"Eye of the Tiger"
Single by Survivor
from the album Rocky III and Eye of the Tiger
B-side"Take You on a Saturday"
ReleasedMay 31, 1982[1]
GenreHard rock,[2] AOR
Length4:04 (album version)
3:45 (single version)
Label
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Frankie Sullivan
  • Jim Peterik
Producer(s)
  • Frankie Sullivan
  • Jim Peterik
Survivor singles chronology
"Summer Nights"
(1982)
"Eye of the Tiger"
(1982)
"American Heartbeat"
(1982)
Audio sample
"Eye of the Tiger"
  • file
  • help
Music video
Eye of the Tiger on YouTube

"Eye of the Tiger" is a song by the American rock band Survivor. It was written as the theme song for the 1982 film Rocky III and released that year as a single from Survivor's third album, Eye of the Tiger.

Sylvester Stallone, the director and star of Rocky III, enlisted Survivor to write the song after the band Queen denied him permission to use their song "Another One Bites the Dust". They derived lyrics, including the title, from dialogue in the film, and conceived a riff with chord changes to match the punches in the film's boxing scenes.

"Eye of the Tiger" reached number one on the charts of many countries. In the US, it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks, spent 15 consecutive weeks in the top ten, and was the second-bestselling single of 1982. It was certified platinum in August 1982, for sales of two million copies. In the UK, "Eye of the Tiger" sold 956,000 copies and was number one on the UK Singles Chart for four consecutive weeks.

At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, "Eye of the Tiger" won Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for Song of the Year. At the 55th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Original Song.

Writing

In 1982, the American band Survivor had released two unsuccessful albums, and were concerned they would be dropped by their record label.[3] The director and actor Sylvester Stallone enlisted them to write a song for his 1982 film Rocky III, after Queen denied him permission to use "Another One Bites the Dust".[3][4] Stallone told them he wanted "something street"[3] with a pulse to match the punches of the boxing scenes.[5] He sent them a copy of the montage used in the film's introduction, depicting the boxer Rocky Balboa and the ascent of his rival, Clubber Lang.[3][4]

"Eye of the Tiger" was written by the guitarist, Frankie Sullivan, and the keyboardist, Jim Peterik.[6] They conceived a riff based on chord changes to mirror the timing of punches.[3][4] They took the title from a line spoken by Rocky's coach, Apollo Creed: "You had that eye of the tiger, man, the edge ... You gotta get it back."[3] Stallone took the phrase from the 1969 film A Dream of Kings.[7]

Survivor initially planned to title the song "Survival", and had the chorus: "Rising up to the spirit of our rival / And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night / And it all comes down to survival", with "survival" rhyming with "rival". Peterik said later: "That ['eye of the tiger'] hook is so strong, and 'rival' doesn't have to be a perfect rhyme with the word 'tiger'. We made the right choice and went with 'Eye of the Tiger'."[8]

Survivor recorded a demo at the Chicago Recording Company on February 1, 1982.[4][5] Sullivan was so destitute that he used a guitar with a broken headstock he glued back together.[3] The band attempted to capture a drum sound similar to that of the Led Zeppelin drummer, Jon Bonham.[4] Stallone loved the song and insisted on using the demo in the film.[3] Survivor rerecorded it for the album and single releases.[5]

Reception

"Eye of the Tiger" gained extensive MTV and radio airplay and topped charts worldwide during 1982. In the United States, it held No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks[3] and was the No. 2 single of 1982, behind Olivia Newton-John's "Physical". It spent 15 consecutive weeks in the top ten, the second-longest run of 1982, behind "Hurts So Good" by John Mellencamp (which was prevented from reaching the top of the Hot 100 by "Eye of the Tiger"). This top ten run is tied with "Another One Bites the Dust" as well as "Physical" as the longest run in the top ten for a number one song during the entire 1980s decade. "Eye of the Tiger" was certified platinum in August 1982 by the RIAA, signifying sales of 2 million vinyl copies. The song had sold over 4.1 million in downloads in the United States alone by February 2015.[9] In the United Kingdom, "Eye of the Tiger" sold 956,000 copies and remained number one on the UK Singles Chart for four consecutive weeks.[10][11]

Sullivan felt people related to the song for its message of self-empowerment: "It's about getting your ass out of bed. It's about saying: 'I'm not going to try to go to the gym Monday – I am going to go to the gym Monday.'"[3]

Accolades

At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, "Eye of the Tiger" won Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for Song of the Year, but lost to "Always on My Mind" by Willie Nelson.[12] At the 55th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Original Song (the only Academy Award nomination for Rocky III), but lost to "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman.[13]

Use in political campaigns

In 2012, Survivor sued the Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in Illinois federal court for using "Eye of the Tiger" without authorization as entrance music at his political rallies going back as far as 2009.[14] The suit was settled out of court.[15] In the same year, Sullivan demanded that Mitt Romney, another Republican candidate, stop using "Eye of the Tiger" at his campaign rallies. Romney agreed to drop the song from the campaign's playlists.[15]

Sullivan's company Rude Music filed a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago, Illinois, on November 18, 2015, against the former Governor of Arkansas and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's campaign organization for using "Eye of the Tiger" at a political rally without permission. The rally took place on September 8, 2015, when Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk, was released from jail after spending five days there for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky.[16] In June 2016 it was reported by CNN that Huckabee had agreed to pay $25,000 in compensation.[17][18]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album Eye of the Tiger.[19]

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[67] Platinum 100,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[68] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[69] 2× Platinum 180,000
France (SNEP)[70] Gold 500,000*
Germany (BVMI)[71] 3× Gold 750,000
Italy (FIMI)[72] 2× Platinum 100,000
Japan (RIAJ)[73]
Digital
Gold 100,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[74] Gold 30,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[75] 3× Platinum 1,650,293[76]
United States (RIAA)[77] 8× Platinum 4,100,000[9]
United States (RIAA)[77]
Mastertone
Gold 500,000*
United States (RIAA)[77]
Physical single
2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

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  2. Holden, Stephen (July 28, 1982). "The Pop Life; RCA Gambling on Kenny Rogers". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
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  15. 1 2 Bryant, Christian (September 9, 2015). "Rock band Survivor has been going after GOP politicians over the years for using their song "Eye of the Tiger" without permission". Newsy. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  16. McCaskill, Nolan D. (November 18, 2015). "Huckabee sued for playing 'Eye of the Tiger' at Kim Davis rally". Politico. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  17. Kaufman, Gil (June 28, 2016). "Mike Huckabee Owes Survivor $25,000 for Playing 'Eye of the Tiger' At Rally". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  18. Kreps, Daniel (June 27, 2016). "Mike Huckabee Settles 'Eye of the Tiger' Lawsuit for $25,000". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
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