[weegee]

I searched for the wrong one first:

Here's Stairway To Freebird (by Dash Rip Rock)

I can't find a file for Green Haze (by Elvis Hitler). It was an indie college radio staple a decade ago. A number of google matches but I couldn't find a sound sample. I did find that EH also later covered Yummy Yummy Yummy.

In the same vein, there is a Rhino album (Rerun Rock) of "original" recordings of tv themes in the style of hit songs. It is not entirely successful in its efforts:

1. The Ballad Of) Gilligan's Island - Irv Burton/Tim Jones/Robert Aguayo In the style of real bad rap
2. The Patty Duke Theme (Cousins) - Robert Aguayo In the style of Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone
3. Casper The Friendly Ghost - Jess Harnell In the style of Elvis (Teddy Bear era)
4. The Yogi Bear Song - Robert Aguayo In the style of the Cars' You Might Think
5. George Of The Jungle - Scott Shaw In the style of Led Zepplin (Whole Lotta Love) This is one of the better ones. I think this is the same Scott Shaw who is a cartoonist and designed the Rhino logo.
6. The Addams Family - Joey Gaynor In the style of Frank Sinatra
7. Rawhide - Jarrett Michaels In an really bad attempt at Billy Jean era Michael Jackson
8. I Married Joan - Robert Aguayo In the style of Jimi Hendrix
9. The Brady Bunch - Scott Shaw In the style of James Brown Again, Scott delivers one of the better cuts (not hard with the lousy cuts on this turkey)
10. Bedrock Rap-(Meet) The Flintstones - Bruce Springstone In the style of Bruce Springsteen Not being a Bruuuce fan, this does little for me.
Music links of these cuts here

[Ichneumon]

In the same vein, there is a Rhino album (Rerun Rock) of "original" recordings of tv themes in the style of hit songs. It is not entirely successful in its efforts:

A similar project which *is* quite successful in its artistry is a series of playful albums by Delos International, which normally produces "serious" classical albums. I own their "Heigh-Ho! Mozart" and "Mozart TV" albums, and they're great. The first is 16 "Favorite Disney tunes in the style of Great Classical Composers", the second is 15 "Favorite TV tunes" (i.e., TV series theme songs) done the same way.

They're a real hoot, but done with enough skill and virtuosity that they're amazing. It's fun to listen to them without reading the track list first -- it's often surprisingly difficult to recognize TV jingles when they're performed in a manner outside their usual context. Then when you finally do recognize them, it's like a bomb going off in your head. It's also fascinating to see what a vast difference musical style can make to what is nominally the same melody, and how even the most insipid ditty can become something glorious if handled with artistry.

Besides being a lot of fun, these albums (and several others in the same vein by Delos) are practically a painless class in musical appreciation.

Excerpt from the liner notes:

Mr. Ed - in the style of Joaquin Rodrigo

Grant Gershon: The "Rodrigo" is right up there with I Love Lucy as -- on the surface -- the most unlikely combination of TV theme with composer invoked... to fashion Mr. Ed into a Rodrigo style guitar concerto! And yet, when I actually heard what Donald had done with it, it made perfect sense. It has a terrific amount of charm and wit. It invokes the Spanish style of guitar playing with fabulous integrity, and is a great display for the talents of Scott Tennant.

Donald Fraser: Mr. Ed is wonderful. It's done with tremendous fun and with character. At first, the tune suggested a bassoon. But you try out various things. Then someone rings up and suggests a guitar concerto! So it's a combination of the practical and the inspirational -- a balance.

The most ambitious piece on "Mozart TV" is a Mozart-styled piano concerto using Hill Street Blues for the first movement, M*A*S*H ("Suicide is Painless") as the slow movement, and The Brady Bunch as the Rondo/third movement.

Grant Gershon: The Brady Bunch is the perfect wedding of a goofy tune and a lighthearted form. The rondo movement of a Mozart piano concerto is always playful, always has a lot of wit and panache. The Brady Bunch tune is intrinsically Mozartian in a way: it's quite diatonic, and it's got a strong rhythmic flavor to it. It works very convincingly as a movement of a Mozart piano concerto.

Complete Contents

1. Friends (I'll Be There for You) in the style of Vivaldi
2. The X-Files in the style of Hovhaness
3. The Brady Bunch in the style of Mozart
4. M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless) in the style of Mozart
5. Hill Street Blues in the style of Mozart
6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Love Is All Around) in the style of Satie
7. Cheers (Where Everybody Knows Your Name) in the style of J. Ireland
8. Mr. Ed in the style of Rodrigo
9. Bewitched in the style of Debussy
10. Jeopardy (Think Music) in the style of Handel
11. Star Trek: Voyager in the style of R. Strauss
12. Taxi (Angela's Theme) in the style of Villa-Lobos
13. I Love Lucy in the style of Purcell
14. Green Acres in the style of Joplin
15. The Jetsons in the style of Britten

Complete Contents

• COLORS OF THE WIND from Pocahontas, in the style of Dvorák: New World Symphony I / Slavonic Dances (5:12)
• HEIGH-HO! from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in the style of Mozart: Early String Quartets / Eine kleine Nachtmusik / Flute Quartet (2:44)
• BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in the style of Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Variation XVIII / Prelude in D, Op. 23 (3:58)
• THE SECOND STAR FROM THE RIGHT from Peter Pan, in the style of Tallis: If Ye Love Me (2:10)
• UNDER THE SEA from The Little Mermaid, in the style of Joplin: The Entertainer, Maple Leaf, and other rags (2:56)
• I WANNA BE LIKE YOU from Jungle Book, in the style of Villa-Lobos: Choro No. 1 for Guitar / Bachianas Brasileiras (4:03)
• CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT from The Lion King, in the style of Tchaikovsky: Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra / Swan Lake (4:59)
• WITH A SMILE AND A SONG from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in the style of Chopin: Prelude in G, Op. 28 / Mazurka in g, Op. 67 No. 2 (2:36)
• WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF? from The Three Little Pigs in the style of J. Strauss: Pizzicato Polka (2:39)
• A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES from Cinderella in the style of Grieg: Holberg Suite / Norwegian Dances (2:43)
• MAIN STREET ELECTRICAL PARADE (BAROQUE HOEDOWN), Disneyland (tm) in the style of Vivaldi: Double Concerto for Guitar (Mandolins) / Concerto for Piccolo / Concerto in g for 2 Cellos (5:17)
• FEED THE BIRDS (TUPPENCE A BAG) from Mary Poppins in the style of Brahms: Quintet in b for Clarinet and Strings / Quartet No. 3 in c for Piano and Strings (3:36)
• LITTLE APRIL SHOWER from Bambi in the style of Handel: Harpischord Suites in g & E (Harmonious Blacksmith) / Entry of the Queen of Sheba (2:36)
• WINNIE THE POOH in the style of Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf / Cinderella (2:32)
• PRINCE ALI from Aladdin in the style of Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra / Allegro Barbaro / Hungarian Dances (3:04)
• WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR from Pinocchio in the style of R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben / Also sprach Zarathustra / Der Rosenkavalier (4:55)