Who sings the Monday Night Football song? A crash course on its history

Whether they're watching a Cincinnati Bengals game or cheering for some other irrelevant team, viewers have been tuning into Monday Night Football for over 50 years. Games first aired on ABC in 1970.

In 2006, the NFL made the switch to ABC's sister network, ESPN, where the coveted Monday night slot has stayed since.

But, of course, no NFL broadcast is complete without an opening theme song.

In September, the league ruffled some feathers announcing the program's new theme song 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 tune got mixed reviews, as the comments ranged from saying it "could've been worse" to describing the collaboration as "wild but beautiful" and even comparing the debut to being "slammed in the head."

But who sang the Monday Night Football theme song before the mismatched trio stepped onto the scene? And which other tunes did the network test out before landing on the Phil Collins cover?

Here's everything you need to know.

Who sings the Monday Night Football theme song?

Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana kick off Monday Night Football with their cover of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight." The song debuted this 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 reworked version of his single "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" called "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night."

The tune earned Williams Jr. four Emmys and remained the opening track for over two decades, even after the program shifted from being hosted by ABC to ESPN.

What happened to the original Monday Night Football theme song?

In 2011, ESPN booted Hank Williams Jr. and his theme song off the Monday night slot after the country singer made controversial comments about former president Barack Obama. He compared Obama to Hitler on air during “Fox & Friends,” a morning show on the Fox News Channel.

The network tried out different versions of "Heavy Action," a jingle synonymous with the Monday night spot, for a few years. But it then brought Williams Jr.'s song back in 2017 and kept it as the fanfare until 2019.

Who else has sung the Monday Night Football theme song?

In 2020, ESPN switched things up after over 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 switched yet again to a remixed version of the classic “Heavy Action" melody, which had been featured as part of the broadcast's music catalog since 1976.

Finally, in September 2023, the theme song landed on its current tune: "In The Air Tonight," performed by Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana.

How to watch Monday Night Football

Because of this summer's Hollywood strikes, Monday Night Football now airs on ABC and ESPN each week beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET. The game can also be streamed on Watch ESPN.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who sings the Monday Night Football song? A look at its history