‘The Munsters’ Theme Song Inspired a Fall Out Boy Hit

TL;DR:

• The Munsters‘ theme song inspired one of Fall Out Boy’s most famous hits.
• The hit did something that Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump said was “taboo in rock music.”
• Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz felt the track sounded like another famous song.

The Munsters was one of several 1960s TV shows that had an influence on music. For example, one of Fall Out Boy’s songs is based on The Munsters‘ theme song. Notably, a member of Fall Out Boy said the song is also connected to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

Pete Wentz revealed why Fall Out Boy’s songs started incorporating samples

During a 2015 interview with MTV News, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump discussed his band’s album American Beauty/American Psycho. “On this record especially, we really focused on the idea of sampling,” Stump said. “It’s still this thing that’s so taboo in rock music. It’s an art form. You can do such amazing things with it. Those things are very obviously influenced by hip-hop.” J Dilla and A Tribe Called Quest are two of the hip-hop acts that inspired their use of samples.

In a 2015 interview with Billboard, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz discussed the origin of the song “Uma Thurman,” which appeared on American Beauty/American Psycho. “We had the track and we were playing it to people,” he added. “We treated the process more like the way DJs and producers create songs.” “Uma Thurman” samples The Munsters‘ theme.

Why a song that sampled ‘The Munsters” theme song references Quentin Tarantino’s movies

Wentz said others compared the sample of The Munsters‘ theme song to 1960s guitarist Dick Dale’s “Miserlou,” which was used in Pulp Fiction. “We had the tracks done, and we were playing them to people, and people kept saying, ‘Oh, Pulp Fiction‘ or ‘Oh, Dick Dale.’ 

“That’s what they thought the [sampling of the] Munsters theme sounded like,” Wentz added. “Like this surfy guitar idea … because of that, we were like, why don’t we write something that’s in the Quentin Tarantino world?” Notably, Thurman appeared in Tarantino’s films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.

How Fall Out Boy’s ‘Uma Thurman’ and ‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ performed in the United States

“Uma Thurman” became a hit in the United States. It reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 27 weeks. It lasted on the chart longer than most of Fall Out Boy’s other singles.

“Uma Thurman” appeared on the album American Beauty/American Psycho. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for one week. It remained on the chart for a total of 95 weeks. Aside from the band’s previous album Save Rock and Roll, American Beauty/American Psycho is Fall Out Boy’s most successful album on the chart.

“Uma Thurman” was a hit — and it brought The Munsters back into pop culture.