The Original ‘Ghostbusters’ Teaser Had a Different Theme Song, and I Somehow Never Knew [Watch]

I’ve been a Ghostbusters fan for 40 years, and somehow I still didn’t know this. Maybe you already did. But before Ray Parker Jr.’s ridiculously catchy theme became inseparable from the movie, its original teaser featured an entirely different song.

And you can still hear it.

Ghostbusters News has uploaded the vintage teaser, giving us a chance to revisit the familiar footage with a very unfamiliar soundtrack. It’s a fun little piece of history, especially when you’ve spent decades associating this movie with one particular song.

There’s a bit of a mystery behind it, too.

Spook Central documents the teaser’s alternate theme but leaves its performer unidentified. The trailer was preserved on Criterion’s 1989 LaserDisc and later included in Sony’s 2019 Ghostbusters 1 & 2 4K/Blu-ray collection. So this isn’t a newly discovered recording, just something that apparently managed to get right past me.

One wrinkle worth clearing up: don’t confuse it with the rejected Glenn Hughes and Pat Thrall theme. Thrall shared their actual demo in 2021, correcting earlier misattributions. As Spook Central’s follow-up explains, several unused songs have surfaced over the years. I couldn’t find a confirmed credit for the one in this teaser.

Give it a listen. Did you know about this one, or are you hearing it for the first time, too?