The Hockey Theme

For the Stompin' Tom Connors song, see The Hockey Song.
"The Hockey Theme"
Song
LanguageEnglish
Published1968
Composer(s)Dolores Claman

"The Hockey Theme" is a Canadian piece of instrumental theme music composed in 1968 by Dolores Claman and orchestrated by Jerry Toth.[1] It was widely recognized as Canada's unofficial second national anthem.[2][3][4][5]

The theme was associated with CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada, and Télévision de Radio-Canada's La Soirée du hockey beginning in 1968. In 2008, the CBC announced that the negotiations to renew their licence or purchase the theme had been unsuccessful and that they would run a national contest to find a new theme. The rights were then purchased by rival broadcaster CTVglobemedia (now known as Bell Media) in perpetuity. Since 2008, the theme can be heard on hockey broadcasts on the Bell Media-owned TSN and RDS sports networks.

  1. ^ Betty Nygaard King. "Jerry Toth". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  2. ^ Rolfson, Erik (September 25, 2008). "Hear the new version of Canada's unofficial national anthem: The Hockey Theme". The Province. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  3. ^ Deschamps, Tara (July 17, 2021). "Hockey Night in Canada theme song composer Dolores Claman dead at 94". CBC. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  4. ^ French, Cameron (June 5, 2008). "Canada's "Hockey Night" theme song on thin ice". Reuters. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  5. ^ ""THE HOCKEY THEME" TO BE HONOURED AT SOCAN'S NIGHT IN CANADA". Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2021.