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The Story Behind The Songs

The Story Behind The Songs

Survivor ‘Eye of The Tiger’ The Rocky Call

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Author Donielle Flynn
Dave Bickler was original singer of Survivor

The two most amazing things you should know about the story behind Survivor ‘Eye of The Tiger’ – 1) Sylvester Stallone personally called and asked the band to write the song. 2) The movie producers originally wanted to use “Another One Bites The Dust” from Queen. Read on to find out the story behind both.

Survivor ‘Eye of The Tiger’ was the theme song of the biggest movie of 1982, Rocky III.

Rocky Leaves A Message

Sylvester Stallone called Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan of Survivor and left messages on their answering machines.  Chances are you don’t have a landline or answering machine anymore, but in 1982, we did.  Jim Peterik spoke with Songfacts.com about Sylvester’s phone message: “Answering machines were still something of a novelty back then and to see that blinking light was a thrill. When I pressed the playback button I heard, ‘Hey, yo, Jim, that’s a nice message you got there. This is Sylvester Stallone.'”

'Rambo: Last Blood' Drops Teaser Trailer a face shot of Sylvester Stallone. The picture is used (among others) in an article about Survivor 'Eye of the Tiger'
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 24: Sylvester Stallone attends the photocall for Sylvester Stallone & Rambo V: Last Blood during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2019 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

“Another One Bites The Dust” Was Originally Used In Rocky III

The fight scene was set to “Another One Bites The Dust,” by Queen.  Jim and Frankie asked Sly why not use the Queen song since it worked well in the scene.  They were told that the publishing rights were not attainable and they wanted Survivor to do an original song. Peterik said he spoke with the band and said, “Man, this is going to be tough to beat.’ We had the spirit of, ‘We’ve got to try to top this.’ I started doing that now-famous dead string guitar riff and started slashing those chords to the punches we saw on the screen, and the whole song took shape in the next three days.”

Survivor ‘Eye of The Tiger’

Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger (Official HD Video)

Jim Peterik was a primary songwriter for Survivor, but he also wrote several hits for .38 Special.  It’s a fascinating story.  Read on to check it out.

 

 

Donielle Flynn has two kids, two cats, two dogs, and a love of all things rock. She’s been in radio decades and held down top-rated day parts at Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington DC radio stations throughout her tenure. She enjoys writing about rock news, the Detroit community, and she has a series called “The Story Behind” where she researches the history of classic rock songs.

The .38 Special Survivor Factor

The intertwined history of Survivor and .38 Special is a crazy piece in the story of rock and roll.  Did you know that “Rockin’ Into The Night” was originally a Survivor song?  It was supposed to be part of their first album, but their producer, Ron Nevison, felt that the song wasn’t right for the album.  “Rockin’ Into The Night” had a more Southern bluesy quality than the rest of the album.  Despite it not making the album, Survivor played it often at their live shows. Survivor’s first album (1979) did not have the hit they were hoping for.

Survivor had recently signed a record deal with a subsidiary of Atlantic.  John Kalodner was their A&R rep.  John also oversaw .38 Special.  Survivor’s producer gave a rough mix of “Rockin’ Into the Night” to Kalodner after he decided not to use it on Survivor’s album.  .38 Special recorded the song, using it as a template.  They changed a few lyrics, polished it, and made “Rockin’ Into The Night” a last-minute addition to their third album.

Jim Peterik said of this chain of events, “We were sitting there thinking, ‘It would have been nice if it had been us,’ but I didn’t personally begrudge .38 Special because the money was landing in my pocket.” (UltimateClassic Rock) Jim’s bandmate and co-writer, Frankie Sullivan, felt differently.  Frankie looked at the situation as Survivor’s loss was .38 Special’s gain.

Jim Peterik Helped Write More Hits for .38 Special

John Kalodner launched a lot of major band careers including Aerosmith and Genesis.  About a year after “Rocking Into The Night” became a hit, he had Jim Peterik write songs with .38 Special.  Together, Jim Peterik and .38 Special wrote “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up In You.”  Jim was still a member of Survivor, but he had a side gig as a songwriter for another band.  Other members of Survivor did not exactly love this, understandably.

Before .38 Special recorded “Rockin’ Into The Night,” Survivor often played the song at their live shows, usually as an encore.  After .38 Special released “Rockin’ Into The Night,” Survivor stopped playing the song since it was now a .38 Special hit… and although the song was on .38 Special’s third album, the song was their first big hit.  Their southern rock style was supported by a lot of radio stations and MTV.

.38 Special would go on to make the charts with 14 total Hot 100 hits in the ’80s. 

Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” was a MASSIVE hit.  Survivor had seven songs that went into the Top 20 on the charts.  Survivor had more jams than you might remember.  I tacked some videos onto this.  I’ll bet you sing along with more than one song.

Survivor’s Biggest Songs

  • "Burning Heart"

    “Burning Heart” was the theme song to Rocky VI.  Sylvester Stallone loved Survivor’s first song so much, he invited them back to do it again.  “Burning Heart” did not reach the iconic status that “Eye of the Tiger” did, but it was still a big hit peaking at #2, it was on the Billboard chart for 22 weeks.

  • "The Search Is Over"

    Jim Peterik told Songfacts.com of the song “The Search Is Over,” “I’m a sucker for a good title. To me, a good title is intriguing. It tells the story sometimes in and of itself, or at least it draws the person in enough to wonder, ‘What search is it? What is he looking for?'” The song went to #4 and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks.

  • "High On You"

    Jim Peterik came up with the lyrics of “High On You.”  Jim told Songfacts.com, “Lyrically, I’ve had that title ever since the CBS convention in 1977 when Sly Stone of Sly & the Family Stone – there were rumors about him being strung out on drugs – he bolts on stage all cleaned up and says, ‘I want you to know, people, I am high on you.” Everybody applauded. There’s a title if I ever heard one, so I guess indirectly he inspired that song.”  “High On You” peaked at #8 and was a Billboard-charting song for 17 weeks.  I love the song.  It’s one of my personal favorites from Survivor.

  • "Is This Love"

    “Is This Love peaked at #9 in January of 1987.  Later that year, Whitesnake released another song by the same title of “Is This Love.” Both songs had the same hook “Is this love that I’m feeling.” Whitesnake’s heavier song peaked at #2.

  • "I Can't Hold Back"

    This song is a jam in my book. “I Can’t Hold Back” spent 23 weeks on the Billboard charts and peaked at #13. Ron Nevison, produced albums by Heart, Chicago, and Night Ranger. He also produced the Vital Signs album for Survivor.  Jim Peterik credits Nevison with the unique arrangement on this song.

  • "Eye Of The Tiger"

    “Eye of The Tiger” was Survivor’s only number hit, but the song was truly massive.  It’s still a staple of classic rock radio. The song was #1 for six weeks and spent a total of 25 weeks on the Billboard charts.

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