'80s TV Theme Songs That Sound Even Cooler Today

They're smooth, they're funky, they're edgy. These TV theme songs were so good that some of them even made it onto the pop charts during the 1980s. They set the mood for the series they introduced, and they did it with a hard beat, bright horns, and chunky guitars. These songs were anything but cheesy; they were downright cool, reflecting the beat of a new generation.

They're still easy to listen to, even when you don't have your TV on. Some of the best and brightest comedies that aired during the '80s are represented on this list, as well as some beloved, action-packed dramas. Each of them contributes something memorable to the musical conversation. They spawned some of the most iconic theme songs of the era, and they still make fine background music for gaming, jogging, dancing, or just chilling out for the night. Here are five TV theme songs from the 1980s that are just as fresh, cool, and lively as they were all the way back in the day. 

Filled with drum machines, rising guitar notes, and so many synthesizers that John Tesh would be green with envy, the theme song for "Miami Vice" has fronted the best and worst episodes of the show. It put Jan Hammer on the map and won him two Grammys. It also climbed all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. Though its reign lasted only one week, it's the last instrumental to reach the top 10, ensuring its place in music history.

Is it any wonder why, when the composition manages to boil down the show's hardboiled Florida aesthetic down to a glittery beat that's downright danceable? Pop the song on, and you'll feel like you're cruising around with Crockett (Don Johnson) and Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) in a snazzy suit, fighting bad guys and trying to take down drug dealers while letting the warm Miami breeze blow through your hair. Just close your eyes and feel that keytar beat, and you'll practically see the neon lights reflecting off the hood of a Ferrari Testarossa.

Some television theme songs were meant to be used as a soundtrack for a good jog, and the horn-heavy opening notes to the theme of "Magnum P.I." will get your feet moving. Hard-driving and as action-packed as its namesake series, it's enough to make you want to join a marching band — or go clubbing. And it's also proof that disco never really died when the 1970s faded into the 1980s — just listen to those thick, scrubby guitar cords! It's a rock-solid composition that definitely deserves all of the flowers it has retroactively gotten for being such a cool piece.

Composed by Mike Post, the man behind the equally toe-tapping theme for "The A-Team," among many other bits of music written exclusively for television, the opening credits song for "Magnum" made it into the Billboard Hot 100 as well, peaking at #25 in 1982. And audiences have been enjoying its beat ever since.

Got a yearning for more cowbell? That's what the "Simon & Simon" theme offers up — with plenty of twang, smooth acoustic guitars, and a whole lot of country rock attitude. It feels like the spiritual successor of Waylon Jennings' "Good Ol' Boys," the opening song for "The Dukes of Hazzard," with its rebellious tone and easy Southern bounce. It's the kind of song you'd want to hear if you were in the middle of a car chase — something that often happened to the Simon siblings in the series, making it a perfectly fitting tune.

This is a television song with quite a pedigree: It was composed by Barry De Vorzon and Michael Towers. One of De Vorzon's many contributions to the musical world is "Nadia's Theme," which has opened "The Young and the Restless" for decades. Towers co-created songs for Kenny Loggins, including music for the soundtrack of "Caddyshack II."

The theme that runs through the beginning and end of the original "Night Court" can be described with one simple word: funky. It captures the feeling of walking around New York City on a cold evening, experiencing life at street level, and hopping on a subway car downtown. Saxophone-heavy, with a big and thick bassline, it has a distinctive "tink-tink" during the bridge that predates the coda employed by "Law & Order" as a scene transition cue. And it's surprisingly danceable, or at least worth grooving to with its sinuous rhythms. It was resurrected in a slightly more modern fashion for the show's short-lived reboot, with a heavier guitar sound.

The song was written by Jack Elliott, who also co-composed the theme for another sitcom all about life in the legal system, "Barney Miller," with Allyn Ferguson. Elliott's other credits include music and theme songs for shows such as "Charlie's Angels" and "McHale's Navy." Additionally, he created music for films such as "Oh, God!" and "The Jerk." 

Want to feel like you're in a cocktail lounge, sipping away on something sweet and fancy while watching the house band play? The buttery-smooth, jazzy theme song that opened "Moonlighting" for its entire five-season run set the mood for the show's central, sensual relationship with silky ease. The tune has massive crossover appeal and, indeed, became yet another opening title song to make it into the Billboard Hot 100, with a re-recording landing at #23.

This is the only theme song on this list with actual lyrics, with vocals performed by Al Jarreau. An extremely accomplished jazz singer who won six Grammys in his lifetime, Jarreau co-wrote the song with Lee Holdridge, providing its lyrics. "Moonlighting" was nominated for two Grammys: best pop vocal performance, male, and for best song written specifically for a motion picture or television. While it won neither, it still fronted one of the best shows of the 1980s, and that might be an even bigger pop cultural victory.