Classic TV Theme: Hill Street Blues

[@USMA88NTTG]

I’m in my late 50s, and miss this era of “must see TV” where as a teen, my entire family and whomever was over would gather around and watch Hill Street Blues. Thank you for this compilation of intros-as it truly took me back to my childhood.

[@hifiandrew]

Mike Post has to be the greatest TV theme song writer ever. The music is absolutely perfect for this show. And all the shows he wrote for.

[@sainte3443]

His theme music for Magnum PI just blew me away.

[@mobus1603]

@@sainte3443 That one's awesome, but the Simon & Simon theme was my favorite of his.

[@mobus1603]

Wow, I had no idea what a prolific theme song writer Mike Post was. Thanks for your comment, because I didn't know who he was before this.

[@paulgehrman]

Yeah, Mike Post is the man. What a career.

[@MB-vk8cv]

Chances are if the theme is iconic Mike Post had something to do with it. He also wrote the theme for The Greatest American Hero.

[@jason-hh6hu]

My grandpa died 35years ago but I can remember back in my earliest memories watching this introduction with him and falling asleep😢😢 I still love you grandpa and miss you so much,, I'll always remember you

[@Chasb001]

What a lovely memory ❤

[@joshef74]

Me has tocado la fibra

[@desmondhull5778]

Good on you.😊

[@marktunstall4177]

I know this sound ridiculous, but as a young kid this always made me feel safe 👍

[@RADRICK19]

I feel that same way when I hear the Rockford files or Quantum leap.. Those shows remind me of watching TV with my grandfather.

[@jeromebjoseph13]

Growing up this was one of my favourite TV shows in the 80s. Always loved the theme tune and I asked my old man to play for me when I used to go to bed on his keyboard. You don't make shows like this no more. Thanks for sharing. 👍🏿🎶😊

[@allenrj1]

One of the best TV shows ever to be produced in the past 30 years

[@JLee-g6w]

I mean seriously. There have been so many woke TV shows in the last two years that it makes you want to go back to the 1980s

[@VaultMasterDBT]

@@JLee-g6w I'm sorry you don't like progress. I don't think the comment you're responding to was getting at "wokeness" at all, or whether conservative-sounding people like you agree with it.

[@BrianSerpente]

Great show great theme😊

[@ChrisC709]

You mean in 40 years.

[@sageantone7291]

Try 40

[@3dprinterjam263]

Many young people have no idea how revolutionary this show was. The concept of a moving camera in a room with dozens of people in motion, all having separate conversations--and getting the sound and the continuity right so that it was comprehensible to the viewer--this had never been done before in television. My favorite character was always Belker (but Neal wasn't far behind), and my least favorite (by far) was LaRue. Two supporting characters whom I enjoyed immensely--very strong in their roles--were Jon Cypher as the Chief and Trinidad Silva (tragically killed by a drunk driver at only 38) as Martinez. No episode was complete without the Chief's oily, cloying, totally insincere three-piece-suit pathos, and Jesus's magic playing a pretty complex role as an outsider and his anthemic "Frankie" for Furillo. The industry recognized it for the juggernaut of excellence it was, even if the public never quite caught up: it is ninth all-time in Emmy wins with 26, and in 1982 it was nominated for 16 major category awards. IMHO one of the four or five greatest (and most influential) series in television history. In those days I always had my ritual beers before bed and when that show was on I was nearly always dewy-eyed over something by the time the credits rolled. If Heaven were sitting at the end of my bed, a cold one in hand, watching all those episodes over again, well, that'd be just fine by me.

[@frzstat]

Great comment!

[@3dprinterjam263]

Thanks, @@frzstat! It was an incredible show. I feel sorry for all the younger folks that missed it.

[@paulw.woodring7304]

I think the entire audience cheered in the last episode when Dennis Franz decked The Chief. We'd been wishing someone would do that for seven seasons.

[@actuary33]

Belker was my fav. Always growling lol. Ahhh the 80s poor kids today

[@hifiandrew]

The fact the characters were and are so memorable just accents how special the show was. I was a little kid when it originally aired but re-watching them it really holds up. You almost feel like you know them all... Frank pizzamanm, Mick, Neil,JD, Herny, Howard, Bobby and Renko.. you feel like you could meet them in a bar somewhere and know them all. Lightning in a bottle.

[@FullMoonFever58]

Hill Street Blues is a top favourite of mine to this day. The characters were fun to get to know and the story lines all very realistic. Bruce Weitz had to be my favourite star as Mick Belker...you never knew how he was going to react in a tense situation. The most important thing I can say is; we were so lucky, actually blessed to have lived in this era of great television shows and music of the 70s and 80s.

[@SuperCryptical]

Arguably one of the most beloved cop shows to ever air. Wonderful cast, great writing. Always a pleasure to watch. This really rakes me back. ❤

[@jassonsw]

Me too, I remember this music and sitting in front of the tv as a kid watching this.

[@missmerrily4830]

Oh how I loved this show. It had action, grit, comedy and pathos and a great cast. And one of the best theme tunes ever!

[@joshdarius5995]

The theme Songs were the best those days...... Taxi, Cheers, st Elsewhere, Rockford Files, etc and they will never get old unlike me 🙄

[@hifiandrew]

Mike Post is the theme song god.

[@MrVillafontana]

Ufffffff, st Elsewhere is my second favorite ❤❤❤

[@bradlafferty6076]

They didn’t know how good they had it. A lifetime iconic show and characters. Hill Street forever

[@heathertxuk]

Brings back great childhood memories. Miss that era.

[@desmondhull5778]

Me too 😊.

[@MrVillafontana]

The most nostalgic theme of all time.

[@barroninc]

I’m crying for my innocent days to come back

[@rdancranston]

I hear ya...in my day this was the conversation that brings it all around: Mom" Danny its time for bed!" Ok mom...can I just listen to this song? Ok honey..but then off to bed!"..this song always hits me in the nostalgia nerve..😃😉😥

[@desmondhull5778]

Wouldnt it be nice.😊

[@neilsaxe]

Absolutely. The opening is very evocative so that I can remember every year it was on and what I was doing; who my girlfriend was, my undergrad and law school days. Maybe not always so innocent, but certainly less cynical than now.

[@carlosmassas5458]

Miss those times dearly

[@gaggymott9159]

Taurean Blacque, the coolest cop on HSB, passed away earlier today. Sad news, indeed. RIP

[@frankdenardo8684]

​​@@derrickluke8441 R.I.P. to the following actors and actresses Michael Conrad Barbara Bosson René Enriquez Robert Prosky Kiel Martin

[@KenMcMunn-bp5xv]

I'm so sorry to hear that. RIP

[@3dprinterjam263]

I remember I was so sad that day. And you're right: THE coolest, hands down. The anti-Howard.

[@KenMcMunn-bp5xv]

@@3dprinterjam263 Which one was Howard?

[@coolrunnings1414]

Veronica ❤

[@ManicMechanic82]

I love this song so much because it reminds me of the time I grew up as a kid and always watching this show at night with dinner at the end of a long day! The song always put at ease for the night as I watched the show. I actually have a CD of just the Hill Street Blues song and still listen to it all the time and I even put it on my 500 GB MP3 player!

[@3dprinterjam263]

Yeah, this song and the theme to St. Elsewhere were my two faves.

[@micowikstrom7182]

The best tv series ever. Period. Those characters and that brilliant acting. Just perfect.

[@thpxs0554]

One of the best tv shows ever, I’m English and loved this on TV here.

[@desmondhull5778]

Grew up in the early 80s with this programme.Used to be on every saturday night at 8pm.Loved it ,the characters became like personal friends.Be great to go back to them days.

[@paulgriffiths6060]

I caught the first episode, teakky gritty, never missed it, glued to my tv absolutely fantastic

[@MZTHICK76]

LOVE THIS SHOW!!! BEST COP SHOW EVER!! Grew up watching it never missed an episode.

[@OldRustySteele]

Hill Street Blues never identified which city it took place in. There were references it was modeled after the Hill District in Pittsburgh. However, the opening montage was definitely filmed in Chicago. You can even see the “Old Style” beer (a very popular Chicago brand) sign hanging outside the tavern at 0:33, plus the scenes are all quite flat with no hills. Because of these features, I always watched this show visualizing Chicago in my mind. Plus the Dennis Franz character (Buntz) spoke with a classic Chicago accent!

[@3dprinterjam263]

You got it. I lived not far from there, where they showed the long shot of the Metra trains coming and going. My girlfriend (now my wife) also lived right near Hill St. The color scheme of the patrol cars so closely matched Chicago's that I knew that was where it was being filmed. And so right about Benedetto. Man, he made an instant, searing impact--almost liked him even better in HSB than in NYPD Blue.

[@David-wi1ih]

Greatest Police shows. Superb show, cast story lines. Fabulous programme.

[@shawneldridge4465]

Yes I am actually watching Hill Street blues Marathon right now, apparently the decades network has been playing them. I will say it's good to see them again after all these years

[@garethbramley1]

The theme peaked at No.25 here in the UK on 27th February 1982, spending 11 weeks in the chart.

[@getwild2492]

Wow never knew that mate. I’m from the UK as well. I remember it being a big tv show in the early 80s and remembering the intro and theme tune. But by the time it was on. It was time for bedtime. 9pm on Channel 4.

[@KevinBarry-j8w]

Fun fact, Ed Marinaro still holds all time college rushing records to this day(He played at Cornell University).

[@alancaunce3199]

Just An Absolutely Majestic Intro To A Magnificent Series. Cheers 🍻 👏 ✌️ 🥂 For This Timeless Memory. ❤❤❤.

[@trinaq]

I loved this show, especially the pumping theme song!

[@Mrtv1017]

I miss this show a lot

[@STEPHENFOSTER-u6x]

Love the intro music such a ground breaking series hill st blue's 😊

[@jk5335]

This gives off a blast of nostalgia! I used to watch this with the pops but watching it as an adult I realised I had hardly any understanding of what was going on!

[@paulwillard4781]

Same, my Dad would watch HSB and would laugh out loud at what was going on. I had no idea what he was laughing at. I had no idea of the humour being portrayed. I watch it as an adult. Now I get it.

[@gwenwilliams1439]

Loved this show and the theme music!! Good years on TV!! 🎼🎵🎶👍

[@JamesGaines-y6q]

Makes me cry 😢

[@blackhawk6695]

Me 2!!

[@arkady714]

The final TV show of any quality broadcast on network television.

[@JLee-g6w]

Lots of great shows aired in the 1980s and 1990s and even 2000s and 2010s but it’s all been downhill after 2019

[@lisapuchta4847]

Loved this show as a kid

[@shawnlombard7350]

This a group of great people producing a timeless quality TV show. That people from 1 to 100 could watch. And feel good. For that I say THANK YOU!!! And how we miss it

[@jonsparks8226]

Loosely based on the Hill district in Pittsburgh...close to where I live and grew up....what memories of that time..the show..the music..the culture...tough being a cop in the Hill...or anyone else for that matter

[@mwilsonbc]

Oh my god. For years I thought it was some weird Mandela Effect thing that I remembered the first piano phrase *not* completing before the full version kicks in (1:26), but when I looked up the theme on KZbin it *did* complete (0:11). Finally I have the whole picture thanks to this video: they *changed* it! I didn't realize they modified the theme over the course of the show's run, the sneaky bastards. David, thank you for slightly repairing my sanity. :)

[@AldenRDavis]

"Let's Be Careful Out There." - Sgt. Phil Esterhaus

[@joycehill3492]

I always loved music and picture as child.

[@edwardbright9434]

Yes Sir still love tht show

[@jamesnicholson2503]

Remember this well,on S4C Wales back in 83,going back a long time nearly 41 year's ago.

[@autumnleaves8553]

Loved this show. Love the theme tune.

[@Maurice76746]

Every time I heard this as a kid, I knew it was time to go to bed.

[@blackhawk6695]

Yup! 9 pm in chicago

[@2006Crusader2006]

R.I.P. Taurean Blacque.

[@frankdenardo8684]

R.I.P. Kiel Martin, Robert Proski, Michael Conrad, Barbara Bosson, René Enriquez.

[@saul2007t]

I love those ensemble cast TV shows.

[@jnadle1]

Seasons 6 and 7 had the theme in stereo, and NBC's "In Stereo" logos were used during that time.

[@marksaunders4487]

The best cop show ever. That comes from a British retired cop.

[@bmasters1981]

That fourth go (1983-84) is of course where Michael Conrad passed on, as did his character Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (Capt. Furillo broke the news of Esterhaus' passing in that moving fourth-season outing "Grace Under Pressure" [OAD Thurs. Feb. 2, 1984 on NBC]; it was raw and real, and for practically everyone there, it hit 'em hard).

[@johnwakefield-wt3pd]

He was a lovely man who cared for his crew , just be careful out there

[@frankdenardo8684]

​@@johnwakefield-wt3pdR.I.P. to the following actors and actresses Michael Conrad Barbara Bosson Kiel Martin René Enriquez Robert Prosky Taurean Blaque The main characters of the show

[@MB-vk8cv]

Falling asleep to this theme song as a kid. 😢😢😢

[@kendallrivers1119]

Hill Street Blues, Homicide: Life on the street and The Shield: The greatest cop dramas ever made period! None have been matched or topped.

[@ManicMechanic82]

Homicide: Life on Sesame Street 🤣🤣😂 From Family Guy!

[@reprehensiblereptile187]

HSB is the only GOOD cop show there ever was after Adam 12. Those other two shows are just glorifying pig behavior.

[@johnsmith-xq6kg]

greatest theme tune

[@timsmith1967]

The,Best TV Show and,Theme ever

[@kingdomfirechannel9981]

Relaxing at home after a long day

[@johnwakefield-wt3pd]

A brilliant idea and about life on the streets of a big city,through the eyes of the cops

[@bobm7250]

The original Thursday Night drama long before "E.R." and a few years before "L.A. Law". Now download the theme from "Cagney & Lacey". Thanks!

[@kendallrivers1119]

Actually the original Thursday night drama would be Magnum, PI that was the biggest show on Thursday nights until Cosby came along.

[@bobm7250]

@@kendallrivers1119 This show was the first official 10/9PM CT show on Thursday Nights opposite of "Knots Landing".

[@MA-wq2ih]

I chuckle a bit now when I watch the opening scenes...most of those gritty neighborhood locations (West Loop/Pilsen area) have since been gentrified and are now University Village. The Maxwell Street police station used for exteriors is now the UIC Police headquarters.

[@hawaiiboylasvegas8342]

@davidgideon THANK YOU for posting all kinds of GREAT videos!

[@dananicole3969]

I remember this show getting like a record number of emmys and awards throughout the 80s .

[@christopherwilliams9498]

Good Morning Afternoon Evening David Gideon Greetings from Queens NY and Awwww Thank You so so much for this beautiful and enchantingly awesome and amazingly excellent brand new TV show intro: Hill Street Blues and I'm so so grateful and thankful to enjoy, watch, listen, learn, and love at the same time and to remember forever and I absolutely hope to see much much more of your Beautiful and Enchantingly Spectacular and Wonderfully Memorable and Extraordinarily Unforgettable Upcoming Tv Show Theme Intros in the following months and years to come as well too and Thanks Again David Gideon and Please Stay Healthy and Stay Safe and Definitely Stay Informed and Keep up the Good Work with everything that's going on with you as well too with honor, privilege, appreciation, and great respect from your special BFF Christopher Maurice Williams Forever Friend and Much Much More Than Ever Before and Live Long and Prosper David Gideon and Have a Great and Spectacularly Unforgettable Days Ahead as well too!!! 🤗🙏🌎📺📺💙💙💯💯💯

[@kali3665]

The show that introduced us to the great Mike Post.....

[@JLee-g6w]

Mike Post composed the Magnum PI and Rockford Files themes as well. Can’t forget those

[@hifiandrew]

Legend

[@hifiandrew]

Name and of those themes you can hear them and hum them in an instant. Magnum PI and Rockford Files, even A-Team

[@HelloooThere]

And great with theme for Sharon is Home!

[@AlphanPeter]

great theme when tv shows had themes

[@AldenRDavis]

Steven Bochco (1940-2018) Michael Conrad (1925-1983) Kiel Martin (1945-1990) Barbara Bosson (1923-2023) Taurean Blaque (1940-2022) René Enríquez (1933-1990) Robert Prosky (1930-2008) Robert Hirschfeld (1942-2009) and Trinidad Silva (1950-1988)

[@StephenPeacock-s8p]

Back when television was good

[@TheDaflad]

Nostalgia ❤️

[@jordanthomas7304]

Barbara Bosson, Taurean Blacque, Kiel Martin, Rene Enriquez… We’ll miss you, pal.

[@makkiipeli]

I miss them

[@desmondhull5778]

Me too.😊

[@Lafayette320]

Best theme music of TV shows and excellent program! "...And be careful out there." Gorgeous Veronica Hamel was a most seductive smoker! Ranks with The High Chapparal theme.

[@HelloooThere]

It was on 10 pm so mellow was great because it put you to sleep and never bothered the neighbors with loud music

[@BongHitStorm]

i miss these kind of big landyacht cop cars like from this show so much 😭 those ford explorers they drive these days just don't hit the same

[@KevinBarry-j8w]

I had a 1977 Dodge Monaco, just like these cop cars, handled better than you'd think.

[@nigelrequiem]

I luv the 80s American Police cars :)

[@giannistsoulios8385]

Veronica Hammel!!! What a woman!!!

[@tiadaid]

A lot of the actors on the show didn’t really have a post-series career, really. The only actor I recognise is Joe Spano, Dennis Franz, and Robert Clohessy.

[@zn4220]

懐かしい！

[@Bodzionogoc-b7r]

Super serial,!!!

[@DNSKansas]

R.IP. James B. Sikking 5 March 1934-13 July 2024. James joined Michael Conrad, Barbara Bosson, Rene Enrqiuez, Taurean Blacque and Kiel Martin in the big precinct in the sky.

[@texasbeast239]

This one just feels old to me, like Rockford Files. Not bad at all, but definitely from a different era. It makes me feel little. All I ever got to partake of this show back then was the opening credits.

[@hifiandrew]

Mike Post wrote both themes

[@texasbeast239]

@@hifiandrew Yep but neither of those sound like Renegade or NYPD Blue. There's a definite divide in the sound era of this group of songs.

[@fernandopires3755]

Forever

[@aaronsaunders6974]

Taurean-neat name

[@jamesklatt]

Now let’s be safe out there.

[@jimoconnor6382]

I miss old Chicago.

[@pekkanikkonen3070]

Old good theme with the sound. no moore to say

[@fredrikkarlsson7920]

Then you hear this theme in sweden in the 80s, is time to go to sleep .

[@reprehensiblereptile187]

I want so badly for real cops to be like these cops, PEOPLE, people with feelings, people who don't want to hurt, imprison, or maybe even kill everyone they interact with who isn't a cop. Makes me sad for the future. Makes me angry about the present. It's just make believe to think cops care about anyone who isn't a cop. They prove they don't every single day.

[@John-tl1gn]

When people used to smile

[@lawrencelou3545]

So memorable.. and we have Taylor Swift today making billions from her "song writing" 😂😂😂. Mike Post ruled the tv series themes .. hill street blues . the greatest American hero .. Magnum p i .. and so many others.

[@mattmonasmith6054]

Hill Street Blues

[@kildersouza1623]

👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏

[@homeofinventions]

Lordy be Bobby Hill. I done strained my milk...

[@fernandopires3755]

Thr best

[@MissTia777]

Those police cars look so old time now

[@peterhagan8454]

comfortable music locveable charaters hey

[@marcuswalton2922]

What city is seen in the intro?

[@ron3815]

Chicago

[@garjude5412]

March, Easter 2024?

[@quincynishihara2572]

Hey let’s be careful out there………………………….

[@JoeOFOUR]

EdBaradour

[@raul5137]

Himouto

[@KevinPayton-fq8gd]

Steven Bochco helped create a TV classic in Hill Street Blues which is in many people's eyes is the greatest police show ever and helped create which is in my opinion the worst TV show ever in Cop Rock.

[@JoeOFOUR]

Ķí

[@StephenPeacock-s8p]

Back when television was good