justpassinthru - Posted - 04/21/2020:  07:30:39

There are some very old episodes of Petticoat Junction on Amazon Video that do not use the traditional theme song as the show is opening and it may not Mr Scruggs playing the banjo either, I'm just not sure about that.
Does anyone know what I'm referring to and what is the song?
Thanks in advance for clearing this up for me.

Mooooo - Posted - 04/21/2020:  07:37:37

Earl and Lester recorded the song, but I don't think they ever used that version for the TV show. This is the opening/closing theme that I remember.

The Old Timer - Posted - 04/21/2020:  07:54:45

I never heard F&S playing the theme on TV.

No telling what music might have been used for the Pilot episode however.

Mooooo - Posted - 04/21/2020:  08:02:04

Amazon could be using anything, who knows. Somebody sells a set of Beverly Hillbillies episodes with Banjo Signal as the theme.

Here's Lester and Earl

Edited by - Mooooo on 04/21/2020 08:09:49

justpassinthru - Posted - 04/21/2020:  08:14:31

These are what I remember too but they're not what I heard.

Was hoping somebody else had heard this.

I reckon what's bugging me so bad is that I don't know the song, liked it a lot but can't say I've ever heard it. We watched three different episodes. Had it been the pilot, there would have just been one wouldn't there?

Edited by - justpassinthru on 04/21/2020 08:16:53

The Old Timer - Posted - 04/21/2020:  08:45:18

Yes about pilots. In fact the pilot of the Beverly Hillbillies used extensive background music from the Foggy Mountain Banjo LP. That never happened in the "regular" series. Studio musicians were used for background music once the series got "picked up" for weekly broadcast.



The pilot of Petticoat could have almost anything for music. A good research project. Same producer (Paul Henning) so he could have gone back to the same well as used for the Hillbillies, I suppose.

Well I just found and watched the Pilot episode on Google, but the theme and credits were not included there.  So, no answer.  However, the background music during the episode was a country fiddle, harmonica and piano.  I wouldn't be surprised if Byron Berline was fiddling.  I did discover that one of the 3 daughters in the show was in fact creator Paul Henning's DAUGHTER!  

Edited by - The Old Timer on 04/21/2020 09:00:39

Mooooo - Posted - 04/21/2020:  09:05:12

maybe you can record some and put up a link so we can hear it. The BHO has licensees for copyrighted music, so it should be o.k..

The Old Timer - Posted - 04/21/2020:  09:11:36

Yet further research on YouTube turned up a complete viewing of the pilot.

It had the same Curt Massey theme music as all the rest of the regular episodes.

Noted a couple of other interesting points: "Kate" played by Bea Benaderet, also played Cousin Pearl (Lester & Earl's love interest) on the Hillbillies. Bea B. also did most of the female voices for Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons. One of the locomotive men was Smiley Burnette, an old cowboy movie sidekick to Gene Autry (?).

Hooterville and Pixley from PJ were often mentioned as places around "home" to the Hillbillies. Jed and Granny used to reminisce about going to the silent movies in Pixley and the folks in Hooterville.

justpassinthru - Posted - 04/21/2020:  11:30:49

I guess y'all will think I'm as crazy as a bat and that very well may be true but I just pulled up those same three episodes that we watched Sunday evening except today, they started with the same theme song I've heard all these years.
That is not what I heard Sunday and I haven't a clue what is going on.
I planned to record it but looks like that won't be happening.
I give up.

justpassinthru - Posted - 04/21/2020:  12:23:53

Maybe there was something wrong with the audio Sunday and the banjo tune I heard was just put there so there wouldn't be silence as the show opened?
Whatever it was, it's back to normal now.

Mooooo - Posted - 04/21/2020:  13:14:40

That's funny....sounds like something that would happen to me. Maybe someone is playing a trick on you....a very elaborate trick.

steve davis - Posted - 04/21/2020:  13:54:45

I read once that Earl was their original choice for train conductor.

OldiebutNewbie - Posted - 04/22/2020:  06:38:28

Justpassinthrough is not crazy, I too was abducted by aliens. I mean I heard the mystery music.
I have antenna tv and the main networks have subchannels that show lots of old reruns and such. Within the last month or so the tv was on one of these channels before the crack of dawn and it said Petticoat Junction was coming on. So when the show came on l was ready for the obligatory sing along to the theme, and quickly realized that it was not playing the song I remember, even the opening scenes were different. Never gave it any thought until I read this. The episode was obviously old. Even the cast was a little different, especially the 3 girls. The mystery continues?

Mooooo - Posted - 04/22/2020:  10:22:59

Here's a tab of this song for banjo. Petticoat Junction

1935tb-11 - Posted - 04/23/2020:  06:06:24

Come ride the litte train
That is rollin' down the tracks
To the junction

Forget about your cares
It is time to relax
At the junction

Lots of curves, you bet!
Even more, when you get
To the junction
Petticoat Junction!

There's a little hotel
Called the Shady Rest
At the junction
Petticoat Junction!

It is run by Kate
Come and be her guest
At the junction
Petticoat Junction!

And that's Uncle Joe
He's a-movin' kind of slow
At the junction
Petticoat Junction!

justpassinthru - Posted - 05/07/2020:  08:27:26

banjohangout.org/forum/attachm...eID=37499

VIDEO: IMG 2011
(click to view)

 

Old Hickory - Posted - 05/07/2020:  10:15:17

This, from the Wikipedia entry on Petticoat Junction, may explain the change in theme music:

The black-and-white episodes from season one are now in the public domain, their copyrights having lapsed. As a result, numerous discount DVDs of these episodes have been released, although with generic buegrass-like theme music instead of the familiar opening and closing music, which is still under copyright.