Private Eyes ( song ) - wikipedia Private Eyes ( song ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2014 ) `` Private Eyes '' Side - A label of the US 7 - inch vinyl single Single by Hall & Oates from the album Private Eyes B - side `` Tell Me What You Want '' ( US, Canada, UK, South Africa, Spain ) `` I Ca n't Go for That ( No Can Do ) '' ( Italy, Bolivia ) `` Head Above Water '' ( Italy promo single ) Released August 29, 1981 Format 7 '' vinyl Genre Pop rock Length 3 : 29 ( album version ) 3 : 09 ( UK Mix ) Label RCA Records Songwriter ( s ) Daryl Hall, Sara Allen, Janna Allen and Warren Pash Producer ( s ) Daryl Hall, John Oates, Neil Kernon Hall & Oates singles chronology `` You Make My Dreams '' ( 1981 ) `` Private Eyes '' ( 1981 ) `` I Ca n't Go for That ( No Can Do ) '' ( 1981 ) `` You Make My Dreams '' ( 1981 ) `` Private Eyes '' ( 1981 ) `` I Ca n't Go for That ( No Can Do ) '' ( 1981 ) `` Private Eyes '' is a 1981 single by Hall & Oates and the title track from their album of that year. The song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for two weeks, from November 7 through November 20, 1981. This single was the band 's third of six number one hits ( the first two being `` Rich Girl '' and `` Kiss on My List '' ), and their second number one hit of the 1980s. It was succeeded in the number one position by Olivia Newton - John 's `` Physical, '' which was in turn succeeded by another single from Hall and Oates, `` I Ca n't Go for That ( No Can Do ) ''. Contents 1 Background and writing 2 Music video 3 Personnel 4 In popular culture 4.1 Covers 5 Chart performance 5.1 Weekly charts 5.2 Year - end charts 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Background and writing The tune for Private Eyes was written by Warren Pash and Janna Allen, with arrangement and chords by Daryl Hall. In an interview with American Songwriter, Daryl Hall states : `` That 's a real Janna Allen ( co-writer and sister of Sara Allen ) song. Janna, and I, and Warren Pash wrote that. Warren and Janna wrote most of the song, and I took it and changed it around -- changed the chords. Sandy ( Sara Allen ) and I wrote the lyrics. It 's a real family song, the Allen sisters and me. '' The single carries a similar rhythm to the duo 's number one hit from earlier that year, `` Kiss On My List, '' with the difference being a handclap chorus that has made the song an audience - participation favorite at live Hall and Oates shows. It was one of the duo 's first songs to appear in heavy rotation on MTV. Music video The music video featured the band dressed as detectives and was the first to feature the backup band of guitarist G.E. Smith, bassist Tom `` T - Bone '' Wolk, drummer Mickey Curry, and saxophone / keyboardist Charles DeChant. Personnel Daryl Hall -- lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizers John Oates -- rhythm guitars, backing vocals Larry Fast -- synthesizer programming Mickey Curry -- drums John Siegler -- bass guitar G.E. Smith -- lead guitars, guitar solos In popular culture The song is performed by Ken Marino, portraying private investigator Vinnie Van Lowe, in the Veronica Mars episode `` Kanes and Abel 's. '' The Disney Channel ran a DTV music video of the song, set mostly to clips from the Goofy cartoon short How to Be a Detective. Captain Kangaroo in the early 1980s had a puppet vignette of the song. On the August 13, 2007 episode of WWE Raw, John `` Bradshaw '' Layfield and Michael Cole dressed up as Hall & Oates and sang versions of `` Private Eyes '' and `` Rich Girl. '' In episode 3.16 of Psych, An Evening with Mr. Yang, Detective Lassiter is shown singing along to the song playing on his iPod. USA Network later parodied the original music video to `` Private Eyes '' in a promo for the television series. In the television series Chuck, the titular character included the song in his stakeout mix. In the film Knight and Day, the song is being played on a stereo system in a safehouse of a fugitive who is an inventor who is a fan of the duo, who later sports a vintage pin. It was made available to download on January 10, 2012, for play in Rock Band 3. American author Andrew Harmon used the song as the basis for his 2014 short story `` Room 401 ''. Covers In 2012, Joel Dickinson remixed the song for club play adding electro touches and an all - new drum arrangement. The signature claps were kept. In 2016, Dear Rouge covered the song for the TV series Private Eyes as its theme song. Also in 2016, Lenachka covered the song. Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1981 -- 82 ) Peak position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) 17 Canadian Singles Chart 6 Italy ( Hit Parade ) 22 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 19 South African Singles Chart 14 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 32 US Billboard Hot 100 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) 33 US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) 33 Year - end charts Chart ( 1981 ) Rank Australia 103 Canada 37 US Billboard Hot 100 44 See also List of Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles of 1981 References Jump up ^ `` SOCAN Awards Gala : A Night To Remember ''. FYI Music News, June 23, 2015 Jump up ^ Sharp, Ken ( 2009 - 01 - 23 ). `` HALL AND OATES : Soul Survivors `` American Songwriter ''. Americansongwriter.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 23. Jump up ^ `` The Music Of Veronica Mars : Episode 1 - 17 : `` Kanes and Abel 's '' ``. Mars Investigations : The ( In ) Complete Guide to Veronica Mars. Retrieved January 21, 2015. Jump up ^ `` HitParadeItalia - Hall, Daryl '' ( in Italian ). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved September 27, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Daryl Hall & John Oates -- Private Eyes ''. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Daryl Hall & John Oates : Artist Chart History ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History ( Hot 100 ) '' Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History ( Adult Contemporary ) '' Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Daryl Hall & John Oates -- Chart history ''. Billboard Mainstream Rock for Daryl Hall & John Oates. Retrieved October 17, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Australian Chart Book ''. Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016 - 03 - 05. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 23. Jump up ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4689&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1981 / Top 100 Songs of 1981 ''. Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 23. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Preceded by `` Arthur 's Theme ( Best That You Can Do ) '' by Christopher Cross Billboard Hot 100 number one single November 7, 1981 - November 21, 1981 Succeeded by `` Physical '' by Olivia Newton - John Daryl Hall & John Oates Daryl Hall John Oates Studio albums Whole Oats ( 1972 ) Abandoned Luncheonette ( 1973 ) War Babies ( 1974 ) Daryl Hall & John Oates ( 1975 ) Bigger Than Both of Us ( 1976 ) Beauty on a Back Street ( 1977 ) Along the Red Ledge ( 1978 ) X-Static ( 1979 ) Voices ( 1980 ) Private Eyes ( 1981 ) H O ( 1982 ) Big Bam Boom ( 1984 ) Ooh Yeah ! ( 1988 ) Change of Season ( 1990 ) Marigold Sky ( 1997 ) Do It for Love ( 2003 ) Our Kind of Soul ( 2004 ) Home for Christmas ( 2006 ) Live albums Livetime ( 1978 ) Live at the Apollo ( 1985 ) Greatest Hits Live ( 2001 ) Compilation albums No Goodbyes ( 1977 ) Rock ' n Soul Part 1 ( 1983 ) The Atlantic Collection ( 1996 ) Playlist : The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates ( 1998 ) The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates ( 2001 ) VH1 Behind the Music : The Daryl Hall and John Oates Collection ( 2002 ) Ultimate Daryl Hall + John Oates ( 2004 ) The Singles ( 2008 ) Singles `` She 's Gone '' ( 1974 ) `` Sara Smile '' ( 1976 ) `` Rich Girl '' ( 1977 ) `` Wait for Me '' ( 1979 ) `` You 've Lost That Lovin ' Feelin ' '' ( 1980 ) `` Kiss on My List '' ( 1981 ) `` You Make My Dreams '' ( 1981 ) `` Private Eyes '' ( 1981 ) `` I Ca n't Go for That ( No Can Do ) '' ( 1981 ) `` Did It in a Minute '' ( 1982 ) `` Maneater '' ( 1982 ) `` One on One '' ( 1983 ) `` Family Man '' ( 1983 ) `` Jingle Bell Rock '' ( 1983 ) `` Say It Is n't So '' ( 1983 ) `` Adult Education '' ( 1984 ) `` Out of Touch '' ( 1984 ) `` Method of Modern Love '' ( 1985 ) `` A Nite at the Apollo Live ! The Way You Do the Things You Do / My Girl '' ( live ) ( 1985 ) `` Everything Your Heart Desires '' ( 1988 ) `` Love Train '' ( 1989 ) `` So Close '' ( 1990 ) `` Do It for Love '' ( 2002 ) `` Someday We 'll Know '' ( 2003 ) `` Getaway Car '' ( 2003 ) `` I 'll Be Around '' ( 2004 ) `` Without You '' ( 2004 ) `` I Can Dream About You '' ( 2005 ) `` Ooh Child '' ( 2005 ) `` It Came Upon the Midnight Clear '' ( 2006 ) Hall solo albums Sacred Songs ( 1980 ) Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine ( 1986 ) Soul Alone ( 1993 ) Ca n't Stop Dreaming ( 1996 ) Laughing Down Crying ( 2011 ) Oates solo albums Phunk Shui ( 2002 ) John Oates : Live at the Historic Wheeler Opera House ( 2004 ) John Oates Solo -- The Album, The Concert ( 2006 ) Related articles Discography Interpreting the Masters Volume 1 : A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates Live from Daryl 's House Book Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Private_Eyes_(song)&oldid=805842372 '' Categories : 1981 singles Hall & Oates songs Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles Songs written by Daryl Hall Songs written by Janna Allen RCA Records singles Songs written by Sara Allen 1981 songs Hidden categories : CS1 Italian - language sources ( it ) Articles needing additional references from June 2014 All articles needing additional references Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for UKsinglesbyname Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardadultcontemporary Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 18 October 2017, at 00 : 05. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what movie is the song private eyes in
Answer: Knight and Day