Bad Boys ( Inner Circle song ) - wikipedia Bad Boys ( Inner Circle song ) `` Bad Boys '' Swedish single picture sleeve, 1990 Single by Inner Circle from the album One Way and Bad Boys / Bad to the Bone B - side `` Sweat ( A La La La La Long ) '' Released 1991, 1993 Format 7 - inch single Genre Reggae Length 3 : 52 Label Island Songwriter ( s ) Ian Lewis Audio sample file help `` Bad Boys '' is a 1987 song by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, which obtained `` high '' popularity in the United States after its re-release in 1993, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the Top 40 Mainstream. It is well known as the opening theme to the U.S. TV show Cops. Contents 1 History 2 Chart performance 2.1 Weekly charts 2.2 Year - end charts 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History The song was originally released in 1987 on the album One Way and obtained minor airplay and poor sales. However, in 1992, it was also included on the Bad to the Bone album, and the song was released as a single in 1993, after the unexpected success of their previous international hit single `` Sweat ( A La La La La Long ) ''. `` Bad Boys '' reached number 52 in the United Kingdom and number 8 in the United States ; in the latter territory, it was certified gold and sold 600,000 copies. The song was also released as B - side on Inner Circle 's 1992 single `` Sweat ( A La La La La Long ) ''. The song was also released as a single in mid-1991 in Norway ; it peaked at number one for three weeks. This song makes references to `` Sheriff John Brown '', who was the sheriff killed in Bob Marley 's song `` I Shot the Sheriff ''. Chart performance Weekly charts Year Chart Peak position 1991 Finland ( Suomen virallinen lista ) Norway ( VG - lista ) Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) Australia ( ARIA ) 25 Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) 21 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) 19 Germany ( Official German Charts ) 35 Ireland ( IRMA ) 26 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 5 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 52 US Billboard Hot 100 8 US Billboard Hot Dance Music / Maxi - Singles Sales 15 US Billboard Hot R&B Singles 58 US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 27 US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 7 2006 US Billboard Hot Ringtones 10 2007 US Billboard Hot Ringtones 20 Year - end charts Chart ( 1993 ) Rank US Billboard Hot 100 69 In popular culture `` Bad Boys '' was selected as the theme song to Cops because a field producer for the show happened to be a fan of Inner Circle. The song, which was very popular during the 1990s, was also used in the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence action / comedy film Bad Boys and the sequel Bad Boys II ( some of the lyrics are sung by Smith and Lawrence in both films ). See also List of number - one singles of 1991 ( Finland ) List of number - one songs in Norway References ^ Jump up to : `` Inner Circle -- Awards ''. AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 7 January 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Inner Circle : Artist Chart History ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Gold & Platinum -- Inner Circle -- Bad Boys ''. RIAA. Retrieved 12 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Best - Selling Records of 1993 ''. Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 3. 15 January 1994. p. 73. ISSN 0006 - 2510. Jump up ^ `` cdBBQ : Inner Circle ''. Cdbbq.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ ( in Finnish ) Nyman, Jake ( 2005 ). Suomi soi 4 : Suuri suomalainen listakirja ( 1st ed. ). Helsinki : Tammi. ISBN 951 - 31 - 2503 - 3. Jump up ^ `` Norwegiancharts.com -- Inner Circle -- Bad Boys ''. VG - lista. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Swedishcharts.com -- Inner Circle -- Bad Boys ''. Singles Top 100. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Australian-charts.com -- Inner Circle -- Bad Boys ''. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Austriancharts.at -- Inner Circle -- Bad Boys '' ( in German ). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Singles : Issue 0993. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Offiziellecharts.de -- Inner Circle -- Bad Boys ''. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- Inner Circle ''. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Inner Circle -- Bad Boys ''. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits for 1993 ''. The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 27 August 2010. Jump up ^ Griffin, Gil ( 2 July 1994 ). `` Inner Circle 's Sphere of Influence - Big Beat / Atlantic Set Follows ' Bad ' Breakthrough ''. Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 27. ISSN 0006 - 2510. Jump up ^ `` Inner Circle Biography ''. Bad Boys of Reggae. Retrieved 7 January 2014. Jump up ^ Walker, Klive ( 2005 ). Dubwise : reasoning from the reggae underground. Insomniac Press. p. 203. ISBN 1 - 894663 - 96 - 9. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Inner Circle Ian Lewis Roger Lewis Bernard `` Touter '' Harvey Michael Sterling Lancelot Hall Trevor `` Skatta '' Bonnick Michael `` Ibo '' Cooper Stephen `` Cat '' Coore William Stewart William `` Bunny Rugs '' Clarke Irvin `` Carrot '' Jarrett Milton `` Prilly '' Hamilton Charles Farquharson Calvin McKenzie Funky Brown Jacob Miller Lester Adderley Norman Grant Rick Hunt Calton Coffie Dave Gonzales Kris Bentley Jr. Jazz Albums Bad to the Bone ( 1992 ) Singles `` Bad Boys '' `` Sweat ( A La La La La Long ) '' `` Games People Play '' Related Discography Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bad_Boys_(Inner_Circle_song)&oldid=804700831 '' Categories : 1987 songs 1993 singles Inner Circle ( band ) songs Number - one singles in Finland Number - one singles in Norway Songs written for films Television theme songs Hidden categories : Articles with Finnish - language external links Articles containing Finnish - language text Use dmy dates from January 2014 Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Norway Singlechart usages for Sweden Singlechart usages for Australia Singlechart usages for Austria Singlechart usages for Canadatopsingles Singlechart called without artist Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Germany2 Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for UKchartarchive Singlechart making named ref Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano Slovenčina Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 10 October 2017, at 16 : 21. 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Question: who sings the theme song for the show cops
Answer: Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle