"''Miami Vice'' Theme" is a musical piece composed and performed by Jan Hammer as the theme to the television series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...

''. It was first presented as part of the television broadcast of the show in September 1984, was released as a single in 1985, and peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was the last

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

to top the Hot 100 until 2013, when " Harlem Shake" by

Baauer Harry Bauer Rodrigues (born April 30, 1989), known professionally as Baauer, is an American record producer and DJ, best known for his double platinum song " Harlem Shake". He has produced varied dance music from the age of 13 and previously prod ...

reached number one. "''Miami Vice'' Theme" also peaked at number five in the UK and number four in Canada. In 1986, it won

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s for "

Best Instrumental Composition The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (including its previous names) has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music (not an adaptation), first released during the eligibility year. I ...

" and "

Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

". This song, along with

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...

's number two hit "

You Belong to the City "You Belong to the City" is a song written by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin, and recorded by Frey during his solo career. It was written specifically for the television show ''Miami Vice'' in 1985. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...

", put the ''Miami Vice''

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

on the top of the US album chart for 11 weeks in 1985, making it the most successful TV soundtrack of all time until 2006, when Disney Channel's ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, ...

'' beat its record.

Versions

*The 1:55-minute version that aired with the pilot. The famous synthesized guitar lead hook is absent from it, and it features distinct synth guitar notes in its midsection. *The 0:57 version in the following 3 regular episodes, which only contains the percussion and keyboards, without the synth guitar hook. It was essentially a shortened version of the pilot, although it already featured the same melody progression and conclusion at its end as in all the later episodes. According to Jan Hammer's manager Elliot Sears, the missing guitar lead hook was the result of the sound elements not being mixed together as Hammer intended. *The 1:00 synth guitar hook version that aired with all later episodes. It was first introduced at the end of the first regular episode, ''Heart of Darkness'', over the closing credits, albeit with the guitar hook slightly more muted than in future episodes. *The 2:26 full radio airplay version, the final 55 seconds of which are very similar to the 1:00 TV version. *An extended dance remix, released in 1985 as a 12" single containing two different length versions (in addition to the original version of the theme).

Music video

The music video of the theme is a mini-episode of the TV series with Hammer as a fugitive on the run from

James "Sonny" Crockett Detective James "Sonny" Crockett is a fictional character in the NBC television series ''Miami Vice''. Crockett was originally portrayed by Don Johnson in the television series from 1984 to 1990, and later by Colin Farrell in the feature film in ...

and Ricardo Tubbs. Throughout the majority of the video, Hammer performs the theme in front of a projector screen playing footage from the TV series – including scenes of the Vice duo chasing him. In the end of the video, he boards a helicopter and escapes from Crockett's sight. The video also shows shots of

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

screens including the page R (sequencer) page and the waveform page.

Track listing

;7": MCA / MCAP1000 (UK

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

) #"Miami Vice Theme" – 2:26 #"Miami Vice Theme" (TV version) – 1:00 #"Miami Vice Theme" (12" edit) – 4:30 ;12": MCA / MCAT1000 (UK) #"Miami Vice Theme" (Extended Remix) – 6:54 #"Miami Vice Theme" (TV version) – 1:00 #"Miami Vice Theme" (12" edit) – 4:30 *Remix and 12" edit done by Louis Silas, Jr. ;7": Mastered by

Greg Fulginiti Gregory Fulginiti (born February 13, 1951 in Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey) is an American recording and mastering engineer. Fulginiti grew up in Wildwood, New Jersey and graduated from Wildwood High School in 1969 ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Appearances

''Miami Vice''s pilot episode, made as a two-hour TV movie, did not originally have a theme, but the musical sounds and notation that would become the theme were present as background score. When the series got picked up, Hammer created the 60-second version of the theme. The synth-guitar lead was missing in the aired version of the pilot and the first batch of episodes, and this unfinished version of the theme has remained attached to those episodes, even on the DVD video box set released in 2005.

References

{{authority control 1985 singles 1985 songs 1980s instrumentals Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Theme Television drama theme songs