It was first presented as part of the television broadcast of the show in September 1984, was released as a single in 1985, and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was the last instrumental to top the Hot 100 until 2013, when "Harlem Shake" by Baauer reached number one.

This piece, along with Glenn Frey's number two hit "You Belong to the City", put the Miami Vice soundtrack on the top of the US album chart for 11 weeks in 1985, making it the most successful TV soundtrack of all time until 2006, when Disney Channel's High School Musical beat its record.

The music video of the theme is a mini-episode of the TV series with Hammer as a fugitive on the run from James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs.

Throughout the majority of the video, Hammer performs the theme in front of a projector screen playing footage from the TV series – including scenes of the Vice duo chasing him.