"
Crockett's Theme" is an instrumental song written for the hit
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series
Miami ViceMiami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
. The surname Crockett refers to
Don JohnsonDonnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
's character,
James "Sonny" CrockettJames "Sonny" Crockett is a fictional character from the Miami Vice television series and film of the same name. The character is portrayed by Don Johnson in the television series, and Colin Farrell in the movie version of the show. He was introduced in the Miami Vice pilot in 1984 and appeared in...
. The initial version of the theme first appeared in the episode
Calderone's Return: Part 1 - The Hit List which aired on October 19, 1984. Composed by
Jan HammerJan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...
, this song is an example of the instrumental
New WaveNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
hits popular during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.
Chart performance
Although not a big success in the US, the song was a smash hit in the UK, reaching #2 in the singles chart there. It was a #1 in the Netherlands for 4 weeks. It was not originally called "Crockett's Theme", but its success led Jan Hammer to feature the original version on his
1987This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
album
Escape from Television.
| Country |
Peak
position |
| Austria |
29 |
| Germany |
4 |
| Netherlands The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
|
1 |
| Switzerland |
9 |
| United Kingdom The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
|
2 |
Cover versions
It spawned many covers, such as ones by the
FinnishFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band
Children of BodomChildren of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...
, FPU,
ManualManual is the performing name of electronic musician, Jonas Munk, from Odense, Denmark. Manual's music is considered to be in the styles of ambient dream pop and indietronica. His sound tends to contain a mix of software synthesizers, guitars , and various digital signal processing effects...
, Tunnel Allstars Feat. DJ Yanny and
Trance Atlantic Air WavesTrance Atlantic Air Waves , is a side project from Enigma's Michael Cretu. He had previously worked with Jens Gad on Enigma's 1996 release Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! and they once again teamed up for this side project. Only one studio album was released, The Energy of Sound under Virgin Records...
.
The Shadows recorded guitar version Crockett's Theme. A more recent cover has been made by house artist Michael Cassette.
In 2000 it was released by
Dj Sakin & FriendsDJ Sakin is a Turkish-German dance music producer, remixer and DJ. Bozkurt started producing music and DJing in 1990....
, a
hard tranceHard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Western Europe in the mid-1990s as the breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by UK hard house, happy hardcore and jungle/drum & bass...
version under the name "Miami".
Other uses
Between 1991 and 1994, it featured in a series of adverts for
National Westminster BankNational Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...
in the United Kingdom.
NBC Sports used "Crockett's Theme" during its prologue (narrated by
Bob CostasRobert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
) for Game 5 of their 1991 NBA Finals coverage between the
Chicago BullsThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
and
Los Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, and it's still one of the tones played in the
Staples CenterStaples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
during Lakers games.
The song gained new fame in Finland in the late 1990s when a then popular, now defunct, radio channel, Kiss FM, started playing it on their morning shows.
The instrumental song was also featured on the 1987
AmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
game
Mike the Magic Dragon, and later in
Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
, on the fictional radio station, Emotion 98.3.
In 2008,
Snoop DoggCalvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
made a hip hop version of the theme, entitled "Jans Hammer vs. Snoop Dogg".
It was also included in the compilation album
Pure MoodsPure Moods is a series of compilation albums of New Age music released by Virgin Records. The series focuses on the genres of New Age, Ambient, World Music, and to a lesser extent, subdued Electropop and Smooth Jazz...
.
Hammer was asked to remake the track in 2006 with R&B singer TQ.