“Eye of the Tiger” (Theme from Rocky III) by Survivor, Wednesday, August 10, 2022

August 10, 2022

Survivor formed in 1978 when the lead singer and guitarist of the band The Ides of March, Jim Peterick, joined with bassist and guitarist of a jazz-rock fusion band called Chase, Dennis Keith Johnson and Gary Smith, guitarist Frankie Sullivan, and c0-vocalist/keyboardist Dave Bickler. The Chicago-based band played local gigs including at a local pizzeria called My Pi and releasing their self-titled debut record on Atlantic Records in 1980.

JUST A MAN AND HIS WILL TO SURVIVE. Survivor scored a minor hit on their second record, Premonition with the song “Poor Man’s Son.” The band had begun to hone their sound by replacing the jazz-based drummer and bassist, Johnson and Smith, relegating Peterick to backing vocals and focusing Bickler as the lead singer of the band. The band's 1981 hit may have faded into obscurity along with the band but for actor/writer/producer Sylvester Stallone approaching the band to write an anthemic disco-based rock song to be the theme of the actor's third installment of his Rocky franchise. Stallone had the idea to use Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" in the film but was unable to secure the rights. Hearing "Poor Man's Son" on the radio, Stallone found a template in an up-and-coming band, and he was able to commission the kind of song he wanted for his film. Survivor was keen to every suggestion Stallone had for the song, rather than trying to cling to every artistic decision.

FACE TO FACE, OUT IN THE HEAT. Sylvester Stallone defining role as Rocky Balboa came with its own fight. Stallone had to insist that he play the character after writing the screenplay and presenting it to United Artists. Stallone wanted to make his film his way, starring himself rather than the studio's pressure to cast an established star, not an actor who had only been cast in supporting roles. Stallone and his agents won and Rocky was a major success. Six years later, listening to Stallone was a canny decision, and Survivor scored a number one hit on Billboard's Hot 100 for six weeks with "Eye of the Tiger." While it's easy say that the song's success hinged on the phenomenon of Rocky III and continues to live on as a meme, I think today's song is a sold rock anthem every bit deserving of its popularity. The '80s was a time of cheesy rock anthems from Europe's "Final Countdown" to anything produced by Jim Steinman--Meat Loaf to Bonnie Tyler. You seriously can't take '80s rock too seriously, and if you do, it won't stand up to more serious decades. And there's something about these 40 year old songs that has 2022's pop culture missing the summer blockbusters us middle and younger millennials and zoomers never got to experience.