but Mary Ann and the Professor were not introduced yet to the show. Certainly Gilligan and the Captain cannot be counted as passengers. This is driving me crazy. Any help?
2007-03-23 08:52:29 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Television
The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle is the proper name for the theme song for Gilligan’s Island. The music and lyrics were written by Sherwood Schwartz and George Wyle.
There were two versions of the theme during the run of the show, one for the first season and another for the second and third seasons. The lyrics were slightly altered in the second season to add direct mention of the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) in the opening credits. According to Schwartz, as the show evolved, the Professor and Mary Ann grew into more important characters than were originally planned. On the annotated first episode on Gilligan’s Island: The Complete First Season, it was reported that Bob Denver insisted that the opening credits be changed to feature all seven actors.
The first season version was recorded by the The Wellingtons and had a more folk music sound. It starts with an acoustic guitar strumming for two bars before the lyrics start. The instrumentation, which includes a slide guitar, is subdued and very Hawaiian sounding.
The second and third season version was not credited to a particular group in the credits, but according to Russell Johnson in his book Here on Gilligan's Isle, it was performed by a group called The Eligibles. It begins with a mini-fanfare, and has a more traditional pop music sound but with some almost reggae-like underpinnings. The instrumentation is much more prominent in this version, and does not have any slide guitar.
The show's original pilot episode featured a calypso theme song with different lyrics. Notably, the original length of the voyage was "a six-hour ride", not "a three-hour tour."[1][2]
[edit] "And the rest"
In the first season theme song, the Professor and Mary Ann were not mentioned by name or role, but rather referred to as "and the rest". Actors Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells were originally considered "second-billed co-stars", but with the growing popularity of their characters, their names were inserted into the later-season lyrics.[3] [4] [5] Dawn Wells tells the story that it was Bob Denver who went to the studio execs and said that Johnson and Wells' names should be in the opening credits. The execs originally refused, stating that it would cost too much to reshoot and rescore the opening. So Denver pointed out that, as the show's star, it was in his contract to have his name anywhere he wanted in the credits, so they could put his name in the end credits with Johnson and Wells'. The studio felt itself obligated to have Denver's name appear in the opening, so they capitulated, granting The Professor and Mary Ann a place in the opening credits. Wells said that Denver never mentioned this to anyone in the cast, and she didn't find out until years after the show ended what he had done for them.
2007-03-23 08:58:26 · answer #1 · answered by jmwest 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Gilligans Island Theme Song Lyrics
2016-12-26 04:16:05 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People have already steered you in the right direction and yes, the skipper and gilligan were considered the crew. As the song states "The mate was a might sailing man" (though pretty much each episode contradicts that assertion) "the skipper brave and sure". They didn't list Dawn Wells (Maryann) and Russel Johnson (The Professor) by name rather as "the rest" in the first season because they were relatively unknown actors and thought to be secondary characters. Did you know however that in the intial pilot there were three different actors playing the professor and at the time the two secretaries (Ginger and Bunny)? They kept the professor though changed the actor and changed the two secretaries to a movie star (Ginger) and the "hometown girl" Maryann.
2007-03-23 09:10:15 · answer #3 · answered by Kurt J 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are two versions of the theme song. There was a cast change very early in the shows history. the lyrics "and the rest" were later replaced by "the professor and mary anne"
2007-03-23 08:59:05 · answer #4 · answered by ryee40007 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Skipper and Gilligan were the CREW.
So that left 5 passengers, the remainder of the cast.
2007-03-23 08:56:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
mary ann and the professor were still credited in the opening so they were still part of the 3 hour tour. 7 castaways and skipper and gilligan were not passanger so your right about that.
2007-03-23 08:57:08 · answer #6 · answered by Dodo bird 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Really? maybe they KNEW they were gonna intro 2 more characters when they wrote the song, or dropped 2 then added 2 later, after writing the song. There are 2 versions of the song too, you know.
2007-03-23 08:56:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think all you people suffering cognitive dissonance over this minor change in a TV theme song lyrics from 40 years ago really need to go get laid! Just a thought. Gee, perhaps Ginger would avail herself!
2007-03-23 22:57:48 · answer #8 · answered by MIKE D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They were with the show from the very first episode. They weren't included in the theme song until the second season.
2007-03-23 08:59:59 · answer #9 · answered by jim h 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They weren't introduced in the theme song but they were part of the cast from the beginning.
2007-03-23 08:55:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋