signature tune

American  

noun

1. theme song.

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signature tune British  

noun

1. Also called (esp US and Canadian): theme song.  a melody used to introduce or identify a television or radio programme, a dance band, a performer, etc

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Etymology

Origin of signature tune

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Langston Hughes’s poems were featured on posters in my local library, and everybody knew Duke Ellington because of his signature tune, “Take the A Train,” written by Billy Strayhorn.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2024

Elsewhere, Parton teams up with “Trio” collaborator Emmylou Harris to honor the third member of their troupe, Linda Ronstadt, with a fantastic cover of Ronstadt’s signature tune, “You’re No Good” that also features Sheryl Crow.

From Salon • Nov. 18, 2023

Before he signed off the stage, he sang his version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General,” a signature tune from their comic opera “The Pirates of Penzance.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2023

Ms. Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter” spent only one week at No. 1 after its release in 1970, but it soon became the singer’s signature tune:

From Washington Post • Oct. 4, 2022

In the Ring, every character has his or her own leitmotif, or signature tune.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall