Synopsis

On today’s date in 1989, NBC transmitted the pilot episode of a sitcom that 180 episodes later would be recognized as a TV classic. In composing, as in comedy, timing is everything, so when comedian Jerry Seinfeld approached composer Jonathan Wolff about writing the intro music for “Seinfeld,” Wolff knew it was time for something a little different than a generic sitcom theme.“When he called me,” Wolff recalled, “Jerry described to me the problem he was having: the opening and closing credits for this new show were to be Jerry doing stand-up material in front of an audience. He tells jokes, people laugh. And he wanted unique, signature theme music to go with it, [so I said] how about this? … we treat your human voice telling jokes as the melody of the Seinfeld theme! My job will be to accompany you in a way that’s fun and quirky but does not interfere with the audio of your standup routine.”

That meant that the Seinfeld intro would change each week, with Jonathan Wolff himself performing on slap bass themes and variations that danced before, after, and around the cadence of Jerry’s punchlines like, as Wolff put it, “a vaudeville rim shot.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Jonathan Wolff (b.1958) – Theme, from Seinfeld; Water Tower Music digital download