Chan had vocal lessons whilst at the Peking Opera School in his childhood. He began producing records professionally in the 1980s and has gone on to become a successful singer in Hong Kong and Asia. He has released 20 albums since 1984 and has performed vocals in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Taiwanese and English. He often sings the theme songs of his films, which play over the closing credits. Chan's first musical recording was "Kung Fu Fighting Man", the theme song played over the closing credits of "The Young Master" (1980). At least 10 of these recordings have been released on soundtrack albums for the films. His Cantonese song "Story of a Hero" (英雄故事) (theme song of "Police Story") was selected by the Royal Hong Kong Police and incorporated into their recruitment advertisement in 1994.