Fly, Eagles Fly: Difference between revisions
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In 1963, [[Jerry Wolman]] purchased the Eagles' football team.<ref>{{cite book |last=Didinger |first=Ray |author2=Robert S. Lyons |title=The Eagles Encyclopedia |publisher=Temple University Press |year=2005 |isbn=1-59213-449-1 |pages=127–128}}</ref> Wolman was a sports fan growing up and loved hearing the Redskins' fight song "[[Hail to the Redskins]]" at games.<ref name="philmag"/> Spawning from his admiration for the Redskins' song, Wolman searched for musicians to implement a team song for the Eagles, and founded The Philadelphia Eagles' Sound of Brass band in 1964.<ref name="philmag"/> The group included 200 musicians and dancers, and was led by Arlen Saylor, who was appointed as the Eagles' entertainment director in 1966 and is credited with penning an arrangement of the fight song that the band played at home games during halftime in the 1960s.<ref name="arlen saylor">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailylocal.com/article/DL/20050131/TMP01/301319985 |title=Daily Local News: The Man Behind the Fight Song|publisher=dailylocal.com |date=2005-01-31 |accessdate=2017-11-03}}</ref> Wolman's push to popularize the fight song flew under the radar, however, and in 1969 the Sound of Brass band was discontinued.<ref name="arlen saylor"/> |
In 1963, [[Jerry Wolman]] purchased the Eagles' football team.<ref>{{cite book |last=Didinger |first=Ray |author2=Robert S. Lyons |title=The Eagles Encyclopedia |publisher=Temple University Press |year=2005 |isbn=1-59213-449-1 |pages=127–128}}</ref> Wolman was a sports fan growing up and loved hearing the Redskins' fight song "[[Hail to the Redskins]]" at games.<ref name="philmag"/> Spawning from his admiration for the Redskins' song, Wolman searched for musicians to implement a team song for the Eagles, and founded The Philadelphia Eagles' Sound of Brass band in 1964.<ref name="philmag"/> The group included 200 musicians and dancers, and was led by Arlen Saylor, who was appointed as the Eagles' entertainment director in 1966 and is credited with penning an arrangement of the fight song that the band played at home games during halftime in the 1960s.<ref name="arlen saylor">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailylocal.com/article/DL/20050131/TMP01/301319985 |title=Daily Local News: The Man Behind the Fight Song|publisher=dailylocal.com |date=2005-01-31 |accessdate=2017-11-03}}</ref> Wolman's push to popularize the fight song flew under the radar, however, and in 1969 the Sound of Brass band was discontinued.<ref name="arlen saylor"/> |
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The song came back into light in 1997, when Bobby Mansure, founder of an unofficial Eagles [[pep band]], asked team management to allow the band to play in the parking lot during home games. Management gave Mansure's pep band an audition, allowing them to play at 2 preseason games to gauge fan reaction. The song went over so well that Mansure and the band retained a permanent position as the official Eagles Pep Band.<ref name="philmag"/> |
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The song came back into light in 1998, when Darryll Petrancuri, early benefactor of the Eagles Youth Partnership (EYP) petitioned Kim Babiak, Eagles executive in charge of game day entertainment to bring the song back. Petrancuri's involvement with EYP allowed him to develop a relationship with members of Eagles management including then Public Relations Director Ron Howards, Chief Operating Officer Mimi Box, and Babiak. Petrancuri had been on a personal crusade for two seasons to re-introduce the song into the civic consciousness, handing out the words to the song in Section 552 at Veterans Stadium, where he was known as VOCIFEROUS and Flag Man, and also handing out words and singing it at WIP pre-game broadcasts at the invitation of WIP Sportsradio's Angelo Cataldi. Petrancuri told Babiak of his disdain for hearing other teams fight songs during television broadcasts of NFL games and explained how he was trying to bring the song back. She was unaware of the existence of the song and explained no one in the organization had any knowledge of such. He explained the history of the song, and advised Babiak that it had been mothballed circa 1983 by the organization, when previously it was played on occasion by a marching band pre-game at Veterans Stadium, as well as during the lead in to WIP broadcasts of Eagles games in the 1960s and 70s. Babiak asked Petrancuri to provide her with the words, composition and music for the song, which was originally titled "The Eagles Victory Song" and advised Petrancuri she or a member of her game day staff would come see for themselves whether this attempt at getting the fans to sing the song was actually happening, and if it was, she would put the words to the song and on the Jumbotron and play the song over the PA system after Eagles touchdowns the following week and for the remainder of the season. |
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In 1998, following |
In 1998, following Mansure's reintroduction of the song, Eagles management attempted to rebuild its popularity among fans by changing some aspects of the song. They modified the [[Key (music)|key]], changed the opening lyric from "Fight, Eagles Fight" to "Fly, Eagles Fly", and re-marketed the song with that as the title. In addition, they appended the popular "E-A-G-L-E-S" chant, which had emerged in the 1980s, to the end of the song.<ref name="philmag"/> While management planned to play the song throughout the [[1998 Philadelphia Eagles season|1998 season]], the Eagles' poor performance that year caused them to hold off reintroducing the song until the following year. The Eagles fared better during their [[1999 Philadelphia Eagles season|1999 season]], and subsequently, the fight song was played after every score.<ref name="sports illustrated">{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/eagles-fight-song-fly-eagles-fly-lyrics-words-tune |title=Sports Illustrated: Here Are the Lyrics to 'Fly, Eagles, Fly|publisher=Sports Illustrated |date=2017-10-12 |accessdate=2017-11-03}}</ref> |
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The song is still sung/chanted today at games, and Billboard has recognized it as one of the best sports fight songs of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6243658/best-nfl-fight-songs |title=Billboard: The 10 Best NFL Fight Songs|publisher=Billboard Magazine |date=2014-09-04 |accessdate=2017-11-03}}</ref> A modern arrangement by the current Eagles Pep Band is featured on the official Eagles website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/fanzone/pepband-fightsong.html |title=Fly, Eagles Fly (Pep Band Fight Song)|publisher=Philadelphia Eagles |date=2017 |accessdate=2017-11-03}}</ref> |
The song is still sung/chanted today at games, and Billboard has recognized it as one of the best sports fight songs of all time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6243658/best-nfl-fight-songs |title=Billboard: The 10 Best NFL Fight Songs|publisher=Billboard Magazine |date=2014-09-04 |accessdate=2017-11-03}}</ref> A modern arrangement by the current Eagles Pep Band is featured on the official Eagles website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/fanzone/pepband-fightsong.html |title=Fly, Eagles Fly (Pep Band Fight Song)|publisher=Philadelphia Eagles |date=2017 |accessdate=2017-11-03}}</ref> |
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* [[Invincible (2006 film)|''Invincible'' (2006 film)]] |
* [[Invincible (2006 film)|''Invincible'' (2006 film)]] |
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==References== |
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<ref>Darryll Petrancuri</ref><ref>Kim Babiak Phillips</ref></ref>==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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Revision as of 23:00, 14 January 2018
| "Fly, Eagles Fly" | |
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| Song |
"The Eagles' Victory Song" (popularly known as "Fly, Eagles Fly"[1]) is the fight song of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. The song is played following each Eagles touchdown at home and as part of pre-game festivities before the playing of the national anthem.
History
"The Eagles' Victory Song" was the creation of Charles Borrelli and Roger Courtland[2] as credited in various editions of Eagles programs from the late 1950s[3] through the 1960s.[1]
In 1963, Jerry Wolman purchased the Eagles' football team.[4] Wolman was a sports fan growing up and loved hearing the Redskins' fight song "Hail to the Redskins" at games.[3] Spawning from his admiration for the Redskins' song, Wolman searched for musicians to implement a team song for the Eagles, and founded The Philadelphia Eagles' Sound of Brass band in 1964.[3] The group included 200 musicians and dancers, and was led by Arlen Saylor, who was appointed as the Eagles' entertainment director in 1966 and is credited with penning an arrangement of the fight song that the band played at home games during halftime in the 1960s.[5] Wolman's push to popularize the fight song flew under the radar, however, and in 1969 the Sound of Brass band was discontinued.[5]
The song came back into light in 1997, when Bobby Mansure, founder of an unofficial Eagles pep band, asked team management to allow the band to play in the parking lot during home games. Management gave Mansure's pep band an audition, allowing them to play at 2 preseason games to gauge fan reaction. The song went over so well that Mansure and the band retained a permanent position as the official Eagles Pep Band.[3]
In 1998, following Mansure's reintroduction of the song, Eagles management attempted to rebuild its popularity among fans by changing some aspects of the song. They modified the key, changed the opening lyric from "Fight, Eagles Fight" to "Fly, Eagles Fly", and re-marketed the song with that as the title. In addition, they appended the popular "E-A-G-L-E-S" chant, which had emerged in the 1980s, to the end of the song.[3] While management planned to play the song throughout the 1998 season, the Eagles' poor performance that year caused them to hold off reintroducing the song until the following year. The Eagles fared better during their 1999 season, and subsequently, the fight song was played after every score.[6]
The song is still sung/chanted today at games, and Billboard has recognized it as one of the best sports fight songs of all time.[7] A modern arrangement by the current Eagles Pep Band is featured on the official Eagles website.[8]
Lyrics
Fly, Eagles fly!
On The Road To Victory! (Fight! Fight! Fight!)
Fight, Eagles fight!
Score a touchdown 1, 2, 3! (1! 2! 3!)
Hit 'em low!
Hit 'em high!
And watch our Eagles fly!
Fly, Eagles fly!
On The Road To Victory!
E-A-G-L-E-S!
Eagles!
In popular culture
References
- ^ a b "You're singing it wrong: Where did "Fly, Eagles, Fly" come from? - Philadelphia Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
- ^ "Copyright Office 1984 Renewal - RE0000214793". Copyright.gov. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b c d e "Rooting for the Eagles (A chant? A song? What's your favorite way to cheer on the team?)". Phillymag.com. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
- ^ Didinger, Ray; Robert S. Lyons (2005). The Eagles Encyclopedia. Temple University Press. pp. 127–128. ISBN 1-59213-449-1.
- ^ a b "Daily Local News: The Man Behind the Fight Song". dailylocal.com. 2005-01-31. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
- ^ "Sports Illustrated: Here Are the Lyrics to 'Fly, Eagles, Fly". Sports Illustrated. 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
- ^ "Billboard: The 10 Best NFL Fight Songs". Billboard Magazine. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
- ^ "Fly, Eagles Fly (Pep Band Fight Song)". Philadelphia Eagles. 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
External links
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