For fans of “The Andy Griffith Show,” there’s one whistle tune that’s likely been stuck in your head before. It is one of the most recognizable themes in television history.
The opening theme song for the classic sitcom shows Andy Taylor and his son walking down a path, fishing poles in hand. Meanwhile, the catchy whistling appears in the background as a deep voice announces the name of the show and the main stars.
It’s arguably the most iconic moment of the show. In fact, Mount Airy, North Carolina, the birthplace of Andy Griffith, has a statue of Andy and Opie holding hands and fishing poles. Even the cast still remembers that catchy tune. However, it might’ve mostly been because fans of the show wouldn’t let them forget.
In a 2003 50th anniversary “The Andy Griffith Show Reunion: Back to Mayberry,” the cast talks about that classic theme song. Ron Howard, who played Opie, mentioned experiences with the song. He said people would whistle it while he was playing basketball in high school. He would be at the free-throw line and the opposing team would do it to try to distract him.
Griffith mentioned similar occurrences related to the theme song. One of which happened at a pretty epic time.
“One time, we went to see the Los Angeles Symphony and as the conductor went like this, they whistled the theme,” Griffith said.
It must have been quite the moment and tribute for the actor.
‘The Andy Griffith Show’ Theme Song
Although the theme song only has a whistling tune on TV, there are also lyrics behind the hit song.
Andy Griffith released the album “Themes and Laughs from the Andy Griffith Show.” One of the songs was called “The Fishin’ Hole.” On the album, he proceeds to sing lyrics along with the classic theme song.
Griffith didn’t write the song, however. Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer were the masterminds behind the catchy theme song. Hagen had also created theme songs for TV shows like “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “I Spy,” and “The Mod Squad.”
According to Deadline, there was a legal dispute over the song in 2019. There were claims that CBS was using the title “Theme For the Andy Griffith Show,” without any kind of license.
After both the songwriters passed away, the original copyright was transferred to the Hagen Family Trust and The Diana R. Spencer Trust. The lawsuit claimed CBS was not licensing the music for DVDs properly.
