What is the name of the Cheers theme song?

The Cheers theme song is “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” Written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo, it became one of television's most recognizable opening themes.

The song originated during the early development of Cheers. Portnoy and Hart Angelo had written songs for the unsuccessful Broadway musical Preppies, and the show's producers initially considered adapting one of those songs. After several proposals were rejected, the pair wrote “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” specifically to capture the warmth and belonging of a neighborhood bar.

Portnoy performed the television version himself. The chorus creates a group sound by layering six of his vocal recordings, while the arrangement remains deliberately simple to suit the show's intimate setting. The finalized recording was made in Los Angeles in August 1982, shortly before the series premiered.

The full title is sometimes presented as “Theme from Cheers (Where Everybody Knows Your Name).” It is often confused with “Love Is All Around,” the theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, or “The Best Around” from The Karate Kid. The Cheers song was also released as a single and received an Emmy nomination.