Music
The H-B Productions had different segments and times for incidental tracks production. Between 1957 and 1960, the incidental track was basically by symphonic arrangements, being Ruff and Reddy's series had its own symphonic themes. These themes used in the 1958 and 1959 to 1960s seasons to the first H-B shorts with Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Snooper and Blabber and Augie Doggie. From 1959 to 1960 series Loopy De Loop and The Flintstones, softly orchestrated themes, some of them almost sounding concrete music and some played only by accordion, were used in other H-B cartons between 1961 and 1963 – like Top Cat, Snagglepuss, Touché Turtle, Wally Gator and the Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound 1961 seasons and all of its segments – and eventually between 1964 and 1967, and rarely then until the eighties. Other incidental tracks, organ music played as The Jetsons score themes and arrangements mostly based on polka music, they were used in cartoons like The Magilla Gorilla Show and its segments.
Most Hanna-Barbera series through 1985 had original theme music by Hoyt Curtin, with lyrics (when used) by Hanna and Barbera themselves. Incidental music for the studio's cartoons through 1960 came from stock production music purchased from Capitol Records. The studio's first original scores were written by Curtin for a short-lived theatrical cartoon series, Loopy De Loop, distributed by Columbia Pictures. These scores were re-edited to form the nucleus of an original music library, to which Curtin added new themes with each subsequent series. Curtin's comedy themes were usually arranged for a small combo. For Jonny Quest, Curtin adopted a big band "crime jazz" musical style; these themes were re-used in many other adventure-type series that followed. Another composer, Ted Nichols, added to this with themes and scores for "The Fantastic Four," "Space Ghost," and others.
Incidental tracks created for Johnny Quest, Space Ghost and Herculoids were written between 1964 and 1968, and were also eventually used in cartoons like The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show and Space Kidettes or also some Peter Potamus episodes. In 1967, another incidental tracks, between new polka arrangements and some rock/soul influences, were adopted in several cartoons as Wacky Races, Cattanooga Cats and Josie and The Pussycats. With these themes, other orchestral themes were created for Scooby Doo's incidental tracks. These themes were largely used until 1973. In the seventies, other orchestral themes, with less creative arrangements in relation to the other described above, were used in 1973 to the eighties, including 1975's Tom and Jerry seasons, new series as Hong Kong Phooey, Jabberjaw, Scooby Doo and Flintstones ~~ 70's and 80's production. In the eighties, the incidental tracks in H-B cartoons were made by keyboard arrangements, and it's used until the end of the production company.
Hanna-Barbera's musically-oriented series such as The Banana Splits, Josie and the Pussycats, and The Cattanooga Cats employed such diverse talents as Barry White, Mike Curb, and Cheryl Ladd (then Cheryl Stoppelmoor) as studio musicians, arrangers, and vocalists. The Smurfs featured music based on classical themes, re-arranged by Curtin. Hoyt Curtin retired circa 1986 and his successors moved away from his jazz-oriented style to concentrate more on synthesized music.
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