This is something that's puzzled me a bit for years. The decisions to allocate wrestlers music, and when seems quite arbitary. Warrior had his tune by WM 4, yet DiBiase came out to silence until 1990 (I think).

 

By 1991 it seems every featured star has a tune, but why was it so patchy until then?

I don't know if I've ever heard a specific answer to this, but I think it goes back to Parv's general point (which I've believed for years as well FWIW) that the WWF had a slow gradual evolution from 84 to the end of the decade into what Vince's vision was.

 

The 84 TV is much the same as the 83 TV with different talent is one example of my point. Music for nearly every wrestler is another key but it was not every wrestler. At some point in 1990 they lost (or gave up) the rights to Jive Soul Bro. As a result you rarely if ever see Warlord or Power and Glory coming to the ring, even for a squash match. They are already there and hence don't need music.

To me their idea was to only have certain wrestlers have it to keep it somewhat special or at least fit the gimmick they were going for. Obviously Vince or someone changed their mind along the way.

 

When someone like Hogan came out to "Eye of the tiger" it seemed like a big deal. Once everybody had music it really watered entrances down.

There were also cases where music just wouldnt fit. Barbarian, Warlord, and Bad News Brown for example had no music, as it wouldnt really fit their characters. Same with Backlund not having music until his "presidential canidate" gimmick, since Backlund was a throwback to the old school. Speaking of which, was the WWF the first company to use original music (as opposed to the "real" songs that Mid-South, Memphis, World Class, AWA, JCP, and other federations used at the time)?

Badstreet USA predates the wrestling album. Adrian Street sang his own stuff as well

Who did they lose the rights for Jive Soul Bro to??

I think it comes down to faces and heels. The faces had music and heels didn't generally until about 89-90.

Savage, Demolition, Harley Race, Rick Rude, the Honky Tonk Man and Slick had theme music by '87. Kamala is another guy who had it.

I think the common demoninator with most of those is the Piledriver album.

 

Rude had music built into his act. I'm guessing Race's theme was just generic coronation type music?

I WISH I knew what the WWF king music was actually.

Dave Wolfe wrote Jive Soul Bro

A few of them were -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piledriver:_The_Wrestling_Album_2

 

Honky Tonk Man actually had a different theme before the Piledriver one and Demolition used an instrumental version before Derringer sang over it.

Race's music what Lawler uses now.

Honky was supposed to come in as a face as I recall, and if Demos were meant to be Road Warrirors knock offs, the hard rock was a part of that.

 

Someone might want to do a check though, how many faces of the era had themes. I only really have JYD in mind.

Race's music what Lawler uses now.

 

Haku and Duggan used it too.

Honky was supposed to come in as a face as I recall, and if Demos were meant to be Road Warrirors knock offs, the hard rock was a part of that.

 

Someone might want to do a check though, how many faces of the era had themes. I only really have JYD in mind.

 

You'd think there would a site out there that catalogued all this, but alas.. It seems to me that the more gimmicky guys had themes and the cowboys and big men and what not didn't. I know Duggan used some weird ass theme and Bigelow used music that was later used for Prime Time Wrestling in '91.

I know. ALWAYS been the WWF generic king theme. What's it called? A Jim creation?

Here you go brain:

 

I wonder who was cultured enough in the WWF to choose that.

I would NOT have put money on that. Someone was channel surfing the month Harley Race debuted lol

Wild wild guess but Nick Bockwinkel became a road agent in 1987.

 

I don't even know who else in wrestling would realistically know something like that.

Just checked Parv. Race comes down to it for his first Superstars match (9-27-86) so Bock is out.

Honky was supposed to come in as a face as I recall, and if Demos were meant to be Road Warrirors knock offs, the hard rock was a part of that.

 

Someone might want to do a check though, how many faces of the era had themes. I only really have JYD in mind.

Several actually, Hogan, Piper, Steamboat, JYD, Hillbilly Jim, Cpl. Kirchner, Outback Jack, Bigelow, Strike Force, Young Stallions, Sam Houston, and Rockin Robin were all 1987-era faces who had theme music.

 

Honky was supposed to come in as a face as I recall, and if Demos were meant to be Road Warrirors knock offs, the hard rock was a part of that.

 

Someone might want to do a check though, how many faces of the era had themes. I only really have JYD in mind.

Several actually, Hogan, Piper, Steamboat, JYD, Hillbilly Jim, Cpl. Kirchner, Outback Jack, Bigelow, Strike Force, Young Stallions, Sam Houston, and Rockin Robin were all 1987-era faces who had theme music.

 

Now go through all the heels who had themes, and all those who didn't.

 

I suspect my general point will be borne out.

Harley Race, Honky, Demos all had music. Orndorff did too albeit Hogan's. Savage had music as a heel. It WAS less common though

 

Watched WM III to see this (in clips) just now and noticed something. EVERY heel who gets a runway entrance has music except Andre.

Now I have this mental image of Mean Gene in a recliner reading Longfellow and listening to Mussorgsky.