In addition to creating How I Met Your Mother, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas had a steady side gig by playing in a band called The Solids, and viewers of the sitcom were very familiar with one of their biggest hits since it served as the theme song for How I Met Your Mother. As is the case with many bands who’ve had their songs play as themes on major shows, The Solids surely benefited from the song’s use in the comedy series.

The song used in the opening credits of How I Met Your Mother was titled “Hey Beautiful.” A 12-second clip of the tune played while a montage of character photos flashed on the screen. The actual song contained a number of verses but the series used the repetitive ending, “Pa pa pa pa, pa pa pa pa…pa pa, da da da da, da da da da da….” as the section in the credits. Many viewers never realized that it was a part of a legitimate song, let alone one from the creators of the series.

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Aside from Bays and Thomas, The Solids also included Patrick Butler and C.C. DePhil when the band formed in 1996. The group originated in Middletown, CT, since they all met while studying at Wesleyan University, the school that was attended by Ted Mosby, Marshall Eriksen, and Lily Aldrin in How I Met Your Mother. Before the creation of the sitcom and its theme song, The Solids became popular when their song, “The Future Is Now”, was used for the credits on Fox’s Oliver Beane. Another song, “Clowns Like Candy”, was heard in an episode of NBC’s Ed. How I Met Your Mother became a major success and it not only helped Bays and Thomas in the world of TV, it helped give their band a lot of exposure as well.

Other Versions Of The Theme Song In How I Met Your Mother

The theme song played a role in multiple episodes of How I Met Your Mother outside of the opening credits sequence. In the season 6 episode “Hopeless, ,Barney told his father that he and his friends were in a band and a video of the cast was shown as they played the sitcom’s theme song, “Hey Beautiful”. Then in the season 7 episode “46 Minutes”, Barney tried to replace Lily and Marshall with Stripper Lily and her boyfriend. A Russian version of the opening song played with a deep voice and featured the replacement characters. Lastly, in the season 9 episode “Bedtime Stories”, Marshall had trouble getting Marvin to sleep, and at one point, a music-box version of “Hey Beautiful” could be heard playing.

The Solids Are Still Together And Performing

As of now, The Solids are still performing as a band. Bays, Thomas, and Butler are still involved, but Josh Suniewick and Doug Derryberry have since joined them. The power-pop band recently played in New York City in March and June 2019. They currently have plans to play at Madison Square Garden in a date that has yet to be determined, as well as a gig on New Year’s Eve. The Solids continue to embrace their connection to How I Met Your Mother by advertising the fact that they still perform the theme song.

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About The Author


Kara Hedash
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Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world’s most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara’s not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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