"Dragnet" is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

theme from the radio and television show of the same name. It was composed by

Walter Schumann Walter Schumann (October 8, 1913 – August 21, 1958) was an American composer for film, television, and the theater. His notable works include the score for '' The Night of the Hunter'' and the ''Dragnet'' Theme; the latter of which earned ...

for the radio show, and was also used on the subsequent television series and later syndication of the TV series under the name "Badge 714". The theme is in two parts: an opening signature "Main Title" (the ominous "Dum - - - de - DUM - DUM") and the "Dragnet March" used over the end credits. Popular chart hit versions were recorded by

Ray Anthony Raymond Antonini (born January 20, 1922), known as Ray Anthony, is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Ben ...

and his Orchestra (1953) and The Art of Noise (1987). Film and television composer

Nathan Scott Nathan Royal Scott is a fictional character from the CW television series ''One Tree Hill'' created by Mark Schwahn and portrayed by James Lafferty. Following Lucas Scott's departure, Nathan became the main character and central figure of the ...

, who began orchestrating for Schumann beginning in 1952, later became ''Dragnets second composer following Schumann's departure from the series.

Authorship dispute

After the theme became a chart hit, the publishers of the score for the 1946 film version of ''The Killers'' composed by

Miklós Rózsa Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...

challenged the authorship of the copyright of the Dragnet "Main Title". They contended that Walter Schumann had visited the sound stage in 1946 when Miklós Rózsa was recording "The Killers", and had reused the melody of a cue for that film known as "Danger Ahead". A settlement between publishers resolved the case by allowing both composers and publishers to share the royalties for the short opening signature "Main Title", which became known as "Danger Ahead" after that. The "Dragnet March" remained the exclusive composition of Schumann.

Ray Anthony version

The 1953 recording by

and his Orchestra sold over 500,000 copies in the US and rocketed Ray Anthony to popularity. It was available as both a 45rpm 7-inch vinyl record and a 78rpm 10-inch shellac record. It reached number three on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

and spent two weeks in the UK chart (December 10, 1953 and January 14, 1954), peaking at number seven.

The Art of Noise version

The 1987 version by The Art of Noise was an international hit, and won the 1987

Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance was an honor presented to recording artists for quality instrumental rock performances at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

. It was used as the theme music for the 1987 film version of ''Dragnet'' based on the TV show. A new version was released the following year, "Dragnet (The '88 Mix)".

Reception

Evan Cater for ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'' describes the 12-inch single as "a catchy mesh of orchestral samples, synthesized noise and clips of dialogue from the film."

Chart performance

The Art of Noise version reached number 60 in the UK, number 84 in the Netherlands, number 25 in New Zealand and number 29 in Switzerland. "Dragnet (The '88 Mix)" reached number 90 in the UK.

Other uses of the theme

The theme has been used as a leitmotif for police in movies, such '' What's so Bad about Feeling Good'' (1968), without a need to establish it earlier. A parody of the theme opened the 1967 Eric Burdon and The Animals hit "

San Franciscan Nights "San Franciscan Nights" is a 1967 song performed by Eric Burdon and The Animals. Words and music were composed by the group's members, Eric Burdon, Vic Briggs, John Weider, Barry Jenkins, and Danny McCulloch. A paean to San Francisco, it was th ...

". A sample of it was used in the 1973 song "Armed and Extremely Dangerous" by First Choice. The opening signature was used in the theme song for the 1987 TV series ''

Simon and the Witch ''Simon and the Witch'' is a children's book by Margaret Stuart Barry, published by Collins, illustrated by Linda Birch. It also refers to the name of the series, which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy, who has a friend wh ...

''. ''

Mathnet ''Mathnet'' is a segment on the children's television show ''Square One Television'' that follows the adventures of pairs of police mathematicians. It is a pastiche of '' Dragnet''. Premise ''Mathnet'' is a pastiche of '' Dragnet'', in which t ...

'', the closing segment of ''

Square One TV ''Square One Television'' (sometimes referred to as ''Square One'' or ''Square One TV'') is an American children's television program produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop) to teach mathematics and abstract ...

'' that parodied ''Dragnet'', also used the theme for its opening. The 2003

Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...

-produced version of ''Dragnet'' used a modified version of the "Danger Ahead" theme composed by

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; ''Renegad ...

. The opening signature is frequently played during NHL hockey games by the home team (Detroit is one example) whenever a member of the opposing team has drawn a penalty. A popular variant of the theme is used as the jingle for

Tums Tums (stylized as TUMS) is an antacid made of sucrose (sugar) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) manufactured by Haleon in St. Louis, Missouri, US. They are also available in a sugar-free version. It is an over-the-counter drug, available at many ...

antacid, with the melody vocalized as "Tum-ta-tum-tum Tums". Ed Norton would often go "Dum-de-dum-dum!" whenever he and Ralph Kramden found themselves in trouble on ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...

''.

References

External links

* (Art of Noise official channel)
ClassicThemes Page about the Dragnet TV series and theme music
{{authority control 1953 songs Dragnet (franchise) Television drama theme songs Art of Noise songs 1950s instrumentals China Records singles