When All in the Family premiered in January 1971, it blew up the mold of everything that had preceded it. Gone were the days ...

Yes, the song explained something of the premise of “All in the Family,” but a premise that resided almost entirely in its nuanced character development, not some antic storyline.

I was too young to get the joke about “Those Were the Days” back then, but it was the most arresting theme song on TV — if that’s even the proper way to categorize its function on the ...