Chapter one: the earworm themes
Degrassi's musical legacy starts at the top of every episode: the theme songs — from Degrassi Junior High's bouncy? — keep it light: from the original series' bright singalong through Degrassi: The Next Generation's "Whatever It Takes" (the Lisa Dalbello-sung? — keep it clean: the anthem that defined a generation of Canadian teens) — are among the most-heard Canadian TV music ever (see our TV-themes feature). The themes did what great TV music does: they branded an era. Every Canadian of a certain age can sing them involuntarily — which is the highest achievement television music can claim, and the one nobody in the industry respects enough? — keep it light: and the one the industry chronically undervalues.
Chapter two: the crossover machine
Degrassi's deeper legacy is its alumni pipeline — the show functioned, accidentally, as a farm system for the Canadian music scene: its young cast kept turning into musicians (the most famous alumnus being, of course, the kid who played Jimmy Brooks — see our Drake feature — whose post-Degrassi mixtape launch in 2009 started the most consequential music career of the streaming era). The pattern repeated across the cast and across the years — Degrassi alumni populate Canadian music the way its halls populated Canadian acting — and the show's within-fiction bands (the teen bands the characters formed, the musical-episode tradition, the performance-storylines) gave a generation of young Canadians a script for being in a band before they had one (see our teen-scene features). The show taught the country to be musical.
Chapter three: the influence on the industry
The music-industry influence compounds: the show's sync placements (Canadian songs on Degrassi — see our sync features), its MuchMusic synergy (the Degrassi-Much ecosystem — see our MuchMusic features), and its alumni's later dominance (see our Toronto features) made the franchise a structural part of the country's music story, not just a footnote. And the Drake dimension keeps the legacy cosmic: the world's biggest rapper's origin story is a Canadian after-school show's wheelchaired basketball star? — keep it light: is a Canadian teen drama's basketball player — which means Degrassi's musical legacy is, by any global measure, gigantic. Whatever it takes, indeed.
Why it matters
It matters because Degrassi proves that TV institutions are music institutions too — that a teen drama's theme songs, alumni, and fictional bands can shape a national scene as surely as any label. The show's after-school hours built after-school careers that became headline careers. And the theme is now stuck in your head. You're welcome.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Degrassi theme song?
The franchise had several — most famously “Whatever It Takes” from Degrassi: The Next Generation — all generational earworms for Canadian teens.
Was Drake on Degrassi?
Yes — Aubrey Graham played Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation before his music career (see our Drake features).
Did Degrassi produce other musicians?
Yes — the franchise’s alumni pipeline fed the Canadian music scene across its four-decade run, alongside its famous acting alumni.