Retro Wednesday: The Music of Vice
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Neon lights, the beach, boat chases, car chases, white suits, Miami and Jan Hammer. Those are some of the ingredients you need to make one of the most succesful TV series in history. I am of course talking about Miami Vice who went on from 1984 to 1989 starring Don Johnson as James “Sonny” Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs. The Michael Mann series was groundbreaking for many reasons, and one of them was the music. For the first time, they used extensive music from the era in the series and it probably started the “Music Video in TV series” phenomenon. Miami Vice was also one of the first TV shows to benefit from a full stereo track, which of course helped immensely. The music in the series was such a hit that already halfway through season 1, the first soundtrack was made and stayed on nr. 1 on Billboard for 8 weeks. The Miami Vice theme and Crockett’s Theme by Jan Hammer became huge hits and the rest is history.
I loved this show and I enjoy it even now in the season boxes being sold on DVD. It’s just cool, it’s the 80s, it’s Miami Vice! Enjoy the music, the memories from one of the best TV shows ever made. Here’s Miami Vice for your pleasure. PS! Make sure you see the feature “The Music of Vice” at the bottom. Great stuff!
Miami Vice Theme (Intro) - Jan Hammer
This was of course the intro scene to the TV series itself and it’s such an amazing intro.
Crockett’s Theme - Jan Hammer
Just beautiful…
You Belong To The City - Glenn Frey
This reminds me of Miami Vice every time I hear it. Classic!
In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
This is one of the most memorable scenes of Miami Vice. I just love the music, the images, it’s just great.
Don’t Give Up - Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush
Another amazing scene from the show.
I’m So Excited - The Pointer Sisters
Even The Pointer Sisters was in this and they got to be on the official soundtrack too!
Heartbeat - Red 7
Awesome scene, great music!
The Music of Vice
This is a great feature that was on the DVD about the music of Miami Vice. Check it out!
[tags]retro wednesday, 80s, miami vice, michael mann, music video, don johnson, james crockett, sonny, philip michael thomas, rico, ricardo tubbs, jan hammer, crockett’s theme, miami vice theme, tv soundtrack, tv series, soundtrack, glenn frey, phil collins, peter gabriel, kate bush, pointer sisters, red 7, the music of vice [/tags]
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Comments
I love doing retro features. Sometimes I think that I mentally still live in the 80s 
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Good call. I wonder how many speeding tickets are directly attributable to that opening theme. I find it impossible to keep my foot off the accelerator when it comes on.
I liked Miami Vice when I was in high school because it was a dark show. It was the first show I watched that often did not have a happy ending.
Cromely’s last blog post..You’re flight is probably delayed…
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Yeah, you are right about the darkness. It paved way to more provocative cop shows like The Shield. The music. the action, the dark endings. It was a completely refreshing show to watch.
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If you want the complete Vice experience, get Jan Hammer’s double CD opus Miami Vice: The Complete Collection. It’s a stonker! And talking about the ’80’s; what about the double CD of Airwolf Themes from Mark J. Cairns and Sylvester Levay? Download it from iTunes and make the helicopter noises yourself.
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I got both, and i have to say that although I love that Jan Hammer got a 2CD treatment, it was maybe a little too much, because a few of the cues let me down. Still, a great one to have in any collection.
As for Airwolf, you can’t go much wrong with the Airwolf themes!
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Airwolf was my favourite TV theme from the 80s, but very closely followed by Stewart Copelands brilliant Equalizer music. I still have my vinyl Equalizer and Other Cliff Hangers LP.
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The 80s had some amazing TV themes. Mike Post is quite the legend as well. Might do a feature on him in the future.
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L.A. Law, Hunter, Hill Street Blues…
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The Greatest American Hero, etc. Man, I love your blog! It is taking me back. I love Jan Hammer. His Miami Vice: Escape from TV is one of those few albums that can handle the scrutiny of repeated listening.
I also pick up his Jazz flavored Drive and think that is a great album as well “Knight Rider 2000″ is amazing and just when it ends is when you wish it would continue as that Piano part is simply amazing.
He is a musical genius at blending various musical elements and not being afraid of percussion and drums. One of my favorite pieces on my cassette tape is the final score part for “Secret Admirer” It was the last track on one of those all song soundtracks.
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Escape from TV! That’s some awesome stuff right there. I still listen to it now 20 years after I got it, although I have switched from cassette to CD to digital. It’s a gem!
I haven’t heard Secret Admirer, but now I need to get it. There is probably an LP rip out there since it hasn’t been released on CD. Probably sell for loads of money on ebay.
Jan Hammer was made to make great music, and I’m happy he is still contributing. Just wish he would do some proper scores again. My friend has a bootleg of Cocaine Cowboys, or so he says… I desperately want to hear that.
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Secret Admirer is a stonking soundtrack and I still have Escape From TV on vinyl along with the Miami Vice Soundtrack that put Jan Hammer alongside Chaka Khan, Glenn Frey and Grandmaster Flash. Ah, the 80’s.
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You said it… Ah, the 80’s
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Retro Wednesday is a great feature. It always gets me excited to do something retro. Whatever that means.
Mikey Filmmaker’s last blog post..Two Days at the Whittier Film Festival
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