July 9, 2002 
For Immediate Release 
 
 

Jan Hammer, who revolutionized the relationship between TV shows and music in the mid-80s with his work on Miami Vice, is releasing Miami Vice: The Complete Collection, a definitive compilation of his compositions from the breakthrough show.  At first, the release of the two CD set might seem to be just another example of the resurging interest in all things 80s, but in fact, Hammer was moved to create this two CD set of 42 tunes in direct response to the thousands of requests his fans submitted to his web site. 

Miami Vice: The Complete Collection includes both previously and never-before released tracks.  The first of the set’s two CDs contains all 20 of Hammer’s compositions previously featured on five separate MCA releases:  the soundtracks Miami Vice, Miami Vice II, Miami Vice III, and Jan Hammer’s Escape from Television and Snapshots.  The second CD features 22 tracks never released or heard anywhere but on the television show.

While the songs on CD #2 were recorded specifically for this project, they will not be unfamiliar to Miami Vice’s dedicated fan base.  In fact, Hammer would not have even considered producing them were it not for the volume of requests which have come his way daily via his web site (www.janhammer.com) Once reruns of Miami Vice began to air on TNN in January of 2001, traffic to the site, which was already receiving upward of 25,000 hits per week, increased to nearly 40,000 hits weekly.  And many of those visitors wanted more Miami Vice music.  Says Hammer, “Fans would make reference to themes that I had forgotten about after all these years, so I went back, watched the shows for myself, and realized how much music there was that cried out to be released.”

In order to maintain continuity with the show’s original sound, Hammer utilized his vintage 1980s equipment, along with more current state of art digital gear.

Miami Vice: The Complete Collection has just been released by One Way Records.  To accommodate the demands of Hammer’s often-rabid online fans, however, it was available exclusively on his web site for two months prior to its street date, resulting in strong initial sales.
 

Until Miami Vice, most television show themes were rarely, if ever, released commercially.  Although Hammer scored the show for less than four seasons, his music from Miami Vice has to date resulted in 42 commercially released tunes, including two worldwide hit singles, “Crockett’s Theme” and the “Miami Vice Theme.”  The latter is the only original instrumental theme written for a television show to reach #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart. The “Miami Vice Theme” also reached the #5 position on Billboard’s Black Singles chart and #3 on its Dance chart.  At the 1986 Grammy Awards, “Miami Vice Theme” won Hammer two awards: “Best Pop Instrumental Performance” and “Best Instrumental Composition.” The first Miami Vice album also hit #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, where it remained for 12 weeks, and has sold over four million copies domestically and over seven million copies worldwide.