Eye of the Tiger
| "Eye of the Tiger" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Survivor | ||||||||||
| from the album Rocky III Original Soundtrack and Eye of the Tiger | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Take You on a Saturday" | |||||||||
| Released | May 29, 1982 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||||||||
| Genre | Hard rock[1] | |||||||||
| Length | 4:06, 3:45 (Single) | |||||||||
| Label | EMI, Scotti Brothers | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Frankie Sullivan, Jim Peterik | |||||||||
| Producer | Frankie Sullivan | |||||||||
| Certification | 2× Platinum (RIAA) | |||||||||
| Survivor singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Eye of the Tiger" is a song by American rock band Survivor. It was released in May 1982 as a single from their third album Eye of the Tiger. It was written at the request of actor Sylvester Stallone, who was unable to get permission for Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust". The song was to be the theme song for the movie Rocky III, in which Stallone was playing the main role. The movie version of the song is different from the album version because it features tiger growls. It gained tremendous MTV and radio airplay and topped charts worldwide in 1982. It is memorable for its guitar riff and anthemic chorus. It was certified platinum in August 1982 by the RIAA, signifying sales of 2 million vinyl copies, and the song has sold 3 million in digital downloads by March 2012.[2] It was voted VH1's 63rd greatest hard rock song.[3]
Contents |
Background [edit]
In an interview with Songfacts, co-writer Jim Peterik explained the song's title.
At first, we wondered if calling it 'Eye of the Tiger' was too obvious. The initial draft of the song, we started with 'It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight, 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.' We were going to call the song 'Survival'. In the rhyme scheme, you can tell we had set up 'rival' to rhyme with 'survival'. At the end of the day, we said, 'Are we nuts?' That 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'.[4]
Charts and sales [edit]
Chart positions [edit]
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End-of-decade charts [edit]
Certifications [edit]
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Chart successions [edit]
| Preceded by "Caught Up in You" by 38 Special |
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single July 3, 1982 – July 31, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Think I'm in Love" by Eddie Money |
| Preceded by "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single July 24, 1982 - August 28, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller Band |
| Preceded by "Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners |
UK Singles Chart number one single 4 September 1982 - 25 September 1982 |
Succeeded by "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth |
| Preceded by "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller Band |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one single September 20, 1982 - October 25, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners |
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.prefixmag.com/news/vh1s-100-greatest-hard-rock-songs-list-only-slight/24504/
63 Survivor - "Eye Of The Tiger" - ^ "Week Ending March 18, 2012. Songs: Your ’80s Party Mix-Tape". New.music.yahoo.com. 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
- ^ "spreadit.org music". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
- ^ Jim Peterik interview with Songfacts
- ^ a b c d e f International peaks
- ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 18. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- ^ German peak
- ^ Search for Irish peaks
- ^ Top Italian singles of 1982
- ^ Dutch Top 40 peak
- ^ Allmusic peaks
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger". Music Canada. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ "French single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ "Les Singles en Or :". Infodisc.fr (in French). Retrieved March 13, 2012.
- ^ "Italian single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger" (PDF) (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
- ^ "List of best-selling international singles in Japan". JP&KIYO. 2002.
- ^ "British single certifications – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 January 2012. Enter Eye of the Tiger in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Click Go
- ^ Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ "Gold and Platinum Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
- ^ Paul Grein (April 17, 2013). "Week Ending April 14, 2013. Songs: PSY Gallops Back". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Retrieved April 18, 2013.
External links [edit]
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This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2009) |
- Singles certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
- Singles certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
- Singles certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry
- Singles certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
- Songs written by Frankie Sullivan
- Songs written by Jim Peterik
- 1982 singles
- 2006 singles
- Survivor songs
- Amel Bent songs
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Australia
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Finland
- Number-one singles in Norway
- Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Rocky music
- Songs from films
