of "Leave It To Beaver"...]
Composers: William G. ("Bill") Loose (ASCAP/BMI), and
John Seely (ASCAP/BMI)
[professional name of Seely John Gilfilen]
1978 Publisher [listed as "Happy Days" in the 1978
ASCAP Index of Performed Compositions]:
Sam Fox Pub. Co., Inc. (ASCAP)
2002 Publishers: [for current Title, Publisher and Licensing
information regarding this THEME...
contact Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)]
[as part of the "May-Loo Recorded Music Catalog", a
sound recording filed for copyright]:
Copyright Date: 1998.
Recordings:
LP: "Television's Greatest Hits" [Vol. 1] (1985)
by TeeVee Toons Records (now TVT Records, NY)
TVT 1100
CD: "Television's Greatest Hits" [Vol. 1] (1986)
by TeeVee Toons Records (now TVT Records, NY)
TVT 1100 CD
[BMI alternate aka: "New Horizons and End Credits (??)"]
[THEME credit in "BMI's Many Worlds of Music", Oct., 1965 issue.]
Composers: Stu Phillips (BMI)
[professional name of Stuart John Phillips]
1978 Publisher: [unknown]
2000 Publisher: [not found in the BMI repertoire database;
may be Screen Gems-EMI Music (BMI)]
2018 Publisher: Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc. (BMI)
of Nashville, TN
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings: