@@carlgorney9840 we Torontonians watched it as well. "It's Eleven O'clock. Do you know where YOUR children are?" OMG I never knew it was a full song, with lyrics!
I grew up in Philly, heard the beginning of this theme thousands of times before and during the news and NEVER knew that it was more than a 12 measure musical riff, much less a song with lyrics!
this should be in the Guinness book of world records. 6ABC has used MCTYW since 1972 (for 48 years)...the longest-duration of use of a news theme in a single TV market. Stations across America (even rival Philly stations) keep changing their news theme music and changing their music, but Philly's theme song MCTYW withstood the test of time.
Yes, I watched their 50 year celebration, they said they tried to update the sound of it, to modernize it in 1996 without changing the song and everyone called to complain…they changed it back to this original sound within a week.
I can't believe they're still using it. We got it in 1997 and used it up until 2001. I wish we still had the CD I have an idea for our 25th anniversary.
We had a 13" black-and-white RCA TV in our kitchen, and every night, my dad would tune into Action News at 6. I remember Jim Gardner, Jim O'Brien, and Joe Carcione, the Green Grocer. And in June, they would show pics of high school grads with the song "You're the Best of the Class This Year" playing in the background. Ah, memories.
Listening in from Huntsville Alabama to honor Jim Gardner's final broadcast tonight. Theres a lot of things about Philly I've grown distant from, but this song always makes me smile and feel nostalgic. Cheers to a great career Jim
Jim Gardner just retired as of 12/21/2022. This song came out just 7 years before he began hosting Action News. I will always have fond memories of watching Action News and Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, both from childhood and adulthood. Jim, thank you for your service to the greater Philly region in providing local news.
Born and raised in The Bronx since 1981. My maternal grandmother lived out in Reading, Pennsylvania. Whenever I visited her during the 80's and 90's, all the affiliates were Philly stations. ABC6 would be on, courtesy of my grandparents' love of JEOPARDY and WHEEL OF FORTUNE. When that ACTION NEWS theme blared on the old Sony Trinitron stereo speakers, just the bass alone had me going! Great memories...
I moved outta Philly in 1996 as a kid. But I forever love this theme song! And Whenever I visit the City... I'll only watch Action News 6 just to hear this jawn!
I'm 44, from outside Hershey, PA and remember as a boy watching 6 ABC Philadelphia with a now prehistoric big Zenith tube TV in the living room with the directional antenna on the rooftop, you turned the dial on the box N, S, W, E, before cable.
Really cool to learn. 31 here and I grew up with the two dials, one for smaller numbers and one for bigger. Never fully understood them because by the time I was 12 or so we had cable boxes and the dials were gone.
WKBW was where both Dave Roberts (as Dave Thomas) and Jim Gardner "cut their TV teeth" before coming to WPVI-TV (as Capital Cities owned both stations; WPVI-TV being the company's flagship station and the biggest generator of revenue for its parent company, allowing them to buy the bigger ABC Television Network in 1985).
I lived up in the Philadelphia area from 1974 to 1983 I loved action news loved action news and saw it all through then including Jim o'brien's passing
I moved to Cleveland in 2014. I JUST moved back home to south Jersey a month ago and i gotta tell ya, east Cleveland was bad but god damn man, NOTHING beats Philly lmao I missed it so much
My best friend is from Philly, he said one night a nightclub he'd go to actually played MCTYW and it got quite the reaction. (IDK if they played it like newscasts do or if they mixed it out from/in to other club music.) I've lived in 2 markets that have used MCTYW and it didn't get near the reception that it has through Ch.6.
I grew up with this song in the early 70's. We lived over 100 miles from Philly but it was only 1 of 6 stations we could get at that time. Consequently, we watched the news out of Philly - I don't know, I was just a kid and didn't control the TV dial. So we had Larry Kane and then Jim Gardner a little later. Some great memories and some harrowing ones as well but, that theme song still lives on like a first love that "never runs dry. " Thank you Dennis DeYoung 😢
If you grew up in Pennsylvania anytime from the 1970s to the year 2000, you've heard this. Doesn't matter if you're from Philly, Erie, Pittsburgh, or Scranton. If you ever watched the news, you know this song.
When I pulled up this of the composer of this now infamous move closer to your world news jingle, Al Ham has a impressive resume. He was in the Glenn Miller Orchestra band in the mid 40's, worked for Columbia Records in the 50s under his mentor Mitch Miller and in the 60's went on to co-produced the legendary T.A.M.I (TeenAge Musical International) with the lights of the Beach oys James Brown, The Rolling Stones The Supremes Marvin Gaye and Lesley Gore. I'm doing while Al was composing news jingles, he also work for Warner Bros. Records in the 70's What an impressive person he was.
I am in love! In the 80s and 90s they only sang the refrain "move closer to your world my friend Take a little bit of time. Move closer to your world my friend and you'll see." And now and for many years they sing nothing😥 I miss theme song soooooo much!!!!!
All I want is other television stations and networks to upload their old reels. It’s not like they’re doing anything better with them, they are probably in some back room collecting dust. They did a really good job with this one, the quality is really good compared to other indents i’ve seen from that era. I just love it!
I remember KTVU-2 in Oakland, California aired this from 1971 to 1974. I have a friend who is from Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia TV and radio stations are common.
This particular film clip was stored at the Temple University media archives. WPVI donated their archival library to them. This film was part of the 1972 promotional campaign for Action News as they were premiering their famous theme song as they used the title as the program's slogan, "Moving you closer to your world".
Great shots of the ever-famous Chopper 6 capturing the scenes of Southeatsern Pennsylvania, the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the Pennsylvanian countryside, and, of course, the "City of Brotherly Love" itself, Philadelphia.
I remember sitting with my father and grandfather in the living room waiting for this to come on….when the melody started, I knew it was time for the news
I moved from Philly in the mid 70's when I was six. Visited my grandmother every summer until my late teens throughout the 80's. I love this theme and I deliberately searched it up because it popped up in my memory out of nowhere. I never knew that it was a whole song. Loving it!
I grew up in the 70s and 80s listening to this, moved away years ago, but listening to it now makes me feel like I have to get to bed so I can be up for school in the morning, but I want to stay up and switch on Johnny Carson instead.
Hey, it's also the traditional Southern New Jersey newscast too! Can't wait til October 1st 2022, when it turns 50! (They need to have documentary on how this song became a mainstay in the world of local news journalism and most importantly, the Delaware Valley's most recognized theme tune...)
I remember the first time visiting my family in Philadelphia in 1990. When my uncle turn on his television and saw Action News for the first time, It was a big shock and I love it!!
Two questions about the short-lived 1996 version: 1) Why couldn't 6ABC hire a local band called the Philadelphia Orchestra? Why go all the way to London and hire both the Symphony and Philharmonic to do a joint production of the theme? 2) Why mess with one of the things that already work? And always have worked since 1972?
Love the "shout out" to the Amish community (via the horse drawn carriage on the modern road) Edit: Even though they will never appreciate the footage themselves
Can't Believe I Watched, Listened, and Added... Action News The World's Leading News Broadcast..... With News Anchors... Jim Gardner, Jim O'Brien, Joe Pellegrino, Larry Kane,.... 😍
I remember visiting my grandma in Philly every summer & at 6pm my grandma would always turn on action news & that theme song just burned in my memories….
I lived in Downingtown when i was growing up and i watched this every single night. I moved away in 1990 to join the military but this will be stuck in my head forever
70’s were better than the 80’s. But the. 80’s were better than the 90’s and now. So, I would be tickled to death to go back to the 80’s but I would say, the 70’s was a glorious time to be alive.
I'm in my late 50's now. But when I was a kid living in Central California, this was the theme song (and opening motion graphics) for KFSN, the ABC affiliate in Fresno. It was a truncated version that started at about the 1:41 mark. I thought the music had authority and it caught my attention. Why I thought of it this morning is beyond me! Super cool that it's here on RU-vid.
KTRK Houston used this theme for the Eyewitness News casts from the mid 70s to the very early 80s. I never forgot it and even now when i turn on the news i somehow expect to hear this at the opening of the newscast. Something i carried over from my childhood, i guess
Remember when 476 was 9 ? And it ended at 276 ? And there were 9 tunnels on 476 And there were no skyscrapers in Philly And the Lehigh Valley was mostly farms And Quakertown had a drive in theater and no box stores ? God, I miss the old days And we had passenger rail service from Emmaus to Philly and from Bethlehem through Quakertown to Philly Oh, I miss the Reading Railroad
One of our local stations in Jacksonville, Florida used this when I was a kid, around 1975-76. I remember part of the footage they used was of a woman riding a galloping horse on one of the local beaches, in slow motion, with her long hair blowing in the wind.
It may have begun as a news theme for WPVI, but many other stations also used it. This was composed by Al Ham, perhaps better known as creator of the "Music Of Your Life" radio format.
@altfactor I zoomed in on the sheet music shown in a recent news report*, and sure enough, it's all visible (heh, even had their home address on the bottom, though they no longer live there). *The co-author of the lyrics, Walter Liss, died recently at 78.
Long time ago i heard a dj remix this song. Caught me totally off gaurd and i was transported back to the 90's. Blew my mind. Wish I could remember who it was.
@@annedavis2561 I believe Jim O'Brien died in a skydiving accident. I remember Jim Gardener having to report this that night on Action News and it was brutal to watch...poor guy trying to hold back his tears while reporting this....I grew up in Wilm, De....
@@s.f.7724 I remember too. But what about Don Tolleson, I think his name was something like that. I believe the three of them were on together. I think Don died of some sort of cancer. Yes, Jim was para shooting. It didn't open in time. Sad day..
I mean…, like, the lyrics tho! I’m kinda mind blown’ Move closer to your world, my friend! Take the time to learn about people… and you’ll see! Wow. Super deep!!!feels like Sesame Street!!
I remember eyewitness news in philly had a good song. They dropped it. And they just recently dropped eyewitness. They are just cbs news philadelphia. Lets hope Action news stays action news.
I grew up in Delaware in the 80s and this song was heard in our house every day. I live in NC now, and news stations don’t even have theme songs. When I go home to visit family, it definitely gives me that warm fuzzy feeling when I hear the song again. I hope it never changes.
They do. Just not used as long because of corporate consolidation of local news here. Glad WRAL is still around being local, rocking In-Sink for as long as it has, but still it's not as iconic as MCTYW.
Thank you for posting!! KTRK Channel 13 Eyewitness News in Houston had this for years. Brings back so many memories of a simpler and more wholesome time.
