New Info Updates

I've updated a few previously posted songs with some newly obtained info.  Thanks to Craig-UK for all of this.


- Wheels in Motion is contained on a production-music album, after all.  It's on MPM001 from Manhattan music, which was released in 1987. I left the youtube link for those that find it more convenient, however.

- The Far Turn & Fast Man, in addition to being on two separate Valentino compilation albums, were originally on the same Valentino Album (V-CD 13 - Sports Themes). This album isn't online that I can find, but the previously posted compilation albums still are.  However, the Valentino library apparently isn't hosted on Universal anymore so I had to change the links to their BMG source instead.

- The Right Stuff was originally contained on EA 2015 (Broadcast) from the Emil Ascher library.  This library isn't online, AFAIK, but this info at least provides a release date for this song (1984).  I'm not sure if the alt mix is on this album, however (*EDIT* - the alt mix isn't on the EA album, but the regular version is virtually identical—thanks to Craig-UK again).

Unknown Song #12 Identified

Back in November, I mentioned that US #12 received a copyright notice with info that wasn't sufficient enough to ID the song.  Thanks to google, I was finally able to track it down today.  The piece is indeed called "The Right Stuff" (or, more accurately, "The Right Stuff (alt mix)"), and it's contained on a CD from the Parry Music Library.  Parry is a Canadian production music firm that was founded in 1974 (thanks, discogs!), making this—I believe—the first Canadian song identified on this site.  I have no idea why the Parry connection to this track failed to come up when I was searching last year.  As an aside, the "play" links on the Parry Music website don't work, so I've linked to the BMG Music website instead.

The Right Stuff was composed by Tom Jenkins & Barry Schleifer.  Jenkins has a long history in the audio business with all sorts of pop-music acts, movie soundtracks, and stage productions.  I can't find much info on Schleifer, but he at least has an imdb page.


Revised Link

Unknown Song #28 - Determination

Song - Determination

Artist(s) - Chris Zurzolo, Andrew Mark

Released - 1993

Primetime Usage - 1994-96
Contained on - pyr 702 (Sports/Action)

Featured Highlight - Patriots @ Jets, 1996

*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 10/3/19 

There isn't much complexity to Unknown Song #28, but it's still a better highlight track than the last couple songs I've posted.  US #28 does the basics well, as some hard edge and a driving rock beat are enough to make any NFL Primetime track at least passable.  It's lack of direction & melody means it doesn't really do anything beyond that, though.  Still, the track is a good accent for any high-energy football game.

I listed US #28 as being used from 1994-96, but I've only seen one instance of it being used outside of 1996 (Week 11, 1994).  That also means I'm not certain it was actually used in 1995 (*EDIT* - a comment by Kyle Caughlin on youtube indicates it was used at least a couple times in '95).  At any rate, here's a 1996 highlight of Rich Kotite's hard-luck Jets getting robbed late against Drew Bledsoe & the Patriots.

*EDIT* - The BMG website isn't hosting the Pyramid music label anymore, so I replaced that link with Craig-UK's youtube post of this song.  Special thanks to him for specifically putting that song up for this purpose.

*LATER EDIT* - the YouTube post is gone now (10/2024).

Unknown Song #27 - Racing to Victory

Song - Racing to Victory

Artist(s) - Mandy Schleifer, Daniel Schleifer

Released - 1993

Primetime Usage - 1994-96
Contained on - pyr 702 (Sports/Action), (YouTube link)

Featured Highlight - Bears @ Packers, 1995


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 10/4/19  

Continuing the theme from World Cup Shuffle, here's another cheesy NFL Primetime song.  Unknown Song #27 makes World Cup Shuffle seem like a perfect football track by comparison, though.  US #27 is jazzy, but not in an appealing way, and the instrumentation is quite tinny.  I'm not certain I would rate it as the worst Primetime piece, but it's definitely down there.  How this awkward song got paired with a Bears/Packers classic at Lambeau is anyone's guess.

*EDIT* - The BMG website isn't hosting the Pyramid music label anymore, so I replaced that link with Benjamin Lane's youtube post of this song.

Unknown Song #12 - The Right Stuff (alt mix)

Song - The Right Stuff (alt mix)

Artist(s) - Tom Jenkins, Barry Schleifer

Released - 1984 (original version), ???? (alt mix)

Primetime Usage - 1988
Contained on - EA 2015 (Broadcast), PML-CD 1055 (Leadership)

Featured Highlight - Lions @ Packers, 1988


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 8/19/18

After a few weeks of light, laid-back material, it's time for a change.  Unknown Song #12 is mostly dark, brooding, and wintry.  That's a perfect mood for both the atmosphere of the featured game, as well as the atmosphere of November & December football in general.  There is a bit of a happy, trumpet fanfare in the middle, though, which gives the track some nice contrast.

In 1988, the Detroit Lions fired Darryl Rogers after 11 weeks and made Wayne Fontes the interim coach.  His first game, against the Packers back when they occasionally played in Milwaukee, went a long way toward his earning the job long-term.  It's not a memorable game otherwise, but there wasn't much to choose from that featured this particular song.  Oh, and don't forget to buy Seagram's Coolers, assuming they still exist.  Do they still exist?

Unknown Song #6 - Like the Wind

Song - Like the Wind

Artist(s) - Walter Murphy

Released - 1983

Primetime Usage - 1988
Contained on - Valentino 6145 (LP), V-CD 33 (Sports), VT040 (Sports Vol. 2, Electronic & Rock 2)

Featured Highlight - Falcons @ Lions, 1988


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 7/23/20

Even though this was 1988, Unknown Song #6 sounds very 1970s-ish.  I guess that's true for some of the other '80s tracks (e.g., Solar Winds), as well, but I don't have much else to say to describe this one.  Unfortunately, I have only one low-quality Primetime clip of this track.  It's an unusually short clip, too, and it features two teams that both sucked throughout the entire 1980s.

Unknown Song #3 - Fast Man

Song - Fast Man

Artist(s) - John Colby

Released - 1987

Primetime Usage - 1987-88

Contained on - Valentino 6162 (Sports Themes), V-CD 13 (Sports Themes), Valentino STVT012 (1980s Vol. 1 - Rock & Pop Vol. 1)

Featured Highlight - Browns @ Saints, 1987


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 9/22/17

Unknown Song #3 sounds very similar to Unknown Song #2.  It's so similar, in fact, that I bet it's on the same album.  I have no idea which album that is or what production-music label would house it, but I'd be surprised if they weren't close together.  Accompanying US#3 is yet another (should be the last) highlight from NFL Primetime's first episode.  The once-and-future AFC-champion Browns get a surprisingly tough test from a New Orleans squad seeking their first-ever winning season…

Driving Force, Unknown Songs (The Far Turn), & Primetime's 30th. Anniversary

Song 1 - The Far Turn (+ Underscore/Rhythm Only)

Artist(s) - John Colby

Released - 1987

Primetime Usage - 1987-88

Contained on - Valentino 6162 (Sports Themes), V-CD 13 (Sports Themes), Valentino STVT013 (1980s Vol. 2 - Rock & Pop Vol. 2)

Featured Highlight - Regular version:  Dolphins @ Patriots, 1987 (first part); Underscore/Rhythm Only:  Seahawks @ Broncos, 1987

Song 2 - Driving Force (+ underscore)

Artist(s) - Hal Brown, Donald Bradley Kelley (Brad Kelley)

Released - 1985

Primetime Usage - 1987

Contained on - FirstCom UT102 (Wheels of Commerce)

Featured Highlight - Regular Version:  Dolphins @ Patriots, 1987 (latter part); Underscore:  Falcons @ Buccaneers, 1987


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 9/22/17

Welcome to the 2017 NFL season!  This post will be more convoluted than most on here, so bear with me.

As I mentioned on the previous post, the last song I've fully identified shares a highlight with a song I haven't identified.  The first track on this clip (the Dolphins/Patriots one) is the unknown song.  It's good for accompaniment, but it could've used another instrument or two.  I refer to it as "Unknown Song #2" because US#1—identified a couple months ago as Powergate—was posted in January '16. The other piece is one I found a while ago.  "Driving Force," by Hal Brown & Brad Kelley—the artists behind Drive Away and (probably) Marathon—is a sleepy song by NFL Primetime standards, but I suppose it's great if you like simple solo trumpet.  The underscore doesn't have the trumpet, however, so that version is just repetitive.

There are three highlight videos posted below, tying the primetimemusic.net record along with the Powerhouse writeup.  NFL Primetime debuted 30 years ago next Wednesday (9/13), so the fact that all three of these clips happen to come from the very first episode makes the timing of this blog entry perfect.  The regular versions of Unknown Song #2 and Driving Force share the Dolphins/Patriots highlight, the very first highlight in NFL Primetime history.  It's also one of the oddest highlights in the show's history because of both the weather and Miami backup quarterback Don Strock having to fill in at both QB & punter!  He did a pretty damn good job, too.  The other two highlights feature the respective underscores.  The video for the US#2 underscore shows the Broncos blowing out the Seahawks, while the Driving Force underscore clip displays the Bucs & Falcons debuting new head coaches that wouldn't accomplish much.  Enjoy these, and make sure to comment here or on youtube if you can identify any of the Unknown Songs I post.