41 Years Ago Today, a Neon-Soaked 80s TV Theme Topped the Charts and Helped Set a Record That Stood for More Than 20 Years

Jan Hammer’s “Miami Vice Theme” reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 9 November 1985, making it the last instrumental to top the chart until after 2000. Its success showed how television music could become a major pop hit and helped propel the show’s soundtrack to the top of the albums chart.

Hammer created the driving electronic theme on a sequencer, and producer Michael Mann hired him as the series’ lead composer after hearing it. The track first appeared in the show’s 1984 premiere, then was released as a single ahead of the soundtrack; it won two Grammy Awards in 1986. Glenn Frey’s “Smuggler’s Blues” and “You Belong to the City” also featured on the soundtrack, which spent 11 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1.