Eye of the Tiger

Today in Music History: July 24, 1982

 It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And it all comes down to survival

  

Survivor  started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Eye Of The Tiger'. This hit was written by band members Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik for the 1982 movie Rocky III. Filmmakers often depend upon certain passages of music to produce specific emotional reactions in their audiences. This one was a smash hit, not only from the perspective of the film but also from reviews of music lovers whether they viewed the film or not.

The tone is raw power, the beat is brute force!

Survivor was hand-picked by Sylvester Stallone to write a song for the  Rocky sequel after he heard their minor 1981 hit "Poor Man's Son," a mid-tempo number in the vein of Foreigner or .38 Special. For the Rocky III soundtrack, Stallone told songwriting band members Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik that he wanted "something with a strong beat...that would appeal to the rock crowd." What he got was one of the most effective and popular soundtrack hits of all time as "Eye Of The Tiger" raced to #1 on the pop charts and remained there for six consecutive weeks—five weeks longer than the theme song for the original Rocky.

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm, of the changing times...