Track Listing
1. Dragnet - Ray Anthony
2. Mod Squad, The - Earle Hagen
3. Ironside - Quincy Jones
4. Hawaii Five-0 - Mort Stevens & His Orchestra
5. Streets of San Francisco, The - Pat Williams Orchestra
6. Theme From S.W.A.T - Rhythm Heritage
7. Gotcha (Theme From Starsky and Hutch) - Tom Scott
8. Baretta's Theme - Sammy Davis Jr.
9. Chips - Corniche
10. Theme From Hill Street Blues, The - Mike Post/Larry Carlton
11. Cop Rock Theme (Under the Gun) - Randy Newman
12. Police Woman - Mort Stevens & His Orchestra
13. Crime Story - Del Shannon
14. Rookies, The - Elmer Bernstein
15. N.Y.P.D. Blue - Johnny "Hammond" Smith
16. Cagney & Lacey - Bill Conti
17. Miami Vice Theme - Jan Hammer
18. Kojak - Willie Bobo
| Details | | Distributor: | WEA (Distributor) | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Producers: Bill Inglot, Steve Polorny.
Compilation producers: David McLees, Steven Chean, Chris Clarke.
Digitally remastered by Dan Hersch.
Much like the private eye protagonists that made the leap from pulp stories and radio shows to the new medium of television in the '50s, cop-driven stories were readily adaptable fodder for early TV audiences. The themes from early cop shows were rooted in the sophistication of jazz, among the first of these being Ray Anthony's "Dragnet," a menacing march recognized even by people who've never seen this Jack Webb vehicle. Mort Williams was another composer who adopted the jazz aesthetic while coming up with pop culture landmarks of his own (the thundering "Hawaii Five-O" and lesser-known "Theme from Police Woman").
Quincy Jones was the first old-school jazz artist to cross over starting his rhythmically menacing "Ironside," in which jazz was soon displaced by wah-wah driven faux funk, smooth disco grooves, and slick '80s production. Soon composers started mining chart gold, including Rhythm Heritage ("Theme from S.W.A.T." and "Baretta's Theme"--although the Sammy Davis Jr. version is featured on this collection), Mike Post ("Theme from Hill Street Blues" featuring Larry Carlton), and Jan Hammer (the hyperelectronic "Theme from Miami Vice").
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