That's country

People have been known to call up wanting to use the Country Calendar theme as their wedding song.

"Whatever gets you going, I guess," laughs the show's producer, Frank Torley, who has taken most of the calls over the years.

Country Calendar celebrates its 40th year on television tonight with an anniversary special. Thing is though, the diddly theme song - which has become a national treasure - wasn't written for the show. The tune, Hillbilly Child, credited to composer Alan Moorehouse, was taken from a 1970s production music album.

Such albums are used to provide generic themes and background music for film and television.

The original is in the TVNZ archives. Should you want to get your own copy, the network says licensing issues means it must decided on a case-by-case basis whether Hillbilly Child can be bought for private use.

Although the tune isn't the original theme, the programme has used it since 1970. It's better known - and going by those tricky little chord changes, more difficult to play - than that other national institution, the A Dog's Show theme.

Tony Trotter, who produced Country Calendar producer before Torley, had two main goals: to take the programme out of the studio and to change the theme music.

"I understand it took about five minutes to choose the song. He dived into the music library, heard Hillbilly Child, and decided that was it.

"It's been the theme ever since."

Torley says the track is two and a half minutes long and they play the first 30 seconds of the song at the beginning of the show and the last part of the song at the end.

"But if you listen to the whole track, the poor old guitarist, there are a few bomb notes in the middle stages. He loses it a little bit.

"But its got that lovely funky sort of a sound about it anyway."

The past 40 years have been a right rural reign for Country Calendar and Torley puts it down to making a quality programme and getting on a level with their subjects.

"Without sounding too wanky about it, we have the relative luxury of being able to apply the time that's needed to make it as polished a programme as possible."

If there's one thing he can't stand it's advertisements taking the mickey out of farmers.

"All of us at Country Calendar," he proclaims, "abhor the portrayal of farmers as blokes with funny voices, and talking like this [he drawls], with a bit of straw hanging out of their mouths.

"It really gets up my bloody hooter when commercials are trying to sell drench, or reach a farming audience, and they get this bloke out who talks sort of funny."

* The Country Calendar 40th anniversary special screens tonight at 7 on TV1.