The Music of Jeopardy! From a Lullaby to $100,000,000

Twenty Thousand Hertz

Dallas Taylor

Music, Design, Arts, Music Commentary

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It’s the most recognizable TV theme in America. But Jeopardy’s “Think Music” wasn’t originally written for a game show… It was written for a toddler. In this episode, we trace the unlikely journey of the Jeopardy theme, from Merv Griffin’s living room to over 10,000 episodes across six decades. Along the way, we explore the show’s sonic evolution, including honking buzzers, 80s synths, and orchestral remixes. Featuring Lisa Broffman, Jeopardy’s Consulting Co-Executive Producer. Subscribe on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ to see our brand new video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at ⁠⁠mystery.20k.org⁠⁠. Explore Defacto Sound's work at ⁠defactosound.com⁠, and click the ⁠⁠Contact Form⁠⁠ to get in touch. Follow Dallas on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠. Join our community on ⁠⁠Reddit⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠. Visit ⁠⁠sonos.com⁠⁠ to learn about the Sonos Ace headphones and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	After years of work and months of teasing, it's finally here.
0:05.0	20,000 Hertz has now officially expanded into video.
0:11.0	The first two episodes of our brand new video series are available right now over on my YouTube channel,
0:17.0	which is under dallas taylor.mp3.
0:19.0	In the first video, I go behind the scenes on the set of
0:22.6	jeopardy with their incredible audio team it's a completely different story than what you're
0:27.4	about to hear in this episode but it ties in beautifully on the second video i go into studio
0:33.3	8h at saturday night live and meet one of their boom operators and get up on the boom myself
0:38.4	to try it out. More stories like this will be coming out every week. So take a quick moment right
0:43.9	now to open the show notes of this episode, follow the link to my YouTube channel, DallasTaylor.mp3,
0:50.0	and tap subscribe. But I don't want you to miss this podcast episode because it's incredibly special.
1:00.4	This entire episode is sponsored by Sonos. Sonos has been my favorite home speaker company for years,
1:09.1	and recently they expanded into the headphone market with the new Sonos Ace. And recently, they expanded into the
1:10.9	headphone market with the new Sonos Ace. And just like I expected, they
1:15.3	absolutely nailed it. The sound is rich and detailed, bringing out subtle
1:19.8	textures and music, dialogue, and sound design that makes everything feel more
1:24.3	vivid. They're also super comfortable. I've worn them for hours and barely
1:28.7	noticed they were there. And the battery life is really impressive, getting up to 30 hours on a single
1:34.1	charge. Unlock the full potential of your music with Sonos Ace headphones. Visit sonos.com
1:40.0	to hear the difference. You're listening to 20,000 Hertz.
1:48.1	The stories behind the world's most iconic and fascinating sounds.
1:53.6	I'm Dallas Taylor.
	...

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