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Who Sings the Monday Night Football Song? A Look at Its History

Vaseline September 10, 2024

Whether they’re watching the Cincinnati Bengals play or cheering on some other irrelevant team, viewers have been tuning in to Monday Night Football for more than 50 years. The games first aired on ABC in 1970.

In 2006, the NFL moved to ABC’s sister network, ESPN, where the coveted Monday night program has remained ever since.

But of course, no NFL broadcast would be complete without an opening theme.

Last September, the competition caused a stir when the show’s new theme song was announced, performed by an unlikely trio: Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana, who recorded a cover of the 1981 Phil Collins classic “In The Air Tonight.”

The new track received mixed reviews, ranging from saying it “could have been worse” to describing the collaboration as “wild but beautiful.” Even comparing the debut to a “tasty punch.”

ESPN announced around noon on Monday that the number would return ahead of the Week 1 showdown between the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers.

But who sang the Monday Night Football theme song before the mismatched trio came on the scene? And what other songs did the network test before landing them on Phil Collins’ cover?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Who sings the theme song for Monday Night Football?

Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana kick off Monday Night Football with their cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight,” which will debut during the 2023-24 NFL season.

Who was the original singer of the Monday Night Football theme song?

Country rocker Hank Williams Jr. was the original performer of the Monday Night Football theme song. In 1989, ABC debuted the singer’s edited version of his single “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” called “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night.”

The song earned Williams Jr. four Emmys and remained the show’s opening number for more than two decades, even after the show was moved from ABC to ESPN.

What happened to the original Monday Night Football theme song?

In 2011, ESPN removed Hank Williams Jr. and his theme song from its Monday night slot after the country singer made controversial comments about former President Barack Obama, comparing Obama to Hitler on the radio during “Fox & Friends,” a morning show on Fox News Channel.

The network tried out different versions of “Heavy Action,” a jingle synonymous with the Monday night spot, for a few years before bringing back Williams Jr.’s song in 2017 and keeping it as a fanfare until 2019.

Who else has sung the Monday Night Football theme song?

In 2020, ESPN switched things up after more than three decades of “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” and introduced rock legend Little Richard’s “Rip It Up,” performed by Virginia-based band Butcher Brown.

Two years later, the theme song was changed again to a remixed version of the classic melody of “Heavy Action,” which had been part of the broadcast’s music catalog since 1976.

Finally, in September 2023, the theme song was released with the current melody: “In The Air Tonight”, performed by Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana.

How to Watch Monday Night Football

Due to the Hollywood strikes this summer, Monday Night Football will now air each week on ABC and ESPN beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET. The game can also be streamed on Watch ESPN.