Theme from Z-Cars the 1960s. Sunderland A.F.C. were also known to have played the song as their players ran out to the field during their days playing at Roker Park. Theme from Z-Cars "Theme from "Z-Cars"" was the theme tune to the long-running BBC television drama "Z-Cars". Based on the traditional folk song "Johnny Todd", which was in a collection of traditional tunes by Frank Kidson dated 1891 called "Traditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs". Kidson's notes for this song say: "Johnny Todd is a child's rhyme and game, heard and seen played by Liverpool children. The air is somewhat pleasing, and
The Midnight Special (TV series) when singer Helen Reddy served as the regular host. Wolfman Jack served as the announcer and frequent guest host. The program's theme song, a traditional folk song called "Midnight Special", was performed by Johnny Rivers. "The Midnight Special" was noted for featuring musical acts performing live, which was unusual since most television appearances during the era showed performers lip-synching to prerecorded music. The series also occasionally aired vintage footage of older acts, such as Bill Haley & His Comets. As the program neared the end of its run in the early 1980s, it began to frequently use lip-synched performances rather