The Eye of the Tiger
"Eye of the Tiger" is a song by the American rock band Survivor. It was written by Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik as the theme song for the 1982 film Rocky III and released that May as a single from Survivor's third album, Eye of the Tiger. The song combines hard rock with a post-disco beat.
Sylvester Stallone, the director and star of Rocky III, enlisted Survivor after Queen denied him permission to use their song "Another One Bites the Dust". Survivor derived lyrics and title from dialogue in the film, and conceived a riff with chord changes to match the punches in the boxing scenes.
"Eye of the Tiger" reached number one on the charts of many countries. In the US, it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks, spent 15 consecutive weeks in the top 10, and was the second-bestselling single of 1982. It was certified platinum in August 1982, for sales of two million copies. In the UK, "Eye of the Tiger" sold 956,000 copies and was number one on the UK singles chart for four consecutive weeks.
At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, "Eye of the Tiger" won Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for Song of the Year. At the 55th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Original Song. It has been used without authorization in several Republican campaigns, which Survivor has opposed.
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