How Living Single’s Theme Song Almost Wasn’t A Thing

Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty

A successful TV show is built like a machine where every little part plays a key component to make it run smoothly. One of the most overlooked aspects of most of the legendary shows we enjoyed watching growing up were the theme songs. Back in September, we posted an article highlighting our favorite theme songs from Black sitcoms. Although all of the theme songs on the list are memorable, one almost never made it.

Living Single was a sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser (she also created Half and half). The show, which centered around the lives of six friends who shared personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone, aired on the Fox network from August 22, 1993 to January 1, 1998. The cast included Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Erika Alexander, Kim Coles, TC Carson, and John Henton. With such a great cast and a plot that was as relatable as it was funny, Living Single was forced to rise.

During an interview with The breakfast club in 2018, Erika Alexander, who played lawyer Maxine Shaw on the show revealed that Living Single was not the original name. One of the working titles that was considered early in the show’s development stages was Friends. Living Single AND Friends both were produced by Warner Brothers, but the latter is said to have been given a larger amount of financial investment.

“The original name for Living Single it was My girls, but it didn’t test well so they came up with some other names. Living Single AND Friends were some of the names presented. Obviously, they chose one and the other went to another show, also produced by Warner Bros.,” Alexander explained.

This brings us to the theme song situation. In a tweet posted by @hellastalgia, we get a chance to hear what the song would have sounded like if the show ended up being called My girls.

Fans were immediately divided in their responses. Some were glad the original version was removed. Others noted that the song was a success for them and expressed how they could see the song working. Then there were people who saw the connection between the quasi-title of the show and the women singing “My girls” at the end of the pilot episode.

Here’s the famous theme song they ended up with.

Where do you stand on this topic? Do you like the original theme song or do you think the right decision was made moving forward? Tell us in the comments!