WKRP In Cincinnati
This is the full-length version of the
opening theme for the television show WKRP in
Cincinnati. The show, which originally ran
from 1978-1982 in the United States, was set
at a fictional radio station in my hometown,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
The situation comedy derived much of its
humor from the contrasting personalites and
quirks of the employees of the station, many
of whom were stock characters with a twist
(e.g. "the dumb blonde" was always
the smartest person in the room and the
"serious news reporter" was a
bumbling idiot.)
Though filmed almost entirely at CBS Studio
City in California, the writers kept a close
eye on current events in Cincinnati and wrote
them in to the scripts. For example, there
are occasional namechecks for Jerry Springer,
who was mayor of the city at the time. Also,
when 11 people were killed in a crush at a
The Who concert in Cincinnati in 1979, and an
entire episode centered around the event.
The show is much loved in Cincinnati, and
locals still point out landmarks to visitors
by saying "You can see that in the
opening credits of WKRP." Throughout the
country, the show is remembered fondly and is
considered one of the highest-quality sitcoms
ever produced. An article in TV Guide
magazine in 2000 ranked the episode
"Bombs Away" (which revolves around
a failed promotional campaign involving live
turkeys dropped from a helicopter) as one of
the five best episodes of television ever.
The theme song was allegedly inspired by the
Harry Chapin tune "WOLD", and the
text is usually believed to be a condensed
biography of the show's
permanently-chemically-enhanced and
world-weary disc jockey "Dr. Johnny
Fever". Only the last nine lines are
used for the television program.
