Eye of the Tiger

Eye of the Tiger is also the title of a 1986 film.

"Eye of the Tiger" was a song performed by the American rock group Survivor. It was released on January 1, 1982 and was written at the request of Sylvester Stallone for the film Rocky III. The song became a popular sporting event anthem, especially in boxing, and was for a short time the entrance theme for professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. This song has also been used satirically, such as the trailer and ad campaign for the Will Ferrell film, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, released in August 2006.

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks from July 24 1982. It was preceded by "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League and followed by "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band. "Eye of the Tiger" also reached number one in the UK and Australian charts. The song won a Grammy Award, an Academy Award nomination, and was voted "Best New Song" by the People's Choice Awards.

Dual meanings of the title

The song's title refers to a line in the movie Rocky III, meaning "killer instinct" or a desire/propensity for aggressiveness.

The "eye spots" on the back of tigers' ears serve to confuse predators and reduce the risk of attack from behind, and they are probably most useful for tiger cubs.

In the wild, seeing the "eyes" of the tiger signifies death, because right before a tiger attacks, it turns its ears forward so that the spot on the back of each ear faces nearer its prey. Hence, once someone sees these "eyes", the tiger is about to attack.

Trivia

• Survivor performed a spoof of the song for a Starbucks TV advertisement, promoting the Starbucks Doubleshot espresso beverage. The band is shown following a guy named Glen on his way to work. The commercial can be seen here.[1]
• The song was used in the UK in a commercial for Frosties.
• A cover of the song by CKY (featuring Brandon DiCamillo on vocals) was used in the movie Landspeed: CKY in a Rocky parody. The cover is only available on CKY Vol. 2 which is out of print.
• The song can be heard during almost every athletic event at LSU. The Survivor version is played prior to the start of every home baseball game at Alex Box Stadium and before the ninth inning (before the top of the ninth if LSU is ahead or the bottom of the ninth if the game is tied or LSU is behind). The Golden Band from Tigerland, LSU's marching band, plays the song during football and men's and women's basketball games.
• The song is usually played during Memphis Tigers basketball games.
• A reworded version of the song is played at all NRL Wests Tigers games.
• The Auburn University Marching Band plays this at Auburn Sporting events.
• The Detroit Tigers baseball team also often plays it during home games. Itwas used heavily during their 1984 World Series championship.
• This was the first song WHTZ in New York City played when they introduced their Top 40 format.
• This song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic on his second album In 3-D. Entitled "Theme from Rocky XIII (The Rye or the Kaiser)". It was also later released on The Food Album.
• It was the first ever song play on the first ever community radio station on-air in the United Kingdom, 103 The Eye.
• It is one of the songs that features regularly on the Sean Hannity Show.
• In the Family Guy Episode where Quagmire cheats with Clevelands wife Loretta. At the end the two are boxing and the song is played.
• It was frequently attempted to be sung by Lloyd Bonafide on the Phil Hendrie Show.
• It was covered by Gloria Gaynor on her 1983 failed comeback self-titled covers album.
• It was covered in a pop-punk style by 2005 Australian Idol second-runner-up Lee Harding as the B-side to his debut novelty single Wasabi, an Australian #1 single for 3 weeks over Dec '05 - Jan '06.

External links

• "Eye of the Tiger" Song Facts
• Eye of the Tiger Lyrics