Heavy Action
Encyclopedia
"Heavy Action" is a piece of music composed by Johnny Pearson
. It is best known in the UK as the theme for Superstars
, and in North America as the theme music for ABC
and ESPN
's Monday Night Football
.
. The show had first aired in 1973 as a one-off special, but became a full-fledged series subsequently, and Pearson's theme was created for it in 1974.
, ABC
, who had developed the original Superstars show in the US, acquired the rights to use "Heavy Action" as the opening theme music to Monday Night Football, although it would not become the official theme until 1989
. In 1989, Edd Kalehoff
arranged an entirely new recording of "Heavy Action" for the final years of Monday Night Football on ABC. It was also used as the background music during a halftime segment as Howard Cosell
narrated highlights of the previous Sunday's games.
In 2006
, a team of composers comprising Robert Anthony Navarro
, Cris Velasco
, Sven Spieker, Sascha Dikiciyan and Chris Rickwood
were hired by Associated Production Music (APM) to arrange yet another entirely new recording of "Heavy Action" for the rebirth of Monday Night Football on ESPN
.
In 2010
, Cris Velasco
, Robert Anthony Navarro
, Rod Abernathy, and Joachim Svare were hired by Associated Production Music (APM) to do several arrangements of "Heavy Action" in various musical styles including Rock, Hip-Hop and Holiday for Monday Night Football on ESPN
.
monthly offering of family feature films.
(1976), which was a reworking of the BBC series The Explorers (1975).
Johnny Pearson
John Valmore Pearson known as Johnny Pearson, was a British composer, orchestra leader and pianist...
. It is best known in the UK as the theme for Superstars
Superstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
, and in North America as the theme music for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
.
Superstars
The BBC commissioned Pearson to write the piece to be used as the theme for their version of the TV show SuperstarsSuperstars
Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
. The show had first aired in 1973 as a one-off special, but became a full-fledged series subsequently, and Pearson's theme was created for it in 1974.
Monday Night Football
In 19781978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, who had developed the original Superstars show in the US, acquired the rights to use "Heavy Action" as the opening theme music to Monday Night Football, although it would not become the official theme until 1989
1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
. In 1989, Edd Kalehoff
Edd Kalehoff
Edward Woodley "Edd" Kalehoff is a music composer who specializes in compositions for television.-Notable pieces:Composer of about 1,000 pieces, mainly for television, his credits include the majority of cues used on The Price is Right as well as the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare, a music...
arranged an entirely new recording of "Heavy Action" for the final years of Monday Night Football on ABC. It was also used as the background music during a halftime segment as Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
narrated highlights of the previous Sunday's games.
In 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, a team of composers comprising Robert Anthony Navarro
Robert Anthony Navarro
Robert Anthony Navarro is an American award-winning music composer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who specializes in contemporary music styles.-Biography:...
, Cris Velasco
Cris Velasco
Cris Velasco is an American video game and film composer. He has been featured in the God of War video game series, with four tracks on the God of War, four on the God of War II, and five on the God of War III soundtracks...
, Sven Spieker, Sascha Dikiciyan and Chris Rickwood
Chris Rickwood
Chris Rickwood is a Game Audio Network Guild award winning composer from Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently working on several new projects with Cartoon Network and is activity composing new music for various unannounced developers....
were hired by Associated Production Music (APM) to arrange yet another entirely new recording of "Heavy Action" for the rebirth of Monday Night Football on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
In 2010
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
, Cris Velasco
Cris Velasco
Cris Velasco is an American video game and film composer. He has been featured in the God of War video game series, with four tracks on the God of War, four on the God of War II, and five on the God of War III soundtracks...
, Robert Anthony Navarro
Robert Anthony Navarro
Robert Anthony Navarro is an American award-winning music composer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who specializes in contemporary music styles.-Biography:...
, Rod Abernathy, and Joachim Svare were hired by Associated Production Music (APM) to do several arrangements of "Heavy Action" in various musical styles including Rock, Hip-Hop and Holiday for Monday Night Football on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
SFM Holiday Network
Three years after its arrival on Monday Night Football, this same music was used as the theme for the now defunct syndicated SFM Holiday NetworkSFM Holiday Network
The SFM Holiday Network was a syndicated movie broadcast package from SFM Entertainment which aired on holiday weekends from 1978 until 1991.-Origins:...
monthly offering of family feature films.
Ten Who Dared
The music was also used as the theme for the American television show Ten Who DaredTen Who Dared
Ten Who Dared is a movie made by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution in 1960. It tells the story of United States Army officer John Wesley Powell, who was the first to travel down the Colorado River, and the dangers that he and nine other men had to face while making a...
(1976), which was a reworking of the BBC series The Explorers (1975).