"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

  1. ↑ "RIAA certifications for Survivor". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ↑ Holden, Stephen (July 28, 1982). "The Pop Life; RCA Gambling on Kenny Rogers". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack, Malcolm (January 27, 2020). "Survivor: how we made Eye of the Tiger". The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Wood, Jaes (October 19, 2012). "Interview: Guitarist Jim Peterik Talks 'Tiger' and the New Pride of Lions Album, 'Immortal'". Guitar World. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Ling, Dave (July 23, 2021). "The story behind Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger". Classic Rock. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Today in Music History: 'Eye Of The Tiger'". www.thecurrent.org. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ Siskel, Gene (May 18, 1986). "Stallone wields a pen with Rambonian power". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ Uitti, Jacob (November 1, 2021). "Behind The Song: Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger"". American Songwriter. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Grein, Paul (February 4, 2015). "The 15 Most Downloaded Songs in Rock History". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Survivor". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  11. ↑ Copsey, Rob (March 12, 2021). "The Official Top 50 best-selling songs of 1982". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ "25th Annual Grammy Awards (1982)". Grammy.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  13. ↑ "The 55th Academy Awards – 1983". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Newt Gingrich Sued For Using Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger' at Rallies". Rolling Stone. January 31, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  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.
  19. ↑ Eye of the Tiger (liner notes). Survivor. Scotti Bros. 1982. Retrieved April 2, 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ↑ "Australia No. 1 hits -- 1980's". World Charts. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6557." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Survivor – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 41. October 16, 1982. p. 79. ISSN 0006-2510.
  26. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Survivor". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 251. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Le Détail par Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Select "Survivor" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  28. 1 2 3 "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  29. 1 2 "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  31. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Eye of the Tiger". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  32. 1 2 "Japan #1 IMPORT DISKS by Oricon Hot Singles". Hbr3.sakura.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 41, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". VG-lista. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  38. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (S)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Tedenska lestvica" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  40. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  41. 1 2 "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  44. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 31, 1982". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  47. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  50. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  51. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  52. ↑ "Survivor – Eye Of The Tiger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  53. ↑ "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. January 3, 1983. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Imgur.
  54. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  55. ↑ "Jahreshitparade 1982" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  56. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1982" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  57. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1982". RPM. Vol. 37, no. 19. December 25, 1982. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  58. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  59. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1982" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  60. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1982". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  61. ↑ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1982". Rock.co.za. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  62. ↑ Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Singles". Chart File Volume 2. London, England: Virgin Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-907080-73-1.
  63. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1982". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  64. ↑ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1982". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012.
  65. ↑ "TOP – 1983". Top-france.fr (in French). Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  66. ↑ "Hot 100 Turns 60". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  67. ↑ "Platinum and Gold Singles 1982". Kent Music Report. February 28, 1983. Retrieved November 10, 2021 – via Imgur.
  68. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger". Music Canada.
  69. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  70. ↑ "French single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved November 9, 2021. Select SURVIVOR and click OK. 
  71. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Survivor; 'Eye of the Tiger')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  72. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 16, 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Eye of the Tiger" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  73. ↑ "Japanese digital single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved August 24, 2022. Select 2014年3月 on the drop-down menu
  74. ↑ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved October 6, 2021. Type Survivor in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Eye of the Tiger in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  75. ↑ "British single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  76. ↑ Copsey, Rob (September 19, 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  77. 1 2 3 "American single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger". Recording Industry Association of America.
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