The song that has moved Philadelphians closer to the world for decades

The 6abc Action News theme is a sound that’s as Philly as it gets. Like the sizzle of a cheesesteak rib eye, cheers for an Eagles touchdown, and the quiet crumple of a soft pretzel wrapper.

Even 52 years later, the funky groove of the 1970s theme remains iconic for longtime Philly residents, who grew up watching the legendary Jim Gardner and other anchors relay the evening news into their living rooms.

Philly comedian Chip Chantry is one such viewer. While others may stand for the American flag, Chantry regards the Action News opener “Move Closer to Your World” with the same patriotism. “If you’re in my home, you better stand for the Action News theme song,” Chantry said in the viral clip from a Helium Club routine in April, which has amassed over 500,000 views since June 7.

Growing up near Norristown, Chantry said the theme brought the excitement of the city into his childhood home. “When I hear Action News, I think dinner time,” said Chantry, whose forthcoming special is called “Move Closer” in honor of the classic theme. “It’s such an iconic theme, and it’s almost like a sports theme for people who don’t like sports. This is like the Rocky theme in your house.”

The theme is reminiscent of an era where broadcast news was the next big thing in journalism, helping usher in a new crop of star news anchors and generations of local news junkies. The widely popular song has been covered extensively — from high school bands to bands like The Roots.

The idea for “Move Closer to Your World” came from former 6abc promotions manager Walter Liss, who wanted a theme similar to a popular Coca-Cola commercial that featured the jingle, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony).”

That song was recorded by the American folk group the Hillside Singers, an ensemble created by the advertising agency McCann Erickson just to sing in the Coke ad. Liss reached out to Hillside Singers producer Al Ham to create something similar for Action News. Ham wrote the music and Liss wrote the lyrics in 1970. Two years later, the song debuted on what was then called WPVI-TV and has been in rotation ever since.

“To people in Philadelphia, things that are ours matter to us. And hearing that music every day, it makes people feel like they’re home,” said Mike Monsell, 6abc’s vice president of marketing. “Nothing can encapsulate that more than [Chantry’s video]. That pretty much sums up the way people feel around here.”

In the middle of office building renovations in 2012, Monsell found original handwritten notes from Liss and Ham, and a photocopy of the theme’s sheet music inside his desk drawer. Those now hang on the TV station’s history wall.

After a decade on display, the ink on the sheet music and handwritten notes began to fade and Monsell was tasked with finding a place that could restore the artifacts.

In September 2022, he reached out to the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts, where senior paper conservator Heather Hendry and others were able to treat the sheet music and handwritten notes.

Jessica Silverman, CCAHA’s director of conservation, said the center was able to remove the tape from the documents. Conservators also used pigmented inks to mitigate the fading issues, and developed a replica of the Liss-Ham notes page for display.

While every project is rewarding, Silverman said the Action News preservation has become a “tour favorite.” “People get real jazzed up about it,” she said.

After the project wrapped in April, the revived sheet music and replicated notes page are now on display at 6abc. The original light-sensitive notes, Monsell said, are stored in a temperature-controlled storage container.

The CCAHA project signifies the theme’s importance for people of the region, but 6abc is not shying away from addressing one of the more controversial moments in the station’s history: the changing of the theme song in 1996.

Planned for a late summer release, 6abc president Bernie Prazenica said, a mini-documentary will chronicle how viewers reacted to an “orchestrated” version of the opening theme that debuted on Sept. 20, 1996.

Liss and Ham’s original was updated by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but viewers immediately took to their phones to bash the new interpretation. The criticism forced 6abc to pull it from the airwaves and place the original song back after three days.

“I think people who view it will get a real kick out of it,” Prazenica said. “I think it’s going to be fun to look back on that, especially for those who have heard the story but haven’t heard the music. They will get a chance to sample it.”

If you ask anyone at 6abc, Monsell said, there’s no way the Action News theme will be changed in the future. The original will always remain an integral part of the city’s identity, and he and others will continue to commemorate the song’s storied legacy.

Somewhere in a living room near Norristown, Chantry and his family are cheering that. Standing up, of course.