Eye of the Tiger

When Sylvester Stallone was looking for the perfect music for his film Rocky III, he approached Survivor. Originally, he had thought about using "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen, but after being turned down, he asked the band for something with "pulse" to accompany the boxing scenes. Stallone sent them a copy of the film’s opening sequence, showing boxer Rocky Balboa and the rise of his rival, Clubber Lang.

The song Eye of the Tiger was born out of that need. Frankie Sullivan and Jim Peterik, the guitarist and keyboardist respectively, created a distinctive riff with chord changes designed to sync with the punches in the fights. The lyrics and title come directly from a line in the film, specifically from Apollo Creed, who tells Rocky he has "that eye of the tiger, the edge... you gotta get it back." The phrase, in turn, was taken from the 1969 film A Dream of Kings. The band recorded a first demo version at Chicago Recording Company on February 1, 1982, with Sullivan using a repaired guitar. The drum sound was meant to emulate that of John Bonham from Led Zeppelin. Stallone loved the demo so much that he insisted on using it, and later the band re-recorded it for the album and single release.

The result was a track that blended hard rock with a rhythm reminiscent of post-disco. Eye of the Tiger became a massive hit, reaching number one on charts in several countries. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and stayed in the top 10 for fifteen consecutive weeks, making it the second best-selling single of 1982. In August 1982, it was certified double platinum for sales of two million copies. In the United Kingdom, it sold 956,000 copies and topped the charts for four straight weeks. The song also earned recognition at major ceremonies: at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, it won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for Song of the Year. At the 55th Academy Awards, it received a nomination for Best Original Song. By February 2015, it had surpassed 4.1 million digital downloads in the United States. Sullivan felt the message of personal perseverance resonated with people, describing it as "getting out of bed. I mean: 'I’m not going to try to go to the gym on Monday – I’m going to the gym on Monday!'"