Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Miami Vice!
The coolest TV show of all-time…
This iconic series debuted on September 16, 1984.
“And, I’m not sure there were ever two personas in contemporary pop culture as eternally cool and boss as Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs...”
- Woodard, Anthony. “There’s a big world out there, and remember, when one door closes, another opens... (Repost)”. Feb. 8, 2023
“Miami Vice” was a groundbreaking television program. The series had a notable impact on the decade's popular fashions and set the tone for the evolution of police drama. (1)
Don Johnson (left) and Philip Michael Thomas, as James ‘Sonny’ Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - Alamy Stock Photo
The music of Miami Vice is one of the hallmarks of the series. Throughout its run, the show included a multitude of songs by outside artists as part of its soundtrack; songs were used both diegetically (i.e. playing within the fictional world of the show where they can be heard by the characters) and non-diegetically (i.e. playing purely as soundtrack for the viewer). The inclusion of popular music as an integral part of the show, and tailoring that music to match the scene in which it is used, is undoubtedly one of the signature aspects of Miami Vice. (2)
The show’s first soundtrack was released in 1985. It was a selection of popular and score music taken from the show’s first two seasons. When released, the album enjoyed huge success, bolstered by the “Miami Vice Theme” and “You Belong to the City” singles, which reached #1 and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. (1)
Fortunately, at the time, we were blessed with two groundbreaking soundtracks that included unforgettable instrumentals; the aforementioned Miami Vice and “Beverly Hills Cop: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”, both of which also included hit songs from the late Glenn Frey.
The album spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, a record for a TV soundtrack that still stands. It was also the biggest selling TV soundtrack until “High School Musical” broke that record in 2006. Due to the album's immense success, it was followed by “Miami Vice II” in 1986 and “Miami Vice III” in 1988. (1)
Most notably, the soundtrack featured numerous compositions by Jan Hammer, instrumentals that I listened to over and over. The woodwind-infused opening melody to Hammer’s “Flashback” was one of the first riffs that I learned to play on my Casio keyboard.
Photo Credit: Anthony Woodard
Life imitates art... Some twenty years later, when director Billy Corben needed the prefect aural backdrop for his acclaimed documentary chronicling Miami’s notorious drug wars (“Cocaine Cowboys”), he tapped none other than Jan Hammer to provide the film’s score.
Miami Vice and its music had a lasting impact on Miami itself. The series drew a large amount of media attention to the beginning revitalization of the South Beach and Art Deco District areas of Miami Beach, as well as other portions of Greater Miami, and increases tourism and investment. (1)
“Maybe an “overshare” here, but I have to listen to my Jan Hammer playlist at least once anytime I cross into the Sunshine State.”
- Woodard, Anthony. “There’s a big world out there, and remember, when one door closes, another opens... (Repost)”. Feb. 8, 2023
1: Wikipedia.org
2: miamivice.fandom.com/wiki/Music
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