The Rockford Files (theme) The Rockford Files (theme) "The Rockford Files" is a 1975 instrumental by Mike Post and co-composer Pete Carpenter. The song is the theme from the TV series "The Rockford Files" starring James Garner. It appears at the opening and ending of each episode with different arrangements. Throughout the show's tenure, the theme song went through numerous evolutions, with later versions containing a distinct electric guitar-based bridge section played by session guitarist Dan Ferguson. The song spent four months on the charts and in August 1975 became a Top 10 hit in the U.S. (#10, for two weeks) and in Canada
The Rockford Files with Universal regarding the profits from "Rockford Files" that lasted over a decade. The dispute caused significant ill will between Garner and the studio. The dispute was settled out of court in Garner's favor, but the conflict meant that the Rockford character would not re-emerge until 1994. Universal began syndicating the show in 1979 and aggressively marketed it to local stations well into the early and middle 1980s. This accounts for its near-ubiquity on afternoon and late-night schedules in those days. From those showings, "Rockford" developed a following with younger viewers, with the momentum continuing throughout the 1990s and 2000s