Stayin' Alive

This article is about the Bee Gees song. For other uses, see Staying Alive (disambiguation).

"Stayin' Alive"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track
B-side	"If I Can't Have You"
Released	13 December 1977
Format	Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded	Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France 1977
Genre	Disco
Length	3:43
Label	RSO
Writer(s)	Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb
Producer	Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Bee Gees singles chronology
"How Deep Is Your Love" (1977) "Stayin' Alive" (1977) "Night Fever" (1978)
Music sample "Stayin' Alive" Saturday Night Fever track listing Side A "Stayin' Alive" "How Deep Is Your Love" "Night Fever" "More Than a Woman" "If I Can't Have You" Side B "A Fifth of Beethoven" "More Than a Woman" "Manhattan Skyline" "Calypso Breakdown" Side C "Night on Disco Mountain" "Open Sesame" performed "Jive Talkin'" "You Should Be Dancing" Boogie Shoes" Side D "Salsation" "K-Jee" "Disco Inferno"

"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees (Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977, as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It is one of their signature songs.

Upon release, "Stayin' Alive" climbed the charts to hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of 4 February 1978, remaining there for four weeks. In the process, it became one of the band's most recognisable tunes, in part because of its place at the beginning of Saturday Night Fever.

Beginnings

The executive producer of the soundtrack, Robert Stigwood (who was also the Bee Gees' manager) called them up and asked them to write a few songs for a soundtrack to a film he was planning. At this point, the film was in early stages and it did not have a title yet; in fact, all Stigwood had to go on was a New York cover story about discomania. They wrote "Stayin' Alive" over the course of a few days while sprawled on the staircase at the Château d'Hérouville studio in Paris. As with Pink Floyd, a majority of the soundtrack was recorded in France for tax reasons.

Due to the death of drummer Dennis Byron's mother in the middle of the song's sessions, the group first looked for a replacement. The shortage of qualified drummers in this area of France prompted the group to try a drum machine—yet it did not offer satisfactory results. After listening to the drum track of the already-recorded "Night Fever", the group and producer Albhy Galuten selected two bars from that track, re-recorded them as a recurrent loop on a separate tape, and proceeded with sessions for "Stayin' Alive". This accounts for the unchanging rhythm throughout the song.

As a joke, the group listed the drummer as "Bernard Lupe" (a takeoff on session drummer Bernard Purdie). Mr. Lupe became a highly sought-after drummer—until it was discovered that he did not exist.

RSO Records wanted the song to share the then-title of the film, "Saturday Night", but the Bee Gees refused a title change, insisting that there had been too many songs with "Saturday" in the title, and the album already had a song with the word "night" in the title—"Night Fever". Rather than change the name of the former song to match the film, Stigwood expanded the name of the film to encompass the title of the latter song.

Over the years, the brothers have had mixed feelings about the song. On one hand, they admit it brought them tremendous fame; on the other, it led to their being pigeonholed as a disco act, despite a long and varied career before and after.

Saturday Night Fever

The song was not initially scheduled for release, with "How Deep Is Your Love" selected as lead single, but fans called radio stations and RSO Records requesting the song immediately after seeing trailers for Saturday Night Fever, featuring the track over the aforementioned introductory scene. The single was eventually released in mid-December, a month after the album, and moved to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in February, where it would stay for four weeks. Soon after, it would slide to number two, locking in a solid one-two punch with the Bee Gees' third smash hit from the album, "Night Fever". In the United Kingdom, "Stayin' Alive" was a solid seller but not as popular as it was in the United States, topping out at number four.

Further demonstrating the Bee Gees' US chart domination in 1978, "Stayin' Alive" was replaced at number one with the group's younger brother Andy Gibb's single, "Love Is Thicker Than Water", followed by the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" for their longest run, seven weeks. This was then replaced by Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You". Barry Gibb had a hand in writing all four of these songs, becoming the only person in history to write four consecutive US number-one singles.

Besides the version that appeared on the soundtrack album and the edited 45RPM single for Top 40 radio release, there was yet another version, from the same recording session but of a slightly different mix, that was distributed on twelve-inch vinyl to club DJs and radio stations that specialised in airing longer versions of hit songs. This "Special Disco Version", as it was called, featured all the same parts as the album version, but had a horn rhythm section part interjected twice. Ironically, where twelve-inch "Disco Versions" were usually sped up, this version was slowed down slightly. This version was finally released on CD when Reprise re-issued Bee Gees Greatest in 2007 in an expanded & remastered edition.

As for the message of the song, Robin Gibb was quoted as saying, "'Stayin' Alive' is about survival in the big city—any big city—but especially New York."

Music video

The music video for the song is of a completely different concept from Saturday Night Fever. It depicts the group singing the song on an abandoned subway terminal set at MGM Studios, directly adjacent to the one where Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was being filmed at the same time. This set featured buildings, a train station, and other elements.

The original three music videos for the movie Saturday Night Fever were shot on the soundstages, and edited at the facilities of Video City, Inc., in North Miami, Florida. The European video for "Stayin' Alive" (with Barry sans facial hair) was one of these original three. These original music videos were scrapped and re-shot in California after Barry grew back his beard.

B-side

Initial plans were for Yvonne Elliman, then known for ballads, to record "How Deep Is Your Love" for Saturday Night Fever, while The Bee Gees produced their own version of the more disco-oriented "If I Can't Have You" for the film. Robert Stigwood thought he would prefer the songs from different genders, and directed the group to cut the ballad while Elliman cut "If I Can't Have You" with her usual producer Freddie Perren. Satisfied with this switch, Elliman's interpretation made the soundtrack, while the Bee Gees' version was relegated to the B-side of the "Stayin' Alive" single. The brothers' version has since appeared on CD in hits compilations.

Track listing

• "Stayin' Alive" - 3:29
• "If I Can't Have You" - 3:25

1989 reissue

• "Subway" - 4:20
• "Love So Right" - 3:33

Use in medical training

"Stayin' Alive" was used in a study to train medical professionals to provide the correct number of chest compressions per minute while performing CPR. The song has close to 104 beats per minute, and 100-120 chest compressions per minute are recommended by the British Heart Foundation , and endorsed by the Resuscitation Council (UK). The study found that medical professionals who think about "Stayin' Alive" are much more likely to do CPR correctly. This was parodied in the season 5 episode of comedy series The Office, "Stress Relief".

On 15 June 2011, the song was featured in a Hands Only CPR PSA campaign video from the American Heart Association and featured actor Ken Jeong in the classic John Travolta outfit from Saturday Night Fever.

Vinnie Jones also stars in a UK version of this CPR video in association with the British Heart Foundation shown on TV circa January 2012

Chart performance

Preceded by "Baby Come Back" by Player

Billboard Hot 100 number one single 4 February 1978 — 25 February 1978

Succeeded by "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" by Andy Gibb

Chart	Peak position
Australia	1
Austria	2
Belgium	2
Brazil	1
Canada	1
Chile	1
Colombia	1
China	2
Finland	2
France	1
Ireland	4
Italy	1
Japan	19
Mexico	1
Netherlands	1
New Zealand	1
Norway	4
Spain	1
South Africa	1
Sweden	3
United Kingdom	4
United States	1
United States AC	28

Cover versions

• In 1979 Paul Weston and Jo Stafford released a cover of the song as Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. It was backed with "I Am Woman".
• In 1980, the American Singer and Ukulele player Tiny Tim (musician) covered it and released it on his album entitled Chameleon.
• In 1991, the indie group Happy Mondays covered it in two different versions for the non-album single "Judge Fudge".
• N-Trance covered a dance version of the song with new rap and lyrics in 1995.
• In 1999, British Death metal band Ten Masked Men recorded a death metal cover of the song in their self-titled first album.
• In 2000, the group "Baila" released a "turbo-charged" cover of the song (with the lyrics changed to replace the reference to the New York Times with "the Internet's effect on man").
• Ozzy Osbourne covered the song and it appeared on CD 3 of his 2005 box set, Prince Of Darkness.
• Dimension Zero did a death metal cover of the song on their 2007 He Who Shall Not Bleed album.
• In 2007, the french band Electro Deluxe recorded a jazz fusion version of this song in their album "Hopeful".
• In 2010, Italian rapper, Jovanotti, covered it for his live US album, OYEAH!.
• The grindcore band Anal Cunt recorded an Oi! version of the song, released on their album Top 40 Hits.
• The Sleeping also did a cover of this song.
• Sugarland performed the song during their 2010 Incredible Machine tour.
• Bitch released a cover on 2010's album Blasted!
• A short part of the refrain is used in the end of the movie Shrek, sung by Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) in the Dragon's stomach.
• In 2011, Reece Mastin, X Factor Australia winner, covered this song for his album Reece Mastin (album).

Appearances in other media

Though Stayin Alive is heavily guarded by the Bee Gees for licensing, it has appeared in numerous movies and television shows including :

• The 1978 Chevy Chase/Goldie Hawn film Foul Play.
• A 1978 episode of Hawaii Five-O entitled "Number One With A Bullet", along with Night Fever and More Than a Woman.
• Two 1979 episodes of Mork & Mindy
• A speeded up version (with permission) was used in the 1980 comedy Airplane!.
• The 1981 John Belushi comedy Neighbors.
• The movie Look Who's Talking featuring John Travolta.
• The 1991 David Tyler CKBE-FM.
• The 1992 Rick Moranis comedy Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
• A 1994 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Bart's Girlfriend". Homer also performs a parody version of the song highlighting 'Table Five' in a neighbourhood garage sale in the episode "Two Bad Neighbours".
• Used in a flashback scene in the 1994 comedy Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.
• Five movies in 1995 used the song: A Goofy Movie, Bushwhacked, Virtuosity, Let It Be Me, and Grumpier Old Men.
• During the "Swamp Karaoke Dance Party" which tied into the Shrek film, Lord Farquaad was heard singing this song in the Dragon's stomach since he was eaten by her.
• The Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close 1996 action/comedy Mars Attacks!.
• A 1997 episode of the BBC drama This Life.
• The 1998 comedy A Night at the Roxbury.
• The 2005 animated feature Madagascar.
• Episodes of CSI: NY and Entourage in 2007.
• Was the ringtone of Jim Moriarty in the BBC show Sherlock in its series two premiere on New Year's Day, 2012. Had a darker reprisal in the series two finale, when Moriarty tells Sherlock that their final problem is 'Stayin' Alive', whilst playing the song on his phone.

See also

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1970s
• List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1978
• List of European number-one hits of 1978
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1978 (U.S.)
• List of RPM number-one singles of 1978
• List of number-one hits of 1978 (France)
• List of number-one singles in 1978 (New Zealand)
• The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

External links

• Bee Gees Stayin' Alive Fansite