"The Heat Is On" is a song written by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey and recorded by Glenn Frey, from Faltermeyer and Forsey's soundtrack of the popular 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop.
[edit] History
It was a major hit single in its own right, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1985, behind "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon.[1] It was also quite popular internationally, reaching number two on the Australian Singles Chart in 1985 and gaining peaks of number 8 on the Canadian Singles Chart and number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.[2]
The mid-to-up-tempo recording featured a steady drumbeat, synthesizer, and guitar, with a repeated saxophone riff framing the lyrical message:
- Caught up in the action, I've been looking out for you
- Oh-wo-ho, oh-wo-ho
- (Tell me can you feel it, Tell me can you feel it, Tell me can you feel it)
- The heat is on, the heat is oh-on, the heat is on
- It's on the street, the heat is ... on.
The music video for the song received heavy MTV airplay. It showed a film editor assembling scenes for Beverly Hills Cop while Frey and a band played the song in the adjacent room, with action scenes from the movie then directly interspersed. Among the musicians shown in the video is saxophone player Beverly Dahlke-Smith, who did not play on the actual recording.
The recording subsequently appeared on Frey's albums Glenn Frey Live (1993) and Solo Collection (1995) as well as on some various-artists 'top hits' collections.
The song was ranked 784th out of 2006 songs by voting featured in the Triple M Essential 2006 Countdown.
[edit] Track listings
7" Single
- The Heat Is On 3:45
- Harold Faltermeyer - Shoot Out 2:44
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1985) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks |
4 |
| Canadian Singles Chart |
8 |
| UK Singles Chart |
12 |
| German Singles Chart |
4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart |
27 |
| Swiss Singles Chart |
5[3] |
| Dutch Top 40 |
19 |
| French Singles Chart |
47 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart |
2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart |
22 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart |
13 |
| Australian Singles Chart |
2 |
[edit] In popular culture
"The Heat is On" was Ottawa Senators star forward Dany Heatley's goal song. It is also the song played when the Omaha Lancers junior hockey team scores, making reference to the United States Hockey League. During the mid-to-late 1980s, it was also played at New York Mets home games following a home run by a Mets player. It is the walk-on music for English darts player Denis Ovens. The song's title expression has been directly used in marketing slogans, such as for Australian television operations TVW and Seven Network. It was also a slogan the St. Louis Cardinals used during their 1985 pennant drive. Most notably, it has been a theme song for the Miami Heat since the franchise's creation in 1988, and is played after home wins. It was also covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks in an episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks. In 2009, it was used in a political context as well, becoming the theme song for the British Columbia Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Fraserview, Kash Heed. It was played at Fraserview Hall on May 12, 2009, when Heed was declared the winner over New Democratic Party of British Columbia rival Gabriel Yiu.
The song was also played during the car chase sequence in the film 30 Minutes or Less.
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