OT: Steve Carlisle - WKRP in Cincinnati

"WKRP in Cincinnati (Main Theme)" was the hit(?) version released on 45 in late 1981.

It is a longer, re-recorded version of the actual TV show's opening theme song from 1978.

The45Prof's transfer runs 2:50, but the ends are edited, so I can't confirm if it's truncated, and I don't have it myself.

Carlisle's 1982 LP Steve Carlisle Sings WKRP in Cincinnati contained a remixed version which runs 2:53.

The most immediate change to notice between the 45 and the LP is right at the beginning, right before the lead guitar starts, the 45 has a drum fill which is completely missing from the LP. Thereafter, the 45's drums, and especially the hi-hats, are louder than on the LP. The LP version adds an acoustic rhythm guitar through most of the song.

The remix appeared on these compilations:
• Tube Tunes Volume Three: The '80s (1995)
• Sounds of the Eighties: TV Themes of the '80s (1996)

It's the same transfer, just louder on the 1995 CD.

There's a 2:47 version on a TM Century CD (Series 17, 1761). No idea what it is.

There's a 0:43 version on All-Time Top 100 TV Themes (2005), but Discogs has it noted as being a cover version.

The 45 version is not on CD, as far as I can tell.

Edited by mjb50 - 15 August 2025 at 2:03am

eriejwg wrote: I was working in radio in West Virginia in 1981 when this was released as a single. I remember each of the stations in our company received customized versions of the song mentioning that station's call letters.

I don't think our station played this song, but at the time my "day job" was a field service engineer and I do recall hearing a couple stations in my travels that had a custom version.

Summing up:

The 1982 Steve Carlisle Sings WKRP In Cincinnati LP was on MCA, was produced by Buckner And Garcia (later of "Pac Man Fever" fame), prominently featured a picture of MCA labelmate Donnie Iris on the back cover, and used members of Donnie Iris's backing band, The Cruisers (!). There's a surprising amount of talent that went into making this record, but the mere title of the album certainly doomed its sales. It was Steve Carlisle's only album. The back cover of the LP also featured a picture of a band called The Rings (I don't know them).

The 1982 album featured a remix of the 1981 45 "WKRP In Cincinnati (Main Theme)". The B-side ("You Told A Lie") is on the album, but I don't know if it's the same mix.

The first CD to feature the 1982 Steve Carlisle Sings WKRP In Cincinnati LP version was Rhino's Tube Tunes Vol. 3 The '80s (1995). There's a digital clone on Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 32 TV Themes Of The '80s (1996), which is digitally exactly 1.56 dB louder.

The 45 version is the same performance, but with the opening drum fill muted and some mix differences. It doesn't exist on CD.

Edited by crapfromthepast - 15 hours 47 minutes ago at 10:29pm