Steve Wariner sang the theme song for Who’s the Boss? — but only after his producer helped conceal a career-defining secret from the show’s producers.
The four-time Grammy winner revealed the story in a conversation on Taste of Country Nights, explaining how a 1986 phone call while he was on tour out west led to one of the more unusual recording sessions of his career. Guitarist Larry Carlton — already connected to the sitcom’s production — had reached out looking for a voice to replace the singer used in the show’s first season, and Wariner’s name had come up.
A Call From Larry Carlton
Wariner was still out west when his producer relayed the message. “He said, ‘Larry Carlton called — you know, the great jazz guitar player. He said, “They’re looking for you. Are you going to be in L.A. anytime soon? They’re looking for a voice to sing a TV theme song. Would you at all be interested?”‘” Wariner’s answer came without hesitation: “I said, ‘Hell yeah, I’m going to be in L.A. in a couple of days.'”
Once in Los Angeles, Wariner made his way to a studio in North Hollywood to meet Carlton, who filled him in on the project and explained that the show’s first-season vocalist was being replaced.
The Secret That Almost Cost Him the Gig
Carlton, however, had one condition before the session moved forward. “He leaned over and said, ‘We can’t tell them you’re a country singer because the TV people won’t go for that,'” Wariner recalled. Carlton kept Wariner’s identity under wraps throughout the process, and when the producers heard the recording, they loved it. They never knew who had sung it. As Carlton later told Wariner: “I didn’t tell them who you are — they would never let you do it if they knew you were on country radio.”
Wariner’s version ultimately aired across more than half of the show’s episodes — a run that outlasted the original recording by a wide margin. He later incorporated the theme into his live performances as a running joke for audiences.
For fans of Wariner’s career, the story adds a surprising footnote to his legacy — proof that one of country music’s most accomplished artists was hiding in plain sight on one of the decade’s most-watched sitcoms.
