.png)
What happens when you blend two iconic and instantly recognizable TV themes with vastly different sounds and instrumentations?
APM Music and ESPN have teamed up once again to create a familiar yet highly inventive theme song for a special edition of Monday Night Football entitled The Simpsons Funday Football event, which combines America’s favorite cartoon, The Simpsons, and the NFL’s most celebrated night of the week. This unlikely mashup birthed the idea for a reimagining of the KPM classic “Heavy Action” by Johnny Pearson, the Monday Night Football theme since 1975, with Danny Elfman’s rambunctious Simpsons theme song. The creative collaboration first began when ESPN reached out to APM Music’s VP of Sports Entertainment Matthew Gutknecht.
“ESPN mentioned that they had 'something special coming up in December,” Gutknecht said. “Without knowing The Simpsons tie-in, we jumped in headfirst and started looking to secure the right team to make their vision come to life.”
“Heavy Action’s” bright and triumphant brass melody is in stark contrast to Danny Elfman’s zany and unbridled orchestral theme to The Simpsons. Despite the musical differences, APM Music’s Creative Director Robert Navarro and Producer/Conductor Jeff Rona were up to the task.
“The challenge was to figure out how to bring these two worlds together without it sounding like a complete collision,” Rona said.
To capture a sound that blends both musical universes, they recorded the new arrangement by Gordon Goodwin at the Esplanade Studios in New Orleans performed by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Both of the pieces are in different keys, they both have different tempos, and the pacing is different, and they both require different sized orchestras,” Navarro said.
If there’s one perfect city where a one-of-a-kind musical adventure could take place, it’s got to be New Orleans.
New Orleans is a melting pot of musical styles and the birthplace of Jazz. The sounds of live brass bands and marching drum grooves (also known as second line drumming) are everywhere, giving the feeling of a sunny day on the Jazz Fest fairgrounds. The improvisational nature of Jazz coupled with the Classical discipline it takes to make the cut into a Philharmonic orchestra were the perfect ingredients to pull off an arrangement that is this unorthodox and unique. The resulting performance pays homage to Pearson and Elfman’s compositions without one dominant over the other.
This new arrangement starts with the unmistakable harp glissando that kicks off The Simpsons theme for a playful and animated introduction with the spirited brass notes of “Heavy Action” bringing us back into the world of football. The driving energy continues with authoritative low brass surrounded by signature spastic melodic rundowns of The Simpsons theme.
A couple of fun and unexpected moments in the arrangement are a bongo breakdown reminiscent of The People’s Court theme (another APM Music classic) and a jazzy baritone sax solo matching Lisa Simpson’s signature bluesy style.
This is not the first time APM Music has teamed up with ESPN to reimagine the iconic Monday Night Football theme. Grammy-nominated EDM producer and DJ Marshmello remixed ‘Heavy Action’ for the 2022-2023 season of Monday Night Football, added a fresh and exciting dimension to the theme. Marshmello’s version was the first remix of “Heavy Action,” and proved the contemporary relevance of this timeless composition. Combining imagination and creativity with this universally beloved theme celebrates the legacy of Monday Night Football as an event that excites audiences worldwide.
“It is an absolute honor and privilege to work with one of the most recognizable melodies in sports and the most recognizable copyright in our catalog for all these years,” Gutknecht said.” “I believe we're now up over 25+ versions of ‘Heavy Action’. You never really know what's next.”
“Heavy Action” has the distinction of having international notoriety as a historic theme song for more than one celebrated TV sports event. Although it is most associated with Monday Night Football, it was originally the theme song for Superstars, a TV sports competition program in Great Britain. Johnny Pearson composed music for the BBC’s (British Broadcasting Corporation) music library which generated the theme in 1970, and the rest is history.
Monday Night Football has reached close to one hundred million fans in the first half of the 2024-2025 season, with viewership growing year after year. The Simpsons is an animation empire which has the distinction of being the longest-running American animated series, American sitcom, and scripted primetime television series with 775 episodes across thirty-five years of syndication.
Be sure not to miss this powerhouse combo event! Tune into ESPN+, Disney+, and on mobile with NFL+ on Monday, December 9th at 8 PM ET to check out the new theme song and catch the Cincinnati Bengals play the Dallas Cowboys with commentary from Bart Simpson and the rest of the Simpsons clan.
Additional Credits
Production: Ezra Broder
Editorial: Ted Reyes
Special Thanks: Max Crutchfield, Jack Egan, Ryan Opperman, Michel Sitruk, Lauren Bleakney, Dustin Miller, Rachel Visalda, and Sarah Scarlata.
Comments