Launching Coaches into Space

Song - Space Rock

Artist(s) - Adrian Baker

Released - 1983

Primetime Usage - 1988

Contained on - Bruton BRL 12 (Industrial Video)
Featured Highlight - Chiefs @ Chargers, 1988

"Space Rock" was only used once on NFL Primetime.  That's probably a good thing.  The song itself is alright, but it doesn't really work for sports highlights.  This is especially true for the portions that sound like a knockoff of Gary Numan's hit, "Cars."  Space Rock was composed by Adrian Baker.  Baker was the singer for the '80s band Gidea Park, which is probably best known for doing the cover of "California Girls" that accompanied the snowboard-chase sequence from A View to a Kill (thanks Wikipedia!).  The track (Space Rock, I mean) is available for streaming.  Sometime in the recent past, a website called Usample that uses Universal's streaming/website engine put up most every old Bruton album from their LP heyday (I also mentioned Usample when I plugged a new source for Good Morning America! a couple years ago).  Industrial Video, which houses Space Rock, was thankfully no exception.

 

Space Rock's only highlight clip wasn't memorable.  In Week 16 of 1988, the San Diego Chargers hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that figured to be the final game for both head coaches.  The people doing the figuring were correct, as KC's Frank Gansz and SD's Al Saunders—a Brit who somehow ended up serving as an American Football coach for nearly five decades—were both fired following the game.  Gansz and Saunders would be never be head coaches again, either (Gansz died in 2009, Saunders hasn't coached since 2018).  Appropriately enough, the final highlight featuring Al Saunders was narrated by none other than John Saunders (no relation… I assume).

Special thanks to GodzFire for identifying this one a few months ago by posting it privately to YouTube and getting a copyright flag.

Underscores & Nicknames

Song - Solar Winds (underscore)

Artist(s) - Larry Lee Cansler

Released - 1985

Primetime Usage - 1987

Contained on - FirstCom UT103 (Lightning)

Featured Highlight - Chiefs @ Raiders, 1987 (Replacement-Game Week 1)

John Colby apparently loved playing underscores throughout the first year of NFL Primetime.  By my count, there were 7 underscores/submixes/rhythm-only versions of songs used at least once throughout the show's 1987 season.  In fact, the underscore of Powerhouse was used most every week of 1987 while the regular version was seemingly used just once.  The Solar Winds underscore, the only one of those seven that I hadn't posted about yet, was used a couple times during the strike.  It's a pretty standard underscore in that it just removes the solo melody parts from the original and leaves the rhythm and bass stuff intact.  It's not like the bizarro Action Scene submix that sounds like some sort of abstract experiment in minimalism.  The Solar Winds underscore doesn't work with highlights as well as the regular version, but it's passable and not off-putting.

Throughout the 1987 players' strike, NFL fans had a lot of fun coming up with mocking nicknames for the replacement squads.  For example, there were the San Francisco "Phoney-Niners," the Miami "Dol-Finks," and—as you'll see at the end of the highlight below—the Los Angeles "Masque-raiders." (credit to this article for giving me the first two).  The game itself wasn't that interesting, but at least it had some humor attached.

Unknown Song #57 (New Primetime) - Combat

Song - Combat
Artist(s) - Devin Bronson
Released - 2013
Primetime Usage - 2020 (non-highlight)
Contained on - SLAM077 (Throttled)
Featured Highlight - "Pressuring Mahomes" Segment, Super Bowl LV

*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 2/26/23

Now we're into the weeds of obscurity.  Unknown Song #57 was only used for one non-highlight piece during the Super Bowl LV broadcast of NFL Primetime.  During this segment, Steve Young & Anthony "Booger" McFarland (the COVID-era replacement for Tom Jackson) discuss how Tampa Bay's defensive front dominated Kansas City's offensive line and made life miserable for Patrick Mahomes.  The included game clips are accompanied by US #57, a loud, industrial track that sounds like it should be in a factory-shootout scene from a modern action movie.  The song isn't especially pleasant or melodic, but it actually works well for this segment.  It's also easy to hear, which is unfortunately not the case for some of the non-highlight tracks from the last couple seasons of Primetime.  If you can identify US #57, don't hesitate to comment here or on YouTube.

Unknown Song #44 - New Order

Song - New Order

Artist(s) - Paul Foss

Released - 1997

Primetime Usage - 2001
Contained on - ATMOS 92 (Virtual Corporation)

Featured Highlight - Giants @ Chiefs, 2001


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 11/30/18

Unknown Song #44 is probably best remembered by NFL Primetime aficionados as accompanying the first post-9/11 highlight on the show.  The NFL's mission for that week wasn't just to mourn the national tragedy, but to also give people an entertaining & distracting respite.  US #44's dark & moody, yet energetic & determined sound perfectly fit that mission.  ESPN didn't choose this song solely for that purpose, though; it was also used during the Week-1 episode from 9/9/01 which obviously had nothing to do with any sort of tragedy.  The bigger question is:  why didn't they use US #44 again after Week 2?  It's a little too repetitive to be a real classic, but its mood & energy still fit well within the Primetime music pantheon.  It's kind of odd, frankly.  Anyway, enjoy the clip.

Unknown Song #37 (Oddball Week, Part 7) - Pacemaker

Song - Pacemaker

Artist(s) - Alan Hawkshaw

Released - 1987

Primetime Usage - 1997
Contained on - MusicHouse E1 (Hi-Band)

Featured Highlight - Chiefs @ Broncos, 1997


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 9/17/18

The Oddball Week finale is thankfully here.  Unknown Song #37 is a song I swear I've heard before when browsing production-music albums a few years ago.  When I went back through some stuff after first seeing this NFL Primetime episode, however, I couldn't find it.  Hopefully one of you readers (or youtube viewers) will recognize it and can identify it.  Anyway… US #37's accompanying clip has the Chiefs heading to Marty Schottenheimer's "House of Horrors," Mile High Stadium.  Kansas City would lose this one, but they would at least get the second laugh by winning the division anyway.  Denver, of course, would get the third & final laugh by upsetting KC in the Divisionals and winning their first Super Bowl title a few weeks later.

Unknown Song #29 (Looks Like We Made It?)

Song - Unknown Song #29

Primetime Usage - 1991-05

Featured Highlight - Chiefs @ Seahawks, 1999


The next couple posts will highlight a couple unidentified songs that were used quite extensively on NFL Primetime.  The first, Unknown Song #29, is probably the most famous of the "longing" Primetime tracks that often accompany struggling, frustrated teams.  The style & instrumentation are also reminiscent of the music from the SNES RPG Lufia & the Fortress of Doom.  This song predates Lufia by at least a couple years, so it's almost certainly a coincidence, but it's interesting nonetheless.  Anyway…  I saw this piece referred to as "Looks Like We Made It" on at least one of those downloadable NFL Primetime music collections that have been circulating a while (like the Mark Polinsky set, but it wasn't specifically that one).  I have no idea if that's actually the track's name or if, say, somebody with bad ears thought it somehow sounded like the Barry Manilow song of the same name.

US #29's video accompaniment features the Seahawks hosting the Chiefs in the final regular-season game at the Kingdome.  This contest also effectively decided the West division title that year, giving Seattle their only playoff appearance in their last 13 years in the AFC.

Unknown Song #11 - Spring Training

Song - Spring Training

Artist(s) - William Soden (likely)

Released - No later than 1988

Primetime Usage - 1988

Contained on - Musikos MS3 (Sports 3)

Featured Highlight - Seahawks @ Chiefs, 1988

*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 2/9/21

Unknown Song #11 is basically US#10 with no melody at all.  It's mostly a repeating synth-funk riff that never really changes.  It works great if you're not paying close attention to the music, I guess.  The game highlight is pretty entertaining, however.  It features the Chiefs edging out the Seahawks back in the era when Arrowhead Stadium still had astroturf.

Sonoton Finale

Song - Never Give Up

Artist(s) - "John Epping" (Gerhard Narholz)

Released - 1988

Primetime Usage - 1989

Contained on - SON 295/Sonoton SCD 17 (Robot Couture)

Featured Highlight - Dolphins @ Chiefs, 1989

I'm gonna make this one brief, but "Never Give Up" is—to my knowledge—the only NFL Primetime track from Sonoton I haven't yet posted.  The song, by Sonoton founder Gerhard Narholz (under one of his more common aliases), sounds like a lighter & happier version of Xenon.  It has similar instrumentation, anyway.  It's accompanying highlight features Dan Marino's Dolphins getting run over by "The Nigerian Nightmare,"  so it should be quite enjoyable if you're a Chiefs fan.

Higher and Higher

Song - Higher and Higher

Artist(s) - Orange Power

Released - 1987

Primetime Usage - 1990

Contained on - SON 273 (Sound Giants - Industrial Prestige & Scenic Magnificence, Vol. 2), Sonoton SCD 6 (Sound Giants 1&2)

Featured Highlight - Oilers @ Chiefs, 1990

It's Pro Bowl week!  Are you all excited!?  No?  Well, anyway…  here's the other NFL Primetime track composed by Orange Power.  It's moodier than Future Champs, but has almost identical instrumentation.  I guess me choosing a song called "Higher and Higher" is ironic for the week of the Pro Bowl.  You could maybe think of it as, "you have to be high on drugs to enjoy the Pro Bowl."  That makes it fit.  Right?

Higher and Higher's clip features something a bit more exciting than the Pro Bowl.  In the video, Warren Moon put on a show by throwing for 527 yards in Arrowhead Stadium.  There's also a little bit of Mechatronics thrown in when Chris Berman discusses a replay review after the main highlight reel is done.  Enjoy!

The John Colby Trilogy - Part III

Song - Arnold

Artist(s) - John Colby

Released - N.A.

Primetime Usage - 1992-05

Contained on - N.A. (Sound Clip)

Featured Highlight - *EDIT* - 49ers @ Panthers, 1996



Arguably the most intense selection in the well-known Colby trilogy, "Arnold" works well for tough games, shootouts, big comebacks, and pretty much any other kind of football game you can imagine.  It was one of NFL Primetime's regular stalwarts from 1992 on, and with good reason.  I believe the track's name is a reference to Arnold Schwarzenegger (another of Colby's songs is named "Terminator"), but I can't be certain.  It seems a little easier to decipher than "Eric D.," anyway.  As with Eric D. and Gladiator: you can either get a high-quality short clip of Arnold on John Colby's website (above), or you can find a full-length—but lower quality—version on those aforementioned bootleg NFL Primetime collections that are easily found on the web (or other youtube postings).

After Joe Montana left the San Francisco 49ers in 1993, he faced his old team exactly one time.  It was a tight contest, but Montana's Chiefs ultimately prevailed over the squad that would eventually win that year's Super Bowl.  All the talk before, during, and after the contest revolved around Joe Montana vs. Steve Young, but—as you'll see in the highlight—the real focus should've been on Derrick Thomas.
*EDIT* - This video was copyright blocked, too.  Here's a different 49ers loss, this time to Carolina in 1996.  It was basically the first big win in Carolina Panthers' history, and would springboard them to an NFC Championship appearance in just their second year of existence.

Lots of Prospects

Song - New Prospect

Artist(s) - Zack Laurence

Released - 1984

Primetime Usage - 1987-88

Contained on - Bruton BRN 13 (New Prospects), Bruton BVA005 (The Zack Laurence Anthology)

Featured Highlight - Chiefs @ Oilers, 1988


If you like heavy brass with a driving bass line, then this track is for you.  Zack Laurence's "New Prospect" is straightforward, loud, in your face, and it gets the job done.  As a result, it's not surprising ESPN featured it prominently during the first two years of NFL Primetime.  New Prospect is one of many songs with the word "Prospect" in the title from Laurence's appropriately titled, variations-on-a-theme album New Prospects.  This LP was never officially converted to digital as far as I know (though amateur uploads are easy to find through the magic of Google & YouTube), but about half of it is contained on Bruton's The Zack Laurence Anthology linked above.  I haven't discovered a whole lot of info about Laurence, but I've found him to be one of the more prolific & talented production music composers of the 1970s & '80s.

Week 6 of 1988 was not kind to quarterbacks.  A disproportionate number of signal callers suffered injuries during that week, and the Houston Oilers were not immune.  With Warren Moon not even dressed, backup "Commander" Cody Carlson dislocated his thumb early in their game against Kansas City.  Former replacement QB (and ex-Montana QB) Brent Pease then came in and "led" his team to a 7-6 victory despite terrible numbers.  Here's the highlight:

Unknown Song #1 - Powergate

Song - Powergate

Artist(s) - Steve Martin

Released - 1988

Primetime Usage - 1991-95

Contained on - MAT 112 (Prestige & Power)

Featured Highlight - Chiefs @ Chargers, 1995


*SONG IDENTIFIED* - 7/3/17

I was originally going to wait & do all the NFL Primetime songs I haven't identified after I'd posted everything I do know, but I'm going to make an exception here because somebody on my youtube page specifically requested this game highlight.  I'm still not planning on making this a regular thing right now, though, so don't expect any more unknown tracks for a while.  This composition was used pretty frequently for most of the early-to-mid-'90s.  It's kind of dour & depressing on the surface, but the synth bass line gives it enough energy to make it serviceable.  I don't think it's a Sonoton track, but it does sound somewhat similar to some of the Sonoton stuff used on Primetime from 1989-90 (especially the songs added in 1990).

The aforementioned highlight shows the post-Montana Chiefs smothering the Chargers in San Diego and, thanks to the 49ers upset of the Cowboys the same day, gaining sole possession of the best record in the NFL.  If any of you readers know what this song is, don't hesitate to comment either here or on youtube.  Thanks!

Bad Company

Song - Bad Company

Artist(s) - Robert J. Walsh

Released - no later than 1999

Primetime Usage - 1999-05

Contained on - Hollywood Film Music HFML 15.10, Hollywood Music HM-007 (Renegade)

Featured Highlight - Chiefs @ Bears, 1999


NFL Primetime almost always had a go-to song for defensive, tough, and often ugly games.  In the last several years of the program (in its original form), that track was "Bad Company."  It's a more orchestral song, rather than synth or rock, and it definitely works as a mood piece for football grittiness.  In addition to defense in general, Bad Company was also associated on the show with the Oakland Raiders and the "Black Hole" motif of Raider Nation.  It was composed by prolific movie/TV/production composer Robert J. Walsh, who—in addition to his composing work for the company—was briefly a FirstCom executive in the mid '90s.  Walsh also founded the Hollywood Film Music library in 1987, which is not to be confused with the Hollywood Music label linked above.

This track is streamable on FirstCom's website.  One thing I don't like about their organization is that, although you can sort albums by release date, there's no way I can find where you can actually see the release date listed.  If anyone has figured it out, please let me know.

Below is, to my knowledge, NFL Primetime's first use of Bad Company.  The Chicago Bears, behind "The Shane Matthews Band," (one of Chris Berman's best nicknames) edge out the Kansas City Chiefs at home to open up the 1999 season.

International Overuse

Song - International Statement (Main Track & Alternative Version)

Artist(s) - Alan Bell (Alan Blackham), Roger Dexter

Released - 1990

Primetime Usage - Main Track: 1997-05; Alternative Version: 1991-96

Contained on - Chappell AV 34 (Classical Excellence)

Featured Highlight - Main Track: Raiders @ Chiefs, 1999; Alternative Version: Steelers @ Bears, 1995

The song is technically called "International Statement," but it may as well be called "Oh, yeah…  the NFL Primetime song!"  Its mix of early 20th. century orchestral style and '80s instrumentation & edge creates a fitting accent for any "epic" football highlight.  In fact, starting in the late '90s, this track became NFL Primetime's go-to accompaniment for the highest profile games.  That trend continues unabated even to this day, though, because this song seems to always be featured at least once on The Blitz each week and at least once on each postseason day on Primetime.  Unfortunately, it's gotten to the point that this quality composition has become a cliche for over-the-top epicness and I long to actually hear something else with the top-tier highlights.  It's the football music equivalent of "Bohemian Rhapsody" after Wayne's World.

One thing many NFL Primetime viewers may not remember, however, is that they actually used two versions of International Statement during the run of the show.  ESPN started using the "epic" version we all know in 1997, but they had actually been using the "Alternative" track with an added driving rock drum beat over the previous 6 seasons.  I think the added percussion tones down the over-the-top aspects of this song and, as a result, I would love to see ESPN bring this version back.

Unlike FirstCom's own Powersurge from the previous post, International Statement can ironically be found on the FirstCom website using the above link.  Even if you didn't have the link, though, it's easy to find because Classical Excellence is the earliest Chappell AV album currently housed there.

In commemoration of my second song post, you get a twofer!  The first highlight, using the Main Track, is the Raiders/Chiefs game at the end of 1999 where Oakland won at Arrowhead for the first time in the '90s and consequently knocked Kansas City out of the playoffs.  The second video, with the Alternative Version, features the Steelers finally getting over .500 on their way to their first Super Bowl appearance in 16 years.