"You Belong to the City" is a song written by

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don ...

and

Jack Tempchin Jack Tempchin is an American musician and singer-songwriter who wrote the Eagles song "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and co-wrote " Already Gone", "The Girl From Yesterday", "Somebody", and "It's Your World Now". Career During the Eagles' breakup per ...

, and recorded by Frey during his solo career. It was written specifically for the television show ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' in 1985. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, although it did reach the top of the ''Billboard''

Top Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...

chart. The song, along with

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores fo ...

's "

Miami Vice Theme "''Miami Vice'' Theme" is a musical piece composed and performed by Jan Hammer as the theme to the television series ''Miami Vice''. It was first presented as part of the television broadcast of the show in September 1984, was released as a si ...

", helped the ''Miami Vice'' soundtrack album reach the top spot of the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Frey performed this song live when touring with the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

until 2005. A version of the Eagles performing the song can be found on their DVD ''Farewell Tour I: Live from Melbourne'' released that year.

History

The song was featured in, and written specifically for, the ''

'' episode "Prodigal Son".

Production

All instruments were performed by Frey except the saxophone part played by studio musician Bill Bergman, as well as the drum track by Frey's long-time drummer,

Michael Huey J. Michael Huey (born October 24, 1950) is an American drummer and producer, earning 18 Gold / Platinum Top Ten Awards. He has played with a diverse group of artists in genres including Rock/Pop/Country/R&B such as Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Juice ...

. The song was recorded at Fool on the Hill studios, New York City, at the end of 1984. The synthesizer used in this song was a

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980 ...

Music video

At the beginning of the video, the notes of the introductory saxophone riff are played as Frey (who does not sing during the entire video) sits in his apartment in New York, looking out the window and smoking. Elsewhere, a woman prepares at home for a night on the town. She has ''Miami Vice'' playing on the television, a pattern which is repeated every time a television is shown in the video. Frey leaves the apartment and walks the streets of the city, his journey interspersed with scenes representative of New York nightlife and culture. He crosses paths with the woman when the taxi she is riding in almost runs him over. Later, they meet again when Frey sees her through the window of a pub, then walks in. She sees him and he watches her brush off the advances of another man but makes no move to approach her himself. Finally, he gets up to leave, but the woman catches him as he hails a taxi and they decide to walk back to her place together. The video then cuts to Frey leaving her high-rise the next morning. In the final shot of the video, Frey gazes out onto a vista of New York City from Carl Schurz Park while tossing a cigarette into the East River. Two versions of the video exist: one with the ''Miami Vice'' intercuts and one without.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said it is "a mid-tempo rocker which features all the power of Frey’s vocal style."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

"You Belong to the City" lyrics
{{Authority control 1985 singles 1985 songs Glenn Frey songs MCA Records singles Miami Vice American new wave songs Number-one singles in Poland Songs written by Jack Tempchin Songs written by Glenn Frey