Ziggy Marley is well-known for being one of the greatest reggae musicians to ever live. Turns out, he’s also been in our daily lives for decades, and some of us never even noticed. How is that, you ask? Well, Ziggy was the singing voice behind the theme song to the beloved kids’ cartoon Arthur.
Ziggy, 57, is the son of late reggae icon Bob Marley. He’s carried his father’s torch for many years, and even found inventive ways to incorporate reggae into American culture. Maybe one of the best examples of that is Ziggy recording the Arthur theme back in 1996.
During an April 2026 appearance on The Zach Sang Show, Ziggy opened up about how he’d just now understood the “impact” his theme song had. “To tell you the truth, it’s just more recently that I’ve been understanding the impact,” he said. “Because people have been telling me, like what you’re telling me, when I travel.”
He then revealed that, in some cases, fans are just now finding out that he was the one singing the song. “A lot of people didn’t know that I sing the song,” he explained. “A lot of people have realised it now. Recently, it’s becoming more in my consciousness.”
Titled ‘Believe In Yourself’, the Arthur theme song was written by Judy Henderson and arranged by Jerry DeVilliers
Going on to recall how he came to be involved with the Arthur team, Ziggy explained that it came after he’d previously worked with Sesame Street. “It’s a simple story because in those days, I was living in Jamaica,” Ziggy shared.
“I live here in America now, but I was living in Jamaica and [Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers] were just getting started,” he continued. “We had done some stuff for Sesame Street and some other things before that, also.”
Arthur ran for 25 seasons on PBS Kids in the United States, from 1996 to 2022
Ziggy went on to note that his band’s music inexplicably resonated with kids. “It seemed like our music and who we are all just kind of lend themselves to the space of children, of entertainment,” he said. “I think that the beat of the music, children are kind of drawn to the music.”
Finally, Ziggy joked that “if [he] would have known” how big Arthur was going to be, he “would have done a better contract.”
The post Ziggy Marley Sang a Beloved 90s Cartoon Theme Song That You Forgot About and Now It’s Going To Be Stuck in Your Head All Day appeared first on VICE.
