Designing Women - Opening Credits

Opening Credits

• During the first two seasons, photos of the four principals were shown along with groupings of items that depicted their characters (Suzanne's beauty crown and pageant clippings, Julia's elegant Wedgwood tea set and a photo of her son; a photo of Mary Jo's children, and her interior design sketches; Charlene's adding machine, her cat and a publicity photo of Elvis). Music was an instrumental of "Georgia on My Mind", performed by Doc Severinsen. (Meshach Taylor was not credited as a regular cast member, only appearing in the closing credits of episodes in which he appeared.)
• Seasons three, four and five also featured a recording of "Georgia on My Mind", though a jazzier version than the previous recording. Glitzy head shots of the actors were used, with Meshach Taylor appearing as a regular cast member.
• Season six (the first season without Burke and Smart) featured the cast members, elegantly dressed, gathered around a piano, as Ray Charles performed "Georgia on My Mind".
• During season seven, the opening credits were eliminated (in keeping with the trend beginning in the early 1990s, in which sitcom opening credits were either abbreviated or eliminated entirely), with just a few bars of "Georgia on My Mind" playing, as "Designing Women" and the names of the actors quickly scrolled across the bottom of the screen at the beginning of the first scene. The episode names were also no longer displayed on-screen