Johnny Pearson

Johnny Pearson (born June 18, 1925, Chesterfield, Derbyshire - 20 March 2011) is a British composer and pianist. He has written a vast catalogue of library music, and has had many of his pieces used as the theme music to television series, including 3-2-1, All Creatures Great and Small, Captain Pugwash, Mary Mungo & Midge and ITN's News at Ten. He also wrote the Grampian Television startup music "Sounds On" and the ATV startup theme "Midlands Montage", as well as music used during intervals between schools programmes on ITV.

In the United States, Pearson's best known composition is "Heavy Action", originally used as the theme to the cult BBC sports show Superstars, and subsequently adopted by ABC's Monday Night Football (the NFL's weekly nationally televised showcase) and the SFM Holiday Network. In 1987, Edd Kalehoff composed and recorded a new arrangement of this music for later seasons of Monday Night Football.