Wait—The Munsters theme had LYRICS?
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“Then The Munsters are following you…”
The classic 1960s sitcom The Munsters featured a family inspired by Universal Monsters. (More about the family below. We also have lots of articles about The Munsters listed here.)
The Munsters—which has continued through reruns and a series of reunions, revisits, and reboots—is also known for its rockin’ theme. The music for “The Munsters’ Theme” was composed by Jack Marshall. Lyrics were written by the show’s co-producer Bob Mosher—although the song’s words do not appear on air, they do appear in one of the versions below. In fact, scroll down to hear a few official versions, including two official versions with (different) lyrics!
In the future, we’ll also post a collection of cover versions of “The Munsters” theme. Watch for that post soon!
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The Munsters Theme: Official Versions
1 Season One Opening
The first season of the original sitcom The Munsters aired on CBS during the 1964-65 television season. The video below is the first version of the opening theme, with the first actress to play Marilyn, Beverly Owen. (We talk about all the women to play Marilyn here.)
2 Season Two Opening
The second season of The Munsters aired on CBS during the 1965-66 season. The version below includes a different take on the original theme, plus we see the second actress to play Marilyn, Pat Priest.
3 Official Album version with lyrics
The 1964 record At Home With The Munsters included a version of the theme by Jack Marshall with the lyrics written by Bob Mosher. (The whole album—which included the show’s cast—is fun. We’ll talk about that on Monster Complex soon.) Scroll down to hear this version of the theme and to even watch the lyrics pop on screen.
4 The Munsters Today theme with different lyrics
A 1988-1991 revival of The Munsters, the syndicated TV series The Munsters Today actually acted as a continuation of the original series. The new version of the original theme explains that Grandpa conducted a sleeping experiment—and the family didn’t wake up for more than 20 years. (This version starts as an instrumental, but trust me—they start singing before the end.)
The series had a great cast, with John Schuck as Herman Munster, Lee Meriwether as Lily Munster, Jason Marsden as Eddie, Hilary Van Dyke as Marilyn, and Howard Morton as Grandpa. Watch the opening theme below…
Related: The Munsters Theme 13 cover versions (still working on this!)
About The Munsters
In the pantheon of sitcom families, there are few (if any) as memorable as The Munsters. The classic show featured a family of monsters, including a dad who was a version of Frankenstein’s Monster, a grandpa who was the retired Count Dracula, a mom who was the daughter of Dracula, a son who was a werewolf and a niece that was normal. (Granted, the family thought she was the weird one.)
Despite airing only two seasons, the show has continued to delight viewers through reruns and a series of reunions, revisits, and reboots—and even more references to the Universal Monsters. Borrowing elements from Universal Monsters, the original show included versions of Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula, with members of the extended family referencing the Wolf Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera and more.
Want to know more about The Munsters? Click here because we’ve published lots of stuff about them!
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Will the real Frankenstein’s Monster please stand up?
Related to stuff I talked about in the video:
More about The Munsters
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