Goodnight Johnny.
I don't remember a time a before Johnny Carson, which makes sense as he was hosting the Tonight Show years before I was born. I do remember when the show ran for 90 minutes, when Carson was on almost every weeknight, when there were occasional repeats and seldom a guest host, and when there wasn't another talk show afterwards. I remember staying up late as a kid and watching my mother drive to work at night, seeing her tap the brakes an extra time or two as a wave from the stop atop a hill - and then watching the monologue and maybe the segment after it. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was such a constant that few called it the Tonight Show, and even now I catch myself saying "Carson" though Jay Leno has hosted the show for over a decade. I still think of the introduction music that was used when Carson hosted as being the right sonic signature of the show, rather than the music that's been used since.
As those who remember watching the last Tonight Show that Johnny Carson hosted might recall, he was fond of the following tune.
I'll be seeing you
In all the old, familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through.
In that small cafe,
The park across the way,
The children's carousel,
The chestnut tree,
The wishing well.
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely, summer's day
And everything that's bright and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you.
Lyricist: Irving Kahal
Composer: Sammy Fain