Creating the theme song for a hit show can be career-altering, especially from a financial standpoint. Take The Rembrandts as an example, as the duo made a fortune thanks to Friends. However, they were forced into a completely different style, and they feel as though this hurt them in the long run.
As for Jonathan Wolff, the composer on Seinfeld, he doesn't show any regrets for his work on the show, and was able to enjoy and early retirement because of it. In the following, we're going to take a look at how the composer was approached by Jerry Seinfeld, and the struggles he faced with NBC early on. Ultimately, Wolff had a vision for his tunes, and it resulted in the perfect fit for the show.
Jerry Seinfeld Approached Jonathan Wolff For Help With The Intro And Outro For Seinfeld
It was Jerry Seinfeld who contacted Jonathan Wolff for the extra help with the Seinfeld theme. At the time, Jerry was looking for a specific sound for the outro and intro. Jonathan Wolff recalls the pair's first conversation and Jerry's request.
Wolff tells Forbes, “But when Jerry called me, he described to me the problem he was having: the opening and closing credits for this new show were to be Jerry doing stand-up material in front of an audience. He tells jokes, people laugh. And he wanted unique, signature theme music to go with it."
Before anything else, the goal for Wolff was to figure out what Jerry's jokes were about, and to attach a certain song to it.
“On that first phone call, I said, ‘Jerry, that sounds like a recipe for an audio conflict. We really need to hear your jokes. How about this? How about if we treat your human voice telling jokes as the melody of the Seinfeld theme? My job will be to accompany you in a way that’s fun and quirky but does not interfere with the audio of your standup routine.’”
It all worked out in the end, as Wolff constantly created different sounds to fit the given emotions for the episode. Although the partnership worked, NBC was not onboard at the start, and it required some pushback from higher ups on the show.
NBC Hated Jonathan Wolff's Sound For The Show, But The Cast Pushed Back
NBC was not as impressed with the final product. Those at the network wanted an upgrade, something like an orchestra instead. Wolff's sound deemed as weird, though they knew Larry David would like the tune given that it came across as 'annoying'.
“Since I was there, they made it the first item, and [NBC Entertainment’s then-president] Warren Littlefield laid it out. He said, ‘It’s weird. It’s distracting. It’s annoying,” Wolff recounted. “When he said that word… oh, Larry, he loves annoying! He lives for annoying! That’s his primary goal in life!”
Credit to Wolff who didn't take the criticism for the network personally and knew where they were coming from.
Wolff tells The Hollywood Reporter, “Let me just say that the NBC execs that were there for Seinfeld, I worked with them for many, many years. I did 17 series with these same folks. I’m fully retired, so I have no need to flatter anybody for any reason — and I will tell you that they’re all good guys. They’re all smart people. And their objections were natural and realistic."
Having the idea of creating a different tune around every monologue turned out to be the game-changer in this situation. As they say, the rest is history and Wolff would enjoy an early retirement because of it.
Jonathan Wolff Was Able To Quietly Retire In 2005 Thanks To His Seinfeld Residuals
The exact terms were not revealed, but in conversation with Forbes, Wolff credits nine seasons of Seinfeld with an early retirement in 2005. He changed his goals in the recent years, speaking to Ivy League schools and giving the next generation advice on how to make it. Wolff admits it took business savvy on his part to make it where he got, along with the perfect placement of his music in films and shows.
“You need extensive training before you take this on. My training included orchestration and technical sound recording. I played every instrument I could get my hands on. I was conservatory-trained and raised in jazz. It’s important that you have a wide range of technical, musical and business skills to enter this competition,” he said.
Wolff would go on to detail the importance of licensing your own work on a business end, and how it can allow a person to survive in such a field of work.
“As a musician, it’s important that you have a strong working, applicable understanding of intellectual property, copyright, contractual rights, publishing, licensing, royalties. It’s equally as important as your understanding of groove, backbeat, orchestration and odd meter. You need to be able to do all of those things equally skillfully in order to survive in this landscape.”
The composer got it on point, and continues to enjoy his wealth and success.
