Among the many comedians who parleyed standup success into sitcom fame, Jerry Seinfeld -- and his eponymous "show about nothing" -- exists on a level entirely his own. Premiering in 1989, Seinfeld still proves to be a ratings juggernaut, with Netflix reportedly paying $500 million in 2019 for the rights to stream the series for five years.

Since its debut, decades of fans have come to adore Cosmo Kramer's explosive entrances, George Costanza's apoplectic outbursts and Elaine Benes's funky dance moves. And of course, there's Jerry, who opened most of the series' 180 episodes with a brief standup routine, which set the tone for that week's episode. The routine also influenced the opening theme song's stylings, which -- despite what one may remember -- was different for each episode.

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Unlike most sitcoms of the era, which typically featured lyrical themes songs, the theme for Seinfeld comprises a unique blend of sounds, ranging from slap bass to tongue clicks and cheek pops. Yes, much of the sound in Seinfeld's theme was made by composer Jonathan Wolff, who composed the theme songs for Will & Grace, Who's the Boss? and Married... with Children, and many other well-known series. In an interview with E!, Wolff recalled receiving a call from Jerry Seinfeld. According to Wolff, Seinfeld reached out because the creatives behind the series were having a difficult time selecting a theme song for the comedian's show. Since each episode of the show would open with a different standup routine, a typical score wasn't working.

To address the issue, Wolff knew that standard instruments wouldn't work, as they would compete with the tone and timber of Seinfeld's voice. Instead, Wolff recorded a series of sounds that he created with his mouth. Then, watching the selected standup, Wolff would tweak the tempo, pitch and overall sound to match the given routine, using Seinfeld's delivery as the inspiration for the melody. By embracing a more modular concept, Wolff was able to rework the theme song each week, creating a familiar sound that was subtly different each time. Over the course of Seinfeld's run, Wolff created over 170 variations of the theme song. Interestingly, Wolff's take on the song almost didn't make it past NBC brass.

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Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer watch TV in Seinfeld

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the executives at NBC were not fans of the sound Wolff created. Not surprisingly, NBC called a meeting to discuss the song. Seinfeld co-creator Larry David invited Wolff to join him and Seinfeld at the meeting. The execs questioned the sound, asking Wolff, "‘Is that real music?" Wolff also recalls Warren Littlefield, then-president of NBC Entertainment, saying, "It’s weird. It’s distracting. It’s annoying." Littlefield's use of "annoying" actually saved Wolff's concept. The composer noted that David "lives for annoying! That’s his primary goal in life!" So, when discussions eventually turned to changing the song, Wolff offered to take another stab at it. David, however, put his foot down and insisted Wolff's original concept be used for the series.

In the end, those odd tongue clicks, cheek pops and slap bass received the seal of approval, with Wolff modifying the song each week to align with Jerry Seinfeld's standup routine. In the 2020s, when many series have dropped theme songs entirely, it's incredible to know that Seinfeld not only had a theme song, but there were 173 versions of it!