National Basketball Association music
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The National Basketball Association has been criticized for its links to hip hop music and has also had its own famous anthem in Roundball Rock. In recent years, the league has embraced country music and musicians and bands that could be considered tame by some observers (such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rob Thomas and Justin Timberlake).
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[edit] Hip Hop
- For more details on the NBA and hip hop, see National Basketball Association criticisms and controversies.
For several years, the NBA has embraced "Hip-hop culture". Rappers Nelly and Jay-Z have ownership stakes in NBA teams (the Charlotte Bobcats and New Jersey Nets respectively), and many artists have worn NBA throwback jerseys in music videos. In turn, the NBA plays rap and hip-hop in arenas during games, and ABC/ESPN used the music during game coverage. Players in the NBA have tried rap or hip-hop themselves (Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson (under the rap name "Jewels"), and notoriously, Ron Artest are some examples) and several also dress and act in ways that are in accordance with hip-hop culture (for example, the tattoos and jewelery worn by several players).
[edit] Television
[edit] CBS
Unlike later NBA broadcast partners, CBS used lyrics in their theme music from 1974-76. The lyrics, sung in an upbeat fashion by an ensemble of singers, were paired with visuals using rotoscoped basketball players in silhouette, against a black background and outlined in different colors. The lyrics for the full version (there were also shorter versions of the theme and lyrics presented below) are below:
| “ | Give it all you got,
Take your your very best shot And may the best team win. The time is now, the name of the game is action. They're on the floor, And they're ready to score, So let the game begin, And let's see how the ball's going to bounce today Welcome to N-B-A Come on, and join the roar of the crowd" Here's another classic about, To come your way... You'll see the best in basketball When you watch the N-B-A, When you watch the N-B-A on C-B-S. (N-B-A on C-B-S, N-B-A on C-B-S, ... etc. fading out) |
” |
Starting in 1977, CBS used an alternate opening showing a montage of still pictures of current NBA star athletes with music (similar to the music used by the network for its CBS' NFL coverage at that time) accompanying it. In 1980, CBS used rotoscoped animation in silouette of one player shooting a jumpshot and the ball in mid air rolling all the NBA teams as it spun in the air, with disco-pop-moog music behind it.
By the 1983 NBA Finals, the opening sequence was set in a primitive computer-generated montage of basketball action inside a virtual arena that looked similar to the Boston Garden. This opening sequence (which was usually intertwined by a montage of live basketball action complete with narration) was created by Bill Feigenbaum and seemed roughly similar to the open for The NFL Today used around the same time. This opening melody (mostly consisting of an uptempo series of four notes and three bars each) from 1983-1988 is generally considered to be the most familiar theme music that The NBA on CBS used.
For the 1989 NBA Finals, CBS completely revamped the opening montage. The computer-generated imagery (once again set in and around a virtual arena) was made to look more realistic (live-action footage was incorporated in the backdrops). Also, the familiar theme music was rearranged to sound more intricate and to have a more emotional impact, along the lines of the network's later World Series coverage.
CBS would also create special intros during the NBA Finals comprised of music from either Terms of Endearment or St. Elmo's Fire playing in the background.
[edit] Roundball Rock
Roundball Rock was the theme music NBC used for its game telecasts from 1990 to 2002. The theme became synonymous with NBA basketball, primarily because it was used at the height of the Michael Jordan era (and the height of the NBA's popularity). Written by John Tesh, Roundball Rock went through several slight variations (including two different versions used in 2001 for going into commercial breaks, and a separate rendition for NBC's WNBA telecasts) but remained virtually the same for all twelve years of its existence.
The theme was sampled by Nelly in his song "Heart of a Champion" and was used in both an NBA on NBC video game and the movie Like Mike. Both Conan O'Brien and Craig Kilborn paid comedic tributes to the theme when the NBA on NBC ended, and John Tesh was asked about the theme by O'Brien when he appeared on his show in late 2004. During that same episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the theme was played over footage of the recent and infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl.
[edit] ABC
Until the Pacers-Pistons brawl, ABC and ESPN used a heavy amount of hip-hop and heavy metal music during pregame montages. On the January 4, 2003 telecast of a Dallas Mavericks/Philadelphia 76ers game, ABC played the Ludacris song Move Bitch and censored expletives by using the sound of dogs barking. In the wake of the NBA taking steps to fix negative perceptions of its players, little to no rap music is played prior to games on either network.
ABC's current NBA game theme is called Fast Break, by Non-Stop Music. It is the third game theme the network has had, dating back to 2002-03. The theme is now also used on ESPN NBA coverage.
ABC's earlier coverage of NBA basketball, ending with the 1972-1973 season, included a theme song with lyrics. Among the lyrics were the lines,
| “ | You've got to take timeout, get into the action, while you're relaxing at home. Sit back and do something nice for yourself, sharing the feeling with somebody else... | ” |
[edit] List of music and performers used
- Robert Randolph and the Family Band : Hired to write ABC's theme song for the 2002-03 NBA season. ABC built its slogan around the song We Got Hoops and used it as game music for the Christmas Day 2002 and January 4, 2003 telecasts. Beginning with a February 16, 2003 doubleheader, ABC dropped the theme (with the exception of marketing and commercials).
- LL Cool J : Performed a rap song about the San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Nets that was played prior to each edition of NBA Shootaround during the 2003 NBA Finals. The song, which had the refrain of "Spurs-Nets goin' to war", aired before each of the six pregame shows.
- Justin Timberlake : Wrote a song specifically for the NBA; Can't Get Enough premiered as the NBA on ABC theme song on Christmas Day 2003, with several commercials in the weeks leading up to the game featuring Timberlake himself. On the Christmas Day telecast, Timberlake was featured in the opening montage. Footage of him was removed from the introduction for all subsequent telecasts. ABC used the instrumental from Can't Get Enough as its theme for most of the season. As the season went on, Can't Get Enough was gradually phased out.
- Black Eyed Peas : ABC and ESPN both used the Black Eyed Peas song Let's Get It Started prominently in television commercials for the 2004 NBA Playoffs. Members of the Black Eyed Peas, as well as NBA legends (including Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and ABC broadcaster Al Michaels were featured in the advertisements. During the 2004 NBA Finals, Let's Get It Started was used in ABC's opening montage and as the theme music.
- The Jackson 5 : In the lead-up to the Los Angeles Lakers-Miami Heat game on Christmas Day 2004, ABC used a modified version of the Jackson 5's ABC in advertisements.
| “ | A-B-C, its the NBA on A-B-C, are you ready to play?
Al and Hubie got the play-by-play, 'cause ABC Sports got the NBA. The Heat and the Lakers coming through your TV, its the NBA on ABC |
” |
- Destiny's Child : Starting with the Christmas Day 2004 Heat-Lakers telecast, ABC used the Destiny's Child song Lose My Breath as the music for their introductory montage. The song was used through the rest of the regular season, and through the first few weeks of the 2005 NBA Playoffs.
- Rob Thomas : Starting on May 14, 2005, prior to a Saturday night playoff telecast between the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat, ABC began using Rob Thomas's song This is How a Heart Breaks as the music for the opening montage. The song was aired prior to every telecast the season, including Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals. ABC used a multitude of popular music prior to the start of the second half of games, in the McDonalds Halftime Highlights segment.
- Tom Petty : For the 2006 NBA Playoffs and Finals, ABC used music from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for its pregame montages. Though Runnin' Down a Dream was the main song used, ABC also played Makin' Some Noise, I Won't Back Down and You Wreck Me, among others. By contrast to 2005, Petty's theme was not played during the introductions for the NBA Finals. Instead, ABC opted to air a montage of historical NBA Finals moments.
- The Pussycat Dolls : For the 2006-07 NBA season, ABC selected The Pussycat Dolls to perform "Right Now" as the open for NBA games.[1].
[edit] TNT
TNT's NBA theme music, composed by Trevor Rabin, has been the same for the past four years (since the start of the 2002-03 NBA season), the longest of the league's three broadcast partners. In 2006, TNT used the Fort Minor Remember the Name as secondary music for its playoff coverage. In the late 1990s, TNT used a swing band to sing its theme (with the refrain of "It's the NBA on TNT tonight...") for promotional advertisements. Sister station TBS used Run-DMC to sing and create its theme during the early part of the 2000s.
[edit] League promotions
The NBA has used several artists in league produced promotions. During the 2000s, the league has used P!nk's song "Get the Party Started", Christina Aguleria's song "Fighter", the Baha Men's song "Move It Like This" and Paul Simon's song "Father and Daughter" among others.
[edit] External links
- NBA's Hip-Hop Identity Crisis: Too Ghetto?
- More on the NBA hip-hop ban
- Nowitzki's secret? Singing Hasselhoff
