"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 single in 1985, and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last instrumental to top the Hot 100 until 2013, when "Harlem Shake" by Baauer reached number one. "Miami Vice Theme" also peaked at number five in the UK and number four in Canada. In 1986, it won Grammy Awards for "Best Instrumental Composition" and "Best Pop Instrumental Performance". This piece, along with Glenn Frey's number two hit "You Belong to the City", put the Miami Vice 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 beat its record.
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 Sonny Crockett 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 screens including the page R (sequencer) page and the waveform page.
Track listing 7" MCA / MCAP1000 (UK picture disc) (Mastered by Greg Fulginiti) "Miami Vice Theme" – 2:26 "Miami Vice Theme" (TV version) – 1:00 "Miami Vice Theme" (12" edit) – 4:30
12" MCA / MCAT1000 (UK) (Extended Remix and 12" edit done by Louis Silas, Jr.) "Miami Vice Theme" (Extended Remix) – 6:54 "Miami Vice Theme" (TV version) – 1:00 "Miami Vice Theme" (12" edit) – 4:30
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1985–1987)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)14US Billboard Hot 1001US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)7US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)16US Dance Club Play (Billboard)23US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)10US Top Rock Tracks (Billboard)29US Cash Box Top 1001
Year-end charts Chart (1985)PositionCanada Top Singles (RPM)36UK Singles (OCC)98US Billboard Hot 10027US Cash Box Top 10011 Chart (1987)PositionWest Germany (Media Control)38
Appearances Miami Vices 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.
See also List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985 List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1985
References