"Theme from ''S.W.A.T.''" is an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

song written by

Barry De Vorzon Barry De Vorzon (born July 31, 1934) is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He worked as a pop musician during the 1960s and co-founded Valiant Records, before being known as a composer of film and television scores ...

and performed by American funk group

Rhythm Heritage Rhythm Heritage was a 1970s American funk/R&B band, best known for their 1976 US number one single " Theme from ''S.W.A.T.''". It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA ...

, released on their debut album ''Disco-Fied''. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart in the United States on the chart date of February 28, 1976. As the title implies, it was the opening

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for the 1970s American television series '' S.W.A.T.'', though it is a noticeably different recording from the actual TV theme version, which was performed not by Rhythm Heritage, but by Barry De Vorzon's own orchestra with arrangement by Dominik Hauser. The theme song was also referenced by characters in the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

motion picture of the same name, who mouth the notes during a party to celebrate their successful completion of the training course. De Vorzon's original was eventually released on the LP ''Nadia's Theme'' on Arista records. It remains one of a few TV themes to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, a list that includes " Welcome Back" by

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

, "

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

" by

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil; September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his television theme music for various shows, including '' The White Shadow''; ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Tea ...

, "

Miami Vice Theme "''Miami Vice'' Theme" is a musical piece composed and performed by Jan Hammer as the theme to the television series ''Miami Vice''. It was first presented as part of the television broadcast of the show in September 1984, was released as a sin ...

" by

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He rose to prominence while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as with his film scores for television an ...

and "

How Do You Talk to an Angel "How Do You Talk to an Angel" is a song written by Steve Tyrell, Barry Coffing, and Stephanie Tyrell. It was the theme for the American TV series '' The Heights''. The ballad was released as a single with Jamie Walters as the lead singer, and ...

" by Jamie Walters & The Heights.

Personnel

*Scott Edwards – bass *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundr ...

– drums * Ray Parker, Jr. – guitar *

Jay Graydon Jay Joseph Graydon (born October 8, 1949, Burbank, California) is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards (in the R&B category) ...

– guitar *Horn section - Musicians unknown

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers and use in sampling

* In Canada, the THP Orchestra's disco version of the song reached number one on the RPM pop chart the same year as the US version. * In 1987, rapper and actor

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

sampled the song for his single "

I'm Bad "I'm Bad" (sometimes written as I'm BAD) is the first single from LL Cool J's second album, ''Bigger and Deffer''. It was released in 1987 for Def Jam Recordings and was produced by the production group, The L.A. Posse and LL Cool J, with Russel ...

" from his album ''

Bigger and Deffer ''Bigger and Deffer'' (abbreviated as ''BAD'' on the album cover) is the second studio album by American rapper LL Cool J, released on May 29, 1987, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. With over two million copies sold in the United Stat ...

''. LL Cool J also later starred in the 2003 film version of ''S.W.A.T.'' * In 1994, S.W.A.T. released a version titled "Theme From SWAT"— sung by Jerry A. of

Poison Idea Poison Idea was an American punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1980. History Formation, 1980s, and 1990s Poison Idea was formed in 1980 by vocalist Jerry A. (aka Jerry Lang). The initial lineup consisted of Jerry A., Chris Ten ...

, with sampled

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

radio broadcasts from the April 1992 riots— on their album ''Deep Inside: A Cop's Mind''. * In 2003, Rap group Hot Action Cop used the song as template for a song titled "Samuel Jackson" which was used as the closing theme to the film adaptation of ''S.W.A.T.'', starring Samuel L. Jackson. * In 2011, a remix version of the song was performed by composer

John Paesano John Paesano (born July 2, 1977) is an American composer working primarily in film, television, and video games. He is known for collaborating with director Wes Ball on the ''Maze Runner'' film trilogy and ''Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' ...

, appeared in the opening credits of '' S.W.A.T.: Firefight''. * In 2017, a remake of the song was performed by Robert Duncan for the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television reboot series of the same name. * In 1976

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...

and his Orchestra had mild success with their cover of "The Theme from ''SWAT''" on Columbia Records. * In 1990 the Italian DJ and Producer Piero Fidelfatti, sampled a part of the main theme and made a house version of "Theme From S.W.A.T." (Magic Service/Discomagic MS001) *In 1991 the rap group

3rd Bass 3rd Bass is an American hip hop group that was most active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Formed by MC Serch, Pete Nice, and DJ Richie Rich, the group was notable for being one of the first successful interracial hip hop acts. Along with ...

sampled the instrumental in a remixed version of their song "3rd Bass Theme a.k.a. Portrait of the Artist as a Hood" on

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

Notes

References

S.W.A.T. (franchise) 1976 singles 1970s instrumentals Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Barry De Vorzon Television drama theme songs 1975 songs ABC Records singles {{1970s-single-stub