Hill Street Blues (Intro)

[wizeguiz]

I used to watch it all the time! The city was NYC!

[dstruck0622]

@wizeguiz Nah, Chicago no question. How many bars in NYC have Old Style beer signs outside?

[wizeguiz]

@dstruck0622 You're right! The opening sequence and a couple of shows were shot in Chi-town; though the fictional city was never mentioned, it was based on a Mid-Western city. I was definately wrong, but I loved the show no-less! :)

[Juliaflo]

Don't forget what St. Elsewhere did for one Denzel Hayes (sp) Washington.

Have a safe Memorial Day holiday.

[lezfriend]

@Juliaflo Thank you very much. Same to you.

[keytora7]

I love this theme

[gorsian1979]

that is 1970's not 1980's

[woperinoboyz]

No. Love Boat and Fantasy Island on Saturday night. People didn't go out on Saturday nights until those shows were ended. But Hill Street was a great show. I miss shows like that...

[hepanic]

what of the all time great theme song.

[redeem72]

what happened to tv, to music, to film? all bullshit, over the top, oversensationalized bullshit, kill your tv people.

[redeem72]

I remeber my dad and I used to watch this show on thursday nights right after t.j hooker back in 1982/83 the good ole days, the best, they don't make these shows like they used to

[Benzer469]

Wait a second, and hold the phone.....was that T.C. Fornell I saw in this one? They just don't make T.V. like this anymore.

[dubian99]

punks, dealers, husslers , screwballs , wackos, all getting the shakedown from the d a , mayors office , internal affairs and Hill street , classic

[cheapcape]

This was when crime shows were not over-blown/over-dramatized garbage and the characters were likable too.

[UandMeKid]

Veronica Hamel- what an exquisite beauty!

[LadyScorpio39]

i always loved this theme song!

[Juliaflo]

@LadyScorpio39 After 30 years, this theme sticks in my head.



[LadyScorpio39]

@Juliaflo

i know. thats because its beautiful music. tv these days dont put any time into there themes like they used to back then.

[joseofferman1]

what is a hispanic doing on this show? is he lost???

[RobRobertTheMovieGuy]

A show with real acting and real drama.

[boofdfast]

Where's Dennis Franz? He was also on this show, before he went to fame in NYPD Blue. Love the Dodge Monaco/Plymouth Fury police cars in the intro, too.

[Megagumby1]

@boofdfast Franz came along quite a bit later in the series.

[frog77]

One of the Best Shows EVER!!!

[ZINCOVIX8754]

god i loves this show...just ordered second season from good ole amazon..superb upload

[ThePraetoriansGuard]

I watched this every nite with my dad while i was younger. Man time does fly by, those nites were relaxing and always filled with no worries.

[Joeygee23]

@ThePraetoriansGuard

Me too!

[derkanadier27]

@ThePraetoriansGuard Me too bro me too!!!

[lezfriend]

St. Elsewhere on Wednesdays, Hill Street Blues on Thursdays. Those were the days!

[ankokugaiBOSS]

what happened to ed marinaro?

[John80220]

@ankokugaiBOSS -- Ed wasn't in the Season 1 opening credits.

[issyvoo2]

@mallardvasey Most American cop shows today have female characters so distorted by plastic surgery, hair extensions, high heels, and anorexia that it's more like a freak show than a drama. This is part of why I prefer British shows.

[773SleepyHollow]

@mallardvasey I don't know if you watched Homicide: Life on the Street, but if you haven't, you should definitely Netflix it.

[773SleepyHollow]

"Let's be careful out there."

[MrDavkoz]

First realistic cop show to make it into TV. Best ever.

[cheapcape]

@MrDavkoz This show was more realistic than Law & Order because it wasn't sensationalized.

[bigadda1969]

memories watchin this with paa god bless you xxx

[ashamb43]

brings tears to my eyes. yes, one of the best cop shows ever, this intro brings me back when times were good and innocent.

[luvmzk1]

@mallardvasey u are soo right..i say this all the time...theres n=like no story line..and the wisecrack thing..is sooooooo played out and annoying..they are not even funny...tv today makes me sick..i buy all the old shows on dvd..or have my times like tonight when im searching through you tube..just to have a taste of some normal,good old tv themes and shows to escape this crazy world we are in today ...feels liek when these shows were out..it feels like it was another life time..so sad

[TUBEQUEENEE]

Geez....and compare HSB with the now "Chicago Code" with horrible casting and an "Australian" trying to make it as a "Chicagoan".  Wonder where all those actors are now? Wish they'd come back. Would be very cool to put that show back together with the older characters. Oh, well. Sweet home Chicago.

[crockett616]

I bet in the 70s u got a lotta pussy if u were a black man named taurean blacque or a white man named kiel martin. might have been a bit slower for anyone named rene enriquez.. but i guess anyone named betty thomas would not have been too picky. gals named veronica hamel woulda been out of reach though for sure !

[shuggaqube]

As much as I like CSI, Hill Street Blues came accross as a more realistic show....the characters seemed more passionate, not overly made up and robotic...

[tokyocityrat]

The best intro of any show...

[390bullitt1968]

None of the cop characters were homosexuals. That agenda did not take root until 1989.

[coolbeans851]

still a tune gets better every time i play it

[coolbeans851]

this is a tune

[renumeratedfrog]

Have you noticed that easy of those actors represented a TYPE? Guess who is who...

[BigBoiJC]

watch?v=yMArrSjSjOo you guys have got to hear Larry Carlton play this theme song!

[cclumd]

Hail to this and all those great NBC Thursday night shows of the 1980s and 1990s. Thursday night was "television night!"

[TheNewsoul2]

God I miss good network shows like Hill Street Blues, I used to look forward to thursdays when I was in Jr. High to turn on NBC and watch 'Fame" and Hill Street Blues

[Werfen09]

The US can certainly put out some great cop shows.

[t0mme1981]

God! I now have served 30 yrs as a cop and this intro goes through every emotion I have experienced from probationer (rookie) to detective through to Inspector (lieutenant). The hardships, the friendships.. my god where has that 30 yrs gone??

[derkanadier27]

@t0mme1981 Thanks for keeping us safe.

[ggmooner]

@t0mme1981 Thank you very much for your service and dedication, sir. We sadly lost an officer here in Athens, Ga in a shooting last month; words cannot express what we owe to the men and women who wear the badge.

[Fathercoffee]

@t0mme1981 It has gone to memories. That is the beautiful thing about music, it can help you recall times of your life, smells, and much more.

[TheCaulfield1]

I remember watching this on a Friday night about 9pm.....I was aged around 12 or 13 and loved the music back then. This was one of my Dad's FAVOURITE programmes to watch and he watched them every week without fail.....had a lump in my throat as I remember back then and the memories, good times... (tears in my eyes).

[RHT1967]

One of the three best shows of ALL TIME ! I'm sorry this one didn't get a few more season on the air, or more syndication.

[2002ibiza]

Loved this when I was a teenager back in the eighties. It's a gritty realistic 'fly on the wall' type drama that was revolutionary for it's time and set a president for similar police programmes to follow. It had interwoven story lines that kept me interested and the charactors were not two dimentional but complex like in the real world

[joseofferman1]

i dont like cops, but this show made them tolerable! this how great this show was!

[TrueYellowDart]

Absolutely terrific sound quality with this video.  I was very young when this show was on, and I remember the music always making me feel sad - but it was a sadness that was "ok", like you knew things were going to get better if you held on for a bit longer.

[lloron74]

...meow...(...this is one show that made me realize the time and effort made by Honorable Women and Men who defend the rights of innocent citizens regardless of race or gender " ...to protect and serve..."...thank you...)

[joseofferman1]

at 0:55 of video an actual hispanic character that is not being portrayed as hired help or gardener or janitor! amazing! this was like 30 years ago!!!

[joseofferman1]

i am just amazed that a show in the 80s had a hispanic character that was not a gardener or janitor!!! truly amazing!!! just for that this is the greatest show in tv history!!!

[kdpflanders1]

BEST INTRO EVER. BY FAR. AND THATS A HUGE STATEMENT. BUT TRUE.

[posidonas48]

the best,realistic show i have ever see..simple nice..

[bde12000]

life on mars from bbc was inspired by this tv show

[suzycreamcheesez]

thank you so much

with love for my brother whose a cop

[TomthatiscalledTom]

Norm Buntz and Sid the Snitch!

[parkman35]

I know it's probably been posted a dozen times, but those are Chicago PD cars from the late 70's...they replaced the word Chicago with Metro

[custardaghost]

@Maverick81734

Yup - died of lung cancer.

[irish89055]

ok, folks.. am I the only one annoyed by the crazy about of extras this show had and now all do... , yes, supernumeraries are needed for realism but GET REAL... Then I find entertainment now watching them bump and try to avoid each other in the backgrounds... but part of the dumbing down of this culture...and the Extra's union..

[goldbullet50]

best TV series ever, makes me wanna go to 80's

[Prime4571]

Renko was the Best.

[r59red]

Just the best opening theme ever. Sounds so great in stereo. Thanks

[javiercaselli]

Best intro theme ever! Reminds me of my childhood days, I really should revisit this series.

[RPD2921]

Best 80's Cop Show.....

[RetroJenny]

Damn. They just don't make tv theme songs like this anymore.

[PopCulture20]

@RetroJenny stop saying ''they just don't make songs like this anymore & be more specific''. why does everyone keep saying that?????????

[RetroJenny]

@PopCulture20 I mean that people do make good tv theme songs anymore. Everyone keeps saying that because it is true.

[johnblevins1960]

Somewhere way back when I was in an episode of H.S.B.(as it was known then).Filmed in L.A.CA.

[flapjacks28]

I remember my mom watching this show when I was little. I always remembered the beginning. Rainy, wet, and police cars. Seems like alot of shows in the 80s were rainy. Mustve been a wet decade

[argent61]

There was an episode where one of the main characters had to help a disabled man he was trying to book for an offence. there was a scene in the toilets where the wheelchair did not fit through the cubicle door. Any help to find this please? So true and a fantastic depiction of why disabled people get exasperated and sometimes angry. Saw it years before I had a disabled child but it keeps echoing , I'd like to show it to some teachers, some things don't change

[Frankensnizzle]

WOW!I use to watch this with my Mom when I was little.XD

[JoeRailfan]

Nasty winter weather, dirty old buildings, railroad viaducts, corner taverns marked by Old Style beer signs--couldn't be anyplace but Chicago. God, this was a great show with a first-rate cast.

[fenderjones]

@JoeRailfan The cop cars with the checkerboard paint on the side was another giveaway he he

[jericho4004]

@JoeRailfan Yep, this had Chi-Town written all over it. Probably 26th & California.

[390bullitt1968]

@JoeRailfan - These scenes were filmed in Pittsburg. I would know, I was there. 

[Ghostwolf30]

@JoeRailfan Yeah, it's obviously Chicago... :) if all the things that you mentioned didn't give it away, then the design of the squad cars should have. Just replace "Metro Police" with "Chicago Police" on the sides, and thats all she wrote. I grew up watching this show with my father, a now-retired Chicago Police Officer. Oh, The memories.

[t0mme1981]

@Ghostwolf30: I was a rookie, or probationer, London Cop 31 years ago and I still love this show. Coming up for retirement...but I could still do another 31 years. Nothing beats 'the job'.

[ashynmgirl]

Great TV show and great theme song.

[steve2275]

i could hear this all day

[carlabrob09]

thank you! great tv show! great theme song! great family memories :)

[Sunderas]

Espectacular!

[GREGMCKEE]

This is the right song but it is not either version used on television. The first season had slightly different music, while the remaining seasons again had slight variations in the notes. I have the original episodes from their first run on Betamax tape...they are different!

[suzycreamcheesez]

thanks

[ruimiguelcamacho]

grandes memorias...lindo.

[custardaghost]

These opening credits always intrigued me - Looking at Google Maps etc, I'm guessing these street shots were filmed around the Dan Ryan Expressway/South State St in Chicago ?

[SummerBaby1984]

Lovely show.

[twistedsistaqteu]

i remember watching this show in my early teens, superb. itv are still showing this now in the uk @ about 3 or 4 in the morning, i think

[klarch]

@bumsmith They were responding to the donut shop on the corner of Peeples Drive and 135th Street.

[custardaghost]

@klarch

Donut shop? Surplus store

[klarch]

@custardaghost Ummm... yeah.

[custardaghost]

@klarch

Oh thank thank you thank you for your confirmation of the big burning question. You can also confirm that Daniel J Travanti is gay?

[klarch]

@custardaghost Your dad would know.

[custardaghost]

@klarch

You do get around

[klarch]

@custardaghost Yeah with chicks though... not dudes like you and your dad.

[ooeyb]

yes - easily the best cop show ever, followed by the sweeney. What a supurb cast!

[segersystem]

Many many many happy memories of this show!

[rosilva0909]

rosilva0909

Hill Street Blues,this is the best police drama of TV.Today is Law &Order SVU,but,

like a Hill ...

[bigshow112]

thanks for posting bro totally cool

[marky2112]

Oh, Hill Street BLUES... police are blue and the blues. OMG I got it!!!!

[vinylrecord68]

The theme is actually an arrangement from the LP/CD "Television's Greatest Hits Vol. III - 70's and 80's" (TVT Records), not from the show itself.

[kingsofcobra]

i remember my Dad watching this show back in da day. i wz like 5 or 6 so i really didn't really understand what wz going on but i loved the intro music even as a child.

[sonic540]

Great show.

[55102]

one of the best tv police serie

[iw32]

Let's be careful out there!

[islandfocus2]

Wow, this really brings back memories growing up in Guam back in the early 1980's. Thank you!

[RetroVideoFan]

This show was almost cancelled after only one season. At the time, it was the lowest-rated show in TV history to be renewed for a second season.

[ericgrant]

the best cop show ever

[circusitch]

I sneaked onto the MTM lot in 1986 and saw the sets for Hill Street. I saw Veronica's and Daniel J's parking spaces! She drove a Mecedes 450 SL. Oh boy, was that great!

[marchelolpa]

Me encanto en mi juventud y la mejor serie dramatica, tal cual

[guesswho21900]

memories......this was before xbox 360, ps3, the internet, nintendo, how i've aged

[vitordio]

nao trocava esta serie por 10 das que atualmente passam nas tvs. inesquecivel hill street blues...a melhor de todas

[timmhg]

The best TV program of police. Cool to see these actors in their young ages. Betty THomas and Veronica Hamel so sexy women.

[TitaniumByFire]

Kiel Martin reminds me of "Face" from The A Team.

[gibby100]

something's not right here, the music and dispatcher's voice is too loud and clear for TV and the cut always started with the sound of the garage door opening. Perhaps this music was dubbed over the original credits.

[dbastard1977]

I remember being in primary school and not being able to watch Hill Street Blues because it was at my bedtime, but during the holidays I would watch it but not truly understand it. The theme songs from the 80s were the best though.

[Konfuusio]

Were those Dodge Monacos and Plymouth Furies also used by real life police departments of US? Or were they just for the show? I know it's a stupid question, but I don't like in America so, go figure.

[thomas070784]

@Konfuusio they were all late 70's Royal Monacos and i think they were former Chicago PD units.

[rosilva0909]

rosilva0909 The best police drama serie in mundial TV.

Today is Law and Order SVu,but in 80',nothing was better who Hill Street Blues.

[glyph01]

a beautiful theme. always get a tad misty eyed hearing it. don't know why but its rocks nonetheless.

[sergio007x]

i remember this series always are programed after 10:00 P.M because their mature standar, but by today standar similar programas are program at 6:00 P.M., im not complain just im saing...well nothing

[Madhamish1]

I notice now that American police series are eventually catching up with this awe inspiring series.

[monstrsqd]

@ beersweat thats an interesting fact. The intro looks just like the strrets of Chicago, though.

[jocksmen]

@monstrsqd NO try Northwest area

Portland/Seattle look at the OLD STYLE BEER

logo outside the bar on intro.

Hill Street taken from THE HILL in P'BURGH

where Bochco and Charles Haid went to University.

[luiscacevedol]

wow, at last i find this intro, remembering my childhood, to see theses cold, rainy streets, like my city Bogotá, and this beautifull piano, i back 30 years Ago in time, thks for the video, i`ll watch it thousand times.

[Lonegan63]

@luiscacevedol

De nada!

Lonegan63

[bigadda1969]

@luiscacevedol PEACE TO U FROM ENGLAND GREAT TIMES 

[custardaghost]

@luiscacevedol

You want to revisit these opening scenes? Go to Google earth/satellite and check out around Chicago - Dan Ryan expressway to the west, State St to the east and between Pershing to the north and E59th to the south

[informationtroll1976]

if you really want to go that far

[fluffybex1]

Wow this takes me back =)

[beersweat]

believe it or not but hill street blues was filmed in denver colorado...check it out...I shit you not

[jsrosa1282]

What season was this intro from? (My guess is either the 1st or 2nd)

[Lonegan63]

@jsrosa1282

First season, it's sure

[keynshamgorilla]

@jsrosa1282

I'm not too sure about that. Joe Spano was wearing a moustache in the early days of the series.

[marioTmaggot]

Thank you for this. I had searched you tube before and they didn't have it, then I decide to look today and BOOM!

[kinkkenny]

Best Cop show ever made, in the US or Britain.

[MsRadhika12]

Thankss alott....this brings back beautiful memories, pls remove disembling.

[suzycreamcheesez]

thanks so much..the best!

[khalidbinwa]

where did tv go people who didnt live through this era are very unfortunate

[daedralord1]

ty so much..utube keeps removing the intro

[ImForwardlook]

Dodge Royal Monacos...those were the days! America isn't what it used to be...thanks for the vid!

[caretaker50]

" The City of CHICAGO ! "

[joseofferman1]

amazing 1 of the very few in 80s that actually had a hispanic character that was not a janitor and or gardener or any kind of domestic help!!! i am truly shocked and amazed!!! this show was like 30 years ago!! way ahead of its time!!! WOW!!!

[UrgentementeUK]

Best cop show and best cop theme ever.

[TheHaloRed]

Betty Thomas!!!

[gothatway09]

Thank you for uploading this. I have been searching a long time for this particular favorite from the 80s.

[Lonegan63]

@gothatway09

Many thanks!

Lonegan63

[Theodoros1983]

The best TV series ever! And the best intro! :-)

[Lonegan63]

@Theodoros1983

and the best music series ever.....by Mike Post!

[Theodoros1983]

And Veronica Hamel was so beautiful...

[steely4you]

@Lonegan63

don't forget "Welcome Back Kotter"

greetings

[Lonegan63]

@steely4you

many thnx!!

lonegan63