Carroll O’Connor & Jean Stapleton, All In the Family Theme | Controversial Tunes 😈🎶

In the 16^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the “All In the Family Theme” by Carroll O’Connor & Jean Stapleton. 

“Mister, we could use a man / Like Herbert Hoover again…” Hmm 🤔, I have questions! Bring on the controversy! Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows and totally stirred the pot.  The records that grace Controversial Tunes are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 16^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, 🎵 “Those Were The Days (All In the Family Theme)” by 🎙 Carroll O’Connor and 🎙 Jean Stapleton. 

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So, we already have a request for Herbert Hoover to return to the presidency, which was, dare I say, sus 😏. But prior to that assertion: “Guys like us, we had it made / Those were days.” Guys like us, huh, Archie Bunker? Clearly, on 🎵 “Those Were the Days”, the All In The Family theme song, the guys 🎙 Carroll O’Connor’s iconic character referenced were straight, conservative, racist, and homophobic cisgender white men.  O’Connor sings this narrowminded theme that hearkens back to simpler, more conservative times alongside 🎙 Jean Stapleton, who plays the role of another iconic, classic TV character, Edith Bunker.

One of the key moments of “Those Were The Days” occurs when Stapleton shrilly sings the next line: “And you knew who you were then.” Oh, boy, there’s no way to get that unique vocal timbre – which is intentional – out of your head 😬. The more important line that follows arrives courtesy of the homophobe himself 😏: “Girls were girls, and men were men.” Can you say transphobic AF? To be fair, the song was crafted to reflect the polarizing Archie Bunker in the series, and Archie had a negative view of the LGBTQ+ community, referring to them in a number of derogatory ways.  The controversy doesn’t cease there: “Didn’t need no welfare state / Everybody pulled his weight.” Ugh… So much could be said…  There are many people who legitimately need help, particularly people of color. Of course, decoding the implicit bias and racism could be its own separate essay. All In The Family, as controversial and polarizing as it is, is one of the greatest television shows of all time.  I would argue the same about the theme song – it’s iconic.  Still, separated from the show, 🎵 “Those Were the Days (All In the Family Theme)” is nothing short of problematic, painting a view of an exclusive world as opposed to an inclusive one.

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🎙 Carroll O’Connor & Jean Stapleton • 🎵 “All In the Family Theme” • 🏷 Sony Pictures Television • 🗓 1971

Carroll O’Connor & Jean Stapleton, “All In the Family Theme”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 16 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Sony Pictures Television; Anand Kulkarni, Aykut Bingül, Luân Phan, mohammadreza merhvand via Pexels; Anna, Gordon Taylor, harshahars from Pixabay; christian buehner on Unsplash]