I was listening to Larry Jackson’s “The Immortals” on AM740 Saturday, when he told the story of an Annette Funicello song that didn’t do very well on the charts. It was a throwaway called “It’s Only Love,” and it barely got noticed as a single in 1960. It was written by Paul Anka, and he wasn’t happy it didn’t find a lot of success.
 
Fast forward a few years, and NBC is looking for a new theme song for a new host on an established hit show. Anka went back to the tune, altered it a bit, and offered the new host a piece of the royalties. It became the star’s theme for the rest of his amazing career and both earned a few hundred thousand dollars a year by having it played almost every night.
 
The host was Johnny Carson and the tune became “The Theme From The Tonight Show.” Both Carson and Anka earned a small fortune every time it aired, and it was played every weeknight for almost 30 years.
 
It was a net profit.
 
Or in this case, Annette profit.
 
Check out the original below. It's a very different version than the one Doc Severinson played.