Dolores Claman

Dolores Claman (born 6 July 1927) is a Canadian composer and pianist. She is best known for composing the 1968 theme song for CBC's Hockey Night In Canada show, known simply as The Hockey Theme, a song often regarded as Canada's second national anthem. She is also known for"A Place to Stand", the popular tune that accompanied the groundbreaking film of the same name at Montreal's Expo 67 Ontario pavilion. Both songs were orchestrated by Jerry Toth who, along with his brother Rudy Toth and composer Richard Morris, all worked together at Quartet Productions from 1965-1970. Claman and her writing partner and husband, lyricist Richard Morris, composed over 3000 commercial jingles in a 30-year period and won more than 40 awards internationally for their work. In the 1950s, Claman composed music for ITV while living in Britain and also wrote songs for West End musical revues.

In 2004, she commenced legal action against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation alleging the network had made unauthorized use of the The Hockey Theme in various programs, including NHL Centre Ice, and by selling it as a cellular phone ringtone and using it outside of Canada. On 9 June 2008 it was announced that Claman had sold the rights to the song to private broadcaster CTV Inc. The majority owner of The Sports Network, which also broadcasts hockey games, acquired the rights to the song in perpetuity after an announcement by the CBC that a deal between the public broadcaster and Claman could not be reached.

Claman spoke about the lasting impact of "The Hockey Theme" in a 2016 interview with The Canadian Press, saying she most values the letters and pictures she has received from students over the years. "I was very touched by that. Wouldn’t you be?" she said. "They brought tears to my eyes; don’t tell anybody. I think that’s one of the (best parts) because they really mean it, which is so very sweet. It is really nice for me." On June 20, 2016, Claman was awarded the Cultural Impact Award for "The Hockey Theme" at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto.