A Window Above: Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Song: "Where Everybody Knows Your Name"
Writers: Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo
Premier: September 30, 1982
Peformer: Gary Portnoy
Television Show: Cheers



We've been watching Cheers a lot at our house recently.  I watched the sitcom religiously during the the initial run and it's tremendous fun exploring it with our daughter now.  37 years (!) after the original pilot, it's all too easy to forget how good Cheers truly was.  While I am willing to concede that Seinfeld maintained a more consistent level of quality, the best Cheers episodes are better than the best Seinfeld offerings.  The acting is top-notch.  In this most recent rewatch, I've been especially impressed by Rhea Perlman, the unforgettable Carla Tortelli.  It's the writing that sparkles brightest.  The Sam/Diane banter is frequently Grant/Hepburn-worthy.  What I admire most about Cheers: some of the best episodes are filmed entirely in one room.

The theme song is the best ever - no arguments worth considering.  Not only is the song itself objectively better than all others but no song better matches its show.  "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" was the fourth song submitted by Portnoy and Hart Angelo after three rejections.  The group sound in the chorus is actually Portnoy's own voice, overdubbed six times.  The simple instrumentation was maintained to enhance the intimate feel.

While the show's intro is worth celebrating exactly as is, it would be a shame to leave the full version of the song out of my post:



Want to hear all of the songs I have featured in a convenient playlist?

Enjoy: A Window Above

What are you listening to these days?