48 years ago today, WKRP in Cincinnati debuted on CBS. From Episode 1, When DJ John Caravella transformed into Dr. Johnny Fever, and WKRP became a rock and roll station.
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The first song you hear Ted Nugent's Queen of The Forest. However, the record Johnny puts down on the turntable is a Kiss album. Unfortunately due to licensing you most likely will never hear the original music in the episodes again.

Sep 18, 2026 · 10:53 PM UTC

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Replying to @DannyDeraney
The 2014 Shout! Factory WKRP in Cincinnati: The Complete Series 13-disc box set has the (mostly) original music. The official release that restored the vast majority of the real songs the show used when it first aired (roughly 80–90%+ depending on the count)
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
In fact, for the Shout Factory DVD box set, they managed to include roughly 90% of the original music – including "Queen Of The Forest". Seasons 2 and 3 had the most replacements on the set.
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
It’s really sad too. It was my favorite show growing up. I used to tape episodes but overwrote them after I watched an episode.
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
For the music, around 1990, CBC was rerunning the show weekends and I started taping it, so I have the series intact with music before the licenses expired. The Shout factory box set is the closest you'll get otherwise.
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
It's absolutely criminal the music rights matter never got resolved. Such a bummer we can't see the original episodes in all their glory.
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
I managed to download 5 seasons with the original music. It's very cool.
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
I have seen that here before, that's what I was hoping to hear.
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
I believe there's a DVD release of the show that has most of the original music in it. Came out about 10 years ago.
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
One of my all time favorite shows! It's terrible we can't hear the original music though...
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Replying to @DannyDeraney
It's actually a blank side of the Casablanca 12 inch disc likely. I have at least one in my collection. Just end groove of a record side all across that side and a one sided disc. That's why it gets to the end of the side so quickly and a tech error, but why blow that take?
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