Music

Throughout its history, Wheel of Fortune has used a number of music cues.

Opening and closing theme

The show has used several opening and closing themes.

"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1973)

The first of the pilot episodes, Shopper's Bazaar, used an instrumental version of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", originally composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The only other cue used during the pilot was an instrumental version of Blood, Sweat & Tears' 1969 single "Spinning Wheel". It is unknown who performed these specific renditions.

The only other music used on the show is Griffin's own "A Time for Tony", which played during the Bonus Round.

"Give It One" (1974)

The second and third pilots hosted by Edd Byrnes both used "Give It One", composed by Canadian trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and featured on his 1972 album M.F. Horn Two (which, incidentally, also features a rendition of "Spinning Wheel"). Portions of it were used throughout other parts of the game as well.

"Big Wheels" (1975-83)

When Wheel of Fortune was picked up for series, the theme song became "Big Wheels" by Alan Thicke. While distinctly its own piece of music, "Big Wheels" has some musical motifs that resemble "Give It One". "Big Wheels" was officially released on Varѐse Sarabande's 2000 compilation The Best of TV Quiz & Game Show Themes.

"Changing Keys" (1983-2000; 2021-)

In 1983, the show introduced what is arguably its most famous theme song, "Changing Keys". Much like on sister show Jeopardy!, creator Merv Griffin composed the music himself.

The original arrangement had a noticeably "chirpy" sound to the instrumentation, particularly in the saxophone melody. Also on early episodes, the theme was cued up to one phrase before the bridge during the intro. A year after its introduction, "Changing Keys" was given a "cleaner" re-orchestration (albeit with mostly the same instruments) which also added a two-bar glissando to the beginning. As a result, the theme was now cued up from the beginning during the show's intro. The 1984 version is the only rendition of "Changing Keys" to have an official release, as it was included on Griffin's 1984 album Escape (which also includes the 1984 Jeopardy! theme) as well as Varѐse Sarabande's 1998 CD Classic TV Game Show Themes. It is also the only version to have officially published sheet music.

In early 1988, the supermarket chain Acme Markets held a sweepstakes involving Wheel of Fortune-themed game pieces that could be acquired in-store. Advertisements for this sweepstakes used a rearrangement of "Changing Keys" on trumpets, presumably done by the advertising agency in charge of the ad.

Starting on the daytime version after Bob Goen took over, "Changing Keys" was re-orchestrated with the melody played on saxophone, electric guitar, and organ. Although the melody was largely unchanged, a few mordents were added. Also, the opening was lengthened and its notes changed. This rendition carried over to Season 7 of the nighttime version, where two variants were used: an opening variant that (like the 1983 version) started before the bridge, and the existing version for the credits.

A re-arrangement introduced for Season 10 in 1992 changed the composition even further. The intro was shortened to four notes, the guitar track added a distortion effect, and both it and the saxophone added a few riffs not present in previous versions of the melody. Despite this, many shows in Seasons 10 and 11 continued to use the 1989 version during the credits, most notably several of the road shows. Also, the Music Stars Week of May 2, 1994 used the 1989 version during the opening.

"Changing Keys" was re-arranged again by Mort Lindsey in 1994. This version was largely composed for horns (leading some to call it the "big band" theme), but made drastic alterations to the melody and ironically removed the key changes entirely. Despite this, a mix closer to the original melody was occasionally used during the "promotional consideration" plugs at the beginning of the credits, as well as during the opening of Celebrity Week in May 1995.

The last incarnation of "Changing Keys" for several years was introduced in 1997 at the start of Season 15. This version was arranged by Steve Kaplan, who also rearranged the Jeopardy! theme at the same time and served as both shows' music director until dying in an airplane crash in 2003. It was an updated rendition of the 1994 version, and was noticeably slower in tempo. This rendition also used a slap bass line, a musical motif not present in any other version.

"Changing Keys" was reinstated as the theme in Season 39, this time more closely resembling the 1980s versions in tempo and composition (albeit with synthesized instruments). This rendition is performed by Bleeding Fingers Music, a division of Sony Music Publishing which has also handled theme songs for other Jeopardy! and other Sony shows starting in the 2010s.

"Changing Keys" variants

1. On the first ever road shows in New York City (aired November 1988), "Changing Keys" was played live on the venue's Wurlitzer organs during the opening (the rest of the show continued to use the then-current version).
2. On the first week of episodes taped on the deck of the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower (then docked in Norfolk, Virginia) in May 1995, a marching band rendition of unknown origin played during the intro. Despite the regular version having altered its melody, this version followed the "old" melody.
3. During various College Weeks, local marching bands played "Changing Keys" live, again with the "old" melody:
   • Seattle in November 1995: University of Washington marching band
   • San Francisco in November 1996: University of California marching band
   • Denver in November 1997: University of Colorado marching band
4. On the episodes taped in Hawaii in 1996, some portions of the show used a rendition of "Changing Keys" played on a lap steel guitar. This rendition was used on two episodes in Season 14 as a music bed for a trip to Hawaii, and was also used during Season 16 for a sweepstakes to attend the 1999 Hawaiian tapings. The 1999 and 2001 Hawaiian episodes used a new version based on the 1997 version, in spite of the retirement of "Changing Keys" in 2000.

"Happy Wheels" (2000-16)

Following Griffin's retirement from the show, Kaplan's own composition "Happy Wheels" became the show's theme song. The first incarnation started with the first phrase of "Changing Keys" before a guitar effect resembling a record scratch led into the otherwise-original melody.

In 2006, "Happy Wheels" was re-orchestrated by Frankie Blue. This version removed the snippet of "Changing Keys" and added a drum fill in its place. This version remained until 2017. Another change at this point was that the theme was always back-timed to end on the last note during the credits, instead of fading out depending on how long the credits ran.

Blue also composed an untitled opening theme which was only used for Season 24. This was replaced by a guitar-based cue composed by John Hoke only one season later. As with the 2006 closing version of "Happy Wheels", both music cues remained unchanged until December 30, 2016.

The October 12, 2007 episode opened with an unknown trumpet fanfare (later used in the 2010 Wii video game adaptation) followed by the Season 24 opening music, as opposed to John Hoke's opening cue. This may suggest that the unknown cue was used as a placeholder in-studio on early tapings, with the intent of replacing it with the Hoke cue in post-production.

Untitled theme (2017-21)

The theme song introduced on January 2, 2017 did not have an official title; it is listed on ASCAP as "Wheel of Fortune Theme 2017". Due to a misinterpretation of a comment Pat made on an episode after its retirement, some fans thought the theme was called "I Defy You".

Composed by John Hoke, this theme was met with mixed reception by the fanbase due to its vaguely Latin sound; on the above-mentioned episode, Pat also spoke negatively about this theme. Despite the full version running for about 3:30, the show's editing by this point usually meant that only the opening fanfare (used during the intro) and a few bars near the end were heard on air.

This was the only time that the show's theme song changed in the middle of the season. Corresponding with its change, all of the other music cues were overhauled with new pieces by Hoke. Most reruns and episodes taped before the change had the new music package dubbed in.

At the beginning of Season 37 on September 9. 2019, an electric guitar track was added to the opening theme.

Bleeding Fingers Music remixed this theme for the first season of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.

According to comments by at least one YouTube user, this theme was discontinued after Season 38 due to licensing issues, as it resembles a music cue used for a handpay situation on IGT slot machines.

"Maximum Drive" (1995-2008)

Between 1995-1997 and again in 2008, most road shows used "Maximum Drive" by Network Music Ensemble as the opening theme during road shows (the then-current theme still played during credits). It was also used during the Armed Forces Week of April 3, 2006.

Most other road shows in between used an original theme by Steve Kaplan which was similar in tone to "Maximum Drive", although other road shows used incidental music.

Puzzle-solve cue

Except for the Shopper's Bazaar pilot, the show has used a variety of fanfares for solving a puzzle.

1. The Edd Byrnes pilots used a snippet of "Give It One".
2. When "Big Wheels" was the theme, the cue was a five-second trumpet piece similar in composition. This also applied to the Bonus Round when it was introduced.
3. After the change to "Changing Keys", the cue for solving a puzzle (including the Bonus Round) became the last three notes of the theme itself (a melodic progression of G-A♭-B♭).
4. Although the 1989, 1992, and 1994 re-arrangements of "Changing Keys" ended on a single chord, the G-A♭-B♭ fanfare was redone as a standalone cue in 1989 to more closely match the then-present renditions of the theme. And in 1994, the progression was changed to B♭-B-C and played at a noticeably faster tempo.
5. Once the 1997 arrangement of "Changing Keys" was introduced, the puzzle-solve cue was changed to a brief trumpet-based fanfare; upon the switch to "Happy Wheels", a different cue was also introduced for Bonus Round wins. Every subsequent cue has been vaguely similar in theme until Season 39.
6. Starting in Season 39, with "Changing Keys" now reinstated as the show's theme, the cue for solving a main-game puzzle also became a bar of "Changing Keys".
7. With the addition of "bonus" categories in the early 1990s, new cues were introduced if a "bonus" question was answered correctly. The first was a light saxophone-based "tah-dah" sound. This was replaced by the puzzle-solve cue until 1997, when it also deviated into its own set of trumpet-based fanfares.
8. The addition of Toss-Ups also led to a different cue being composed for whenever any of those is solved. As with the Bonus Round and "bonus" question cues, these were typically simple, trumpet-based fanfares.

Miscellaneous cues

When "Big Wheels" was used as the theme, the show also used various other music cues composed by Thicke. These were played during shopping rounds, as well as during commercial bumpers. None of these are known to have official names except for one prize cue: "Hip Check", previously used as the theme to the game show Blank Check. (This theme intentionally bore a resemblance to Quincy Jones' "Chump Change", which was used on that show's pilot episode and would later become the theme for the game show Now You See It.) One of the commercial cues was similar in composition to "Temptation Eyes" by The Grass Roots, and has thus been called "the 'Temptation Eyes'-based cue" in absence of an official name.

After "Changing Keys" became the theme, all of the other music cues by Thicke were replaced by ones also composed by Merv Griffin. These included "A Time for Tony" (originally composed as a lullaby for Griffin's son, and notable for being the basis of the Jeopardy! "Think!" music), "Nightwalk" (which typically played during shopping rounds); "Frisco Disco" (previously the theme of the 1978 revival of Jeopardy!); "Buzzword" (later reused as the theme for Merv Griffin's Crosswords in 2008), "I Remember the Child", and "Struttin' on Sunset". Notably, "I Remember the Child" was used during the "Big Month of Cash" in 1988, and during the credits of the September 2, 1988 daytime episode as a tribute to Jack Clark following his death.

During Seasons 5 and 6 of the nighttime show, commercials used "I'm a Wheel Watcher" by Kool & the Gang, a rewrite of "Girl Watcher" by The O'Kaysions. A snippet of this would also play during the nighttime episodes whenever Pat Sajak introduced Vanna White. This was retired in Season 7 when the two began to be introduced together.

Despite the retirement of shopping from the nighttime version in 1988, "Nightwalk", "A Time for Tony", and "Buzzword" continued to be used as prize beds as late as March 1996 in addition to several newer compositions introduced in 1989 and several other instrumental pieces. Starting in April 1996, Prize descriptions then changed to typically use either "stock" production music, primarily from the library of Network Music Ensemble.

With the introduction of Toss-Ups at the start of Season 18, a music bed began to play as the letters reveal. The first bed was presumably composed by Kaplan as well. He also overlaid the beeping timer in the Bonus Round (in place since Season 7) with a music bed, which was re-orchestrated several times. Starting in February 2007, the cue no longer had the Season 7 beeps. Several other Bonus Round timer cues have been used since. Following the introduction of the Bonus Wheel to the Bonus Round in November 2001, a cue was added when said wheel is spun. Another cue was later added between this and the start of the timer in Season 20. A music bed was added to the Speed-Up two months after the start of Season 18, with a second cue for the Final Spin two years later. One season into the existence of Express, a music bed was added for that round as well. As with all other incidental cues, these have all been remixed or replaced since their beginnings.

Other music uses

Many episodes have used unique pieces of opening or interstitial music:

1. On the two "Wipe Out" weeks (October 17, 1988 and February 6, 1989), snippets of "Wipe Out" by The Surfaris played during the intro and if the Bonus Round was won.
2. During the above-mentioned New York episodes in 1988, a rendition of "New York, New York" (from Leonard Bernstein's On the Town) played over the opening credits; notably, this rendition replaced the line "it's a hell of a town" with "it's a wonderful town".
3. On the two Philadelphia weeks (November 16 and 23, 1992), Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" was used as the opening theme. During the second week, the Quaker City String Band played various pieces of music over the credits.
4. On the two Boston weeks (May 10 and 17, 1993), "Yankee Doodle Town" by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra played during the intro.
5. On Family Week at Walt Disney World (December 20, 1993), Mannheim Steamroller's rendition of "Deck the Halls" played during the intro.
6. On Cruise Week (November 1, 1994), "O'La Soca" by Arrow played in place of the opening theme.
7. On the second week of U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower episodes (May 22, 1995), a unique music cue of unknown origin played in place of the opening theme.
8. On Alaskan Cruise Week (June 12, 1995), "Endeavor" by Network Music Ensemble was used as the opening theme.
9. On California Dreamin' (January 27, 1996), various California-themed songs played after Round 3: "Fun, Fun, Fun" by the Beach Boys on Monday, "California Girls" by the Beach Boys on Tuesday and Friday, "One Double One Oh" by Dick Dale on Wednesday, and "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas on Thursday.
10. On two of the Olympic weeks (April 22 and 29, 1996), "Pushing the Limit" by Network Music Ensemble was used during the opening. In addition, pieces from John Williams's Summon the Heroes were used as interstitial music.
11. On Sweethearts Week (February 3, 1997), various love songs played after Round 3: "Opposites Attract" by Paula Abdul on Monday, "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher on Tuesday, "We Go Together" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John on Wednesday, and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder on Thursday. Friday instead used a stock cue called "Sitcom Pop" by the Network Music Ensemble.
12. On Family Week taped in Phoenix and aired during Februrary 17, 1997, "Chicaloosa County" by Network Music Ensemble played during the intro.
13. On April 13, 1998, "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C+C Music Factory was used as a Prize cue.
14. On Summer in the City Week (week of June 1, 1998), "Summer in the City" by the Lovin' Spoonful and "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran were alternatingly used as bumpers after Round 3.
15. On College Week from Philadelphia (May 10, 1999), Temple University's marching band played bumpers.
16. On the first New Orleans weeks (February 14 and 21, 2000), a unique jazz composition played over the credits. Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters also played music onstage during the first week, while Grambling University's marching band did so during the second week.
17. On College Week from Washington, D.C. (February 5, 2001), the University of Maryland Basketball Pep Band played music during the opening and commercials.
18. On the Miami episodes (November 5-19, 2001), a unique Latin-sounding music cue played during the opening.
19. On College Week from Chicago (May 13, 2002), the University of Illinois-Champaign marching band played.
20. On May 21, 2002, footage of Vanna singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" from Wrigley Field aired in place of the closing theme.
21. On College Week from Seattle (November 11, 2002), the University of Chicago marching band played.
22. On Armed Forces Week from San Diego (May 5, 2003), the Marine Band San Diego played various pieces during the opening and "God Bless America" during the credits.
23. On April 12, 2004, one of the Prizes was a trip to Australia; in a unique move, the copy was accompanied by the opening theme of the then-current Australian adaptation of the show.
24. On College Week from San Francisco (May 17, 2004), University of California's marching band played.
25. On the New Orleans episodes in Season 23 (November 7 and 14, 2005), Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters played.
26. During the week of December 19, 2005, snippets from various Christmas albums were used as bumpers: Brian Wilson's What I Really Want for Christmas on Monday; MercyMe's The Christmas Sessions on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; and Jane Monheit's The Season on Wednesday.
27. On Hollywood Walk of Fame (January 9, 2006), an instrumental version of "Hooray for Hollywood" played during the intro.
28. On Soap Stars Week (February 27, 2006), a unique cue by Michael Andreas played during the intro.
29. On April 4, 2006, the Prize included a guitar signed by members of Alabama and copy of their box set Livin' Lovin' Rockin' Rollin': The 25th Anniversary Collection, and the copy was accompanied by their song "Mountain Music"
30. On January 4, 2007, Il Divo performed during the closing chat.
31. On College Week from Chicago (April 28, 2008), Northwestern University's marching band played.
32. During the New Orleans weeks of Season 28 (May 2-16, 2011), Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters played the first week, Tulane University's marching band played during the second (which was a college week), and an instrumental of "When the Saints Go Marching In" played during the opening of the third week.
33. The three episodes of Wheel Loves New York (November 23-25, 2011) used unique opening music.
34. Sandals Golf Getaway (December 12, 2011) used Caribbean-sounding opening music.
35. Hawaii Week (February 27, 2012) used Hawaiian-sounding opening music.
36. Three of the four weeks taped at the Oregon Convention Center during Season 29 (April 30-May 21) used unique opening music over the opening before cutting to "Happy Wheels" partway through except for May 14 (College Week), which had the Oregon Basketball Band present.
37. Beaches Resorts Family Week (March 10, 2014) used tropical-sounding opening music.
38. Take Me to Hawaii (November 2, 2015) used a lap steel guitar opening music.
39. Beaches Resorts Family Week (March 19, 2018) used Carribean-sounding opening music.
40. Aulani Hawaiian Vacation (February 4, 2019 and April 22, 2019) used Hawaiian-sounding opening music.
41. Great American Cities: Nashville (Februray 18, 2019) used country-sounding opening music.
42. Secret Santa Sweepstakes (December 9-20, 2019) used an instrumental version of "O Christmas Tree".