I was actually the Musical Director for the commercials and taught some of the actors how to sing the song. I was hired originally as one of the set carpenters but when I saw the pianos I got permission to play it during my breaks. It was then that John Randolph approached me and asked me if I could teach him the song to sing in the commercials. The cast liked me so much that they let me direct the music portions of the song with harmonies. I thought it was my big break since I had recently graduated a few years before with a music degree from CCNY.. Unfortunately the sitcom only lasted for 2 seasons, but I had a blast every day working as a carpenter and playing the piano and singing every moment I could...
I was just a little kid when this was on TV and actually just today I googled it because I can never forget the theme song and the video that goes along with it... So, I would say that you did a good job
@@susannamcnatt6672 Actually I didn't interact as much with the cast except when the commercial shooting was going on. I must say I loved the way all the actors treated me and made me feel like one of them. Most sets I worked on the actors treated the crew like the work force and rarely treated us with the respect due to the crew. I was sad to see the end of production...
I remember this show... it had a fantastic premise, a great theme song... it didn't quite live up to the hype. It was very funny and much of the cast either already had a long resume of success (John Neville, Michael McKean, Pamela Reed) or would go on to an esteemed career (Bonnie Hunt, Sara Rue). So much promise. I wish it would get a reboot. I'm such a geek... this theme makes me smile.
I think of this theme song pretty much every time anyone even says the word "Grand." To bad ZERO people I know have any recollection of this show. I still have a note I wrote one of my friends that I never delivered and it says "Right now I'm watching Grand. The guy who played Lenny from Laverne and Shirley is on it." Hahahahaha.
I don't remember this show much but I remember this theme song almost word for word. I was about 10 years old when it aired. Wish I could see old episodes.
This show was way ahead of its time for 1990. While NBC was still riding high with Cosby, cheers and golden girls, they weren’t too desperate to give many other shows a chance. If this show premiered in 1993 it would’ve been perfect for the comedies that were on the network in the early-mid nineties
I never saw the show, but learned years later (in the late 1990's) that the house that was featured in the show was from our community......the beautiful Ashcombe Mansion in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
I don't remember much about this show but I remember thinking this song was a great theme! I was only 9 at the time and I was usually going to bed when this was on.
the informal nature of the 80's and wasn't this a short lived little quirk on the TELLY landscape!!? I must admit Bonnie hunt and Pamela REED Mmmm[ALRIGHT I'LL STOP !!] ENJOY!!
To clarify, the show did last two seasons but both seasons were in the calendar year 1990 (first season Jan. to Apr., second season Oct. to Dec.). Strangely, I never watched more than a few minutes of the actual show--the theme song with its clever lip-synching was what got my attention. I can watch that over and over. Thank you so much for posting the full version.
I have spent the better part of my adult life with this theme song stuck in my head. I was about 5 or 6 when this show aired. I am so happy to have finally find the stupid damn song I couldn't get out of my head for about 15 years!!
I remember and miss this show!!! I remember they took it off the air for a while with a tornado storyline... then when the show was brought back.. it was explained what happend... but then the show was still cancelled ..
This was a great TV series. Tragic that it didn't last longer, it was FUNNY. Sadly it's been all but forgotten. Michael McKean mentioned it on a recent episode of 'Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast'
Yeah I loved it too. I love the episode where Harris's son gets a show on public access called "Let's Not Think" where he just meditates for hours in front of the camera LOL.
Uncounted years back, I called New Jersey 101.5 when a dj was calling for theme songs. I don't recall if it was for favorite or unfamiliar. I sang out this one and they hung up on me.
Yes!! It's the full-length version!! I'd looked for this over a year ago, but I was only able to find the short verison (as well as the inferior second-season version). I had given up hope that the full song would ever appear! Thank you so much!!
Been looking for this video for years. Thanks joycollector! Wish this show could get released on DVD (along with the 2nd-6th seasons of St. Elsewhere...been waiting forever for that too).
I think the interior of Michael McKean & Bonnie Hunt's bedroom was from the house of a high school classmate of mine. The house was a bed & breakfast, but I think it's now a wedding venue. It's called the Willows at Ashcombe Mansion.
I remember this show in my market at least sharing it’s timeslot with Wings with the two shows alternating week to week, sometimes Wings would air other times Grand would air and you never knew which show would air on what week. This was over 30 years ago so it’s possible I may not be remembering it correctly, maybe this was on another channel, maybe it was after Wings etc. But if it really happened this way and both shows shared a timeslot alternating week to week in multiple markets, it's no wonder Grand ended up being so short lived.
Strangely, I watched the show itself only once, and then it was for only part of an episode. What really grabbed me, and what I tried never to miss, was this great theme song. The version they did for the second season added drums and removed the ensemble vocals, and while it was OK in its way, nothing will ever match this one for me.
@MichaelHansenFUN There were at least two versions of the show's opening - this one was the 1st theme...I think. The second theme I remember is the camera going over the town (not sure if this was before or after the tornado hit the town).
This was a good show, but a lot "darker" than other comedies of the time. I feel like NBC went through a period where they were willing to go into that realm a bit more ("Dear John" and "The John Laraquette Show" being other examples).
The first 13 episodes of this show were brilliant. Very much a soap opera parody in the spirit of "Soap". I would have loved to see this show get a few more seasons. If I remember correctly it ended on a cliffhanger with a satanic cult after the poor moms unborn baby....
+horkology I disagree. I thought it was an excellent series. The first few episodes were shaky (as it often the case with any new series), but by the end of season one they had definitely found their feet.
somehow I recall the intro and barely [actually I don't!] remember any of the show I know it was small town eccentric like NEWHART ! but oh was PAMELA REED ever hottt!! enjoy the new season SPRING AHEAD !!
The episode were the old man went onto the concert hall stage to tune his company's piano mid-performance. Who was the pianist? His own housekeeper. I still recollect. How many years ago was that?
I really loved the first season of Grand. Such a fantastic cast and a great theme song. Then they had to ruin it in the second season by getting rid of half the cast, changing the format of the show and doing a horrendous version of the theme song. It was a textbook case of pissing in something to try to improve it.
Yes. This show had the odd distinction of having run 2 seasons in one calendar year. It premiered in early January of 1990 and did very well (ranking in the Top 15 shows). NBC then was slow to announce if it was going to be renewed. The cast and crew figured that indicated it would get cancelled and several of them found new jobs. The show wound up gaining renewal over the summer and began season 2 in the fall. With so many original cast and crew gone, they had to scramble to reorganize everything and it wound up becoming like a campy soap opera instead of a commentary on social classes as it had been intended. Cheers was it's lead-in and it had trouble keeping those viewers with the new slant. Though it still had ratings a lot of shows would be proud of, it was an overall failure at holding onto Cheers' audience (which was #1 at that time). It was abruptly canceled at the end of December 1990 in the middle of a 3-part story arc. "Wings" had already been on the air (it was also in it's 2nd season) and took the timeslot over in January 1991, though it too never properly held onto "Cheers"' audience either.
