What is the title of the theme song of The Andy Griffith Show?

The title of The Andy Griffith Show’s theme song is “The Fishin’ Hole.” The familiar instrumental opening is more formally known as “The Andy Griffith Show Theme,” but the vocal version released with lyrics was renamed “The Fishin’ Hole.”

Composer Earle Hagen created the melody in 1960, and Herbert W. Spencer received co-composer credit. Hagen also performed the famous whistling heard in the television theme. The opening sequence shows Andy Taylor and his son Opie walking beside a lake with fishing poles, a visual that helped define the show’s gentle, homespun atmosphere.

Actor Everett Sloane later wrote lyrics for an expanded vocal version after learning that the original theme had no words. Andy Griffith sang that version, which appeared on a 1961 Capitol Records album. A common quiz-room distinction is that “The Andy Griffith Show Theme” describes the television instrumental, while “The Fishin’ Hole” is the title associated with its sung version.