"The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire.
[3] A version by Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra (released by RCA Victor Red Seal) entered on June 1, 1951, spent two weeks on the charts, and reached number 28.
Faith's rendition was chosen as the theme music for The Late Show by WCBS and several other CBS owned-and-operated stations around the country, which helped Anderson's composition become a tune that many Americans could readily hum or whistle, even if few knew the name of its composer.
The piece is in 44 time; the opening establishes a perfectly regular "tick-tock" accompaniment, beginning with a roll off the orchestra's staccato strike of an A chord, creating an expectation that it will continue.
In a sixth-season episode of the television series M*A*S*H ("Your Hit Parade"), the tune is played over the public announcement system during a particularly grueling session in the operating room.
"[9] It also accompanied the "Silent Minute," a Michael Weisman-devised concept during the pregame coverage leading into NBC Sports' telecast of Super Bowl XX which was a one-minute countdown featuring a black screen with a digital clock which morphed into Roman numerals when it reached twenty seconds remaining.