See the full interview with Jim Peterik at along with past installments. In partnership with Nashville Songwriters Association International, each week we will release a video interview with a songwriter about his or her work. Featuring Derek Watkins on lead trumpet, complete w.
and that demo version was the one that went in the film. Theme from the film Rocky 1 'Gonna Fly Now' played by James Last, a live recording from German TV series. You didn’t write me a third verse.” Busted. But he said, “You got a little lazy on me. We were very inspired by this story, and Burgess Meredith, (who plays) the trainer, going “Rocky, you’re losing the eye of the tiger.” I go, “Bingo. The next day he sent us the whole movie, and that’s when we really got the story. It was like electricity in that room, but we couldn’t get any further because we didn’t know the story. And then the punches were being thrown, and I just went (plays power chords). I just started going (plays chugging guitar intro). I had my Les Paul around my neck, and I just caught that vibe. T rising up, and Stallone getting kind of soft, doing commercials. On the country chart, 'Rocky' was Lees most.
It was released in July 1975 as the fifth single and title track from the album Rocky. Relevance, Latest Additions, Latest Edits, Title, A-Z, Title, Z-A, Most Collected, Most Wanted. Snow) and performed by American country music artist Dickey Lee. ' Rocky ' is a song written by Ronald Johnson (aka Woody P. Frankie came over, and we see this montage that we’re supposed to write to. Rocky (song) For other songs with this title, see Rocky (disambiguation) § Music.
The pressure was on, and the next day I rented a big Betamax Pro (an early video cassette player) and the FedEx came. He said to Tony Scotti, the label manager, “That’s the sound I want for my theme song.” He heard a song called “Poor Man’s Son” from our “Premonition” album, which is very street, very raw, (singer) Dave Bickler just giving it up. Can you help me out?” I go, “Uh, is the Pope Catholic?” It’s a good song, but I want something for the kids.
He says, “I’ve got this new movie called ‘Rocky III,’ and I don’t want to use that ‘Gonna Fly Now’ song. So I call him up, and he answers, “Yo.” I go, “Is this Sylvester Stallone? This is Jim Peterik.” He says, “Yeah, call me Sly.” Suddenly, I’m calling him “Sly” - a kid from Berwyn, Ill.! I was already this huge fan of Stallone anyway, me and my wife. It’s Sylvester Stallone.” I go, “Yeah, right.” I play it back again (and say), “Karen, does this sound like Stallone, or is that just Sal, my roadie?” “No, that’s him.” I hit “Play” and I hear, “Hey, yo, Jim that’s a nice answering machine you got there. This song is a cover of Bill Contis 1977 single Gonna Fly Now which was used in the 1976 film Rocky. I got home one day, and there’s my big, old answering machine. We knew it was something special because we saw that movie in its rough form. Was that day like any other day? When you started this, did you kind of know that you were on to something special? You and Frankie (Sullivan) from Survivor wrote it.
Peterik talked to Bart Herbison, executive director of Nashville Songwriters Association International. The song’s co-writer, Jim Peterik, remembers the day Stallone asked him to write a song for his movie - and how the star reacted when he first heard the demo recording. Queen’s evergreen winner’s anthem is a no-brainer, but we close on Ben Folds’ touching ode to pugilistic nostalgia, a song of ageing ex-boxers looking back fondly on their brutal youths.Few “power chords” are more instantly recognizable than the guitar blasts that open Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.” The rock hit served as the theme song for the 1982 film “Rocky III,” starring Sylvester Stallone as boxing champion Rocky Balboa. ‘Morrissey’s ‘Boxers’ represents that moment of setback or self-doubt he has to overcome in all his films – the comatose wife, the risk of blindness or brain damage, the dying trainer or mentor – before our playlist takes to the ring for the lip-splitting battering of ‘Sabotage’ and Pixies’ ‘Tame’, the sound of being repeatedly hit in the face by rock.
How to summarise a character as tough, troubled and soft-centred as Rocky Balboa in music? Obviously you start with his most iconic theme songs before epitomising his New York street struggle and steely determination with Springsteen’s ‘No Surrender’, Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ and the Foos’ ‘The Pretender’. See which songs we’ve picked to help get our heroes ready for the ring. Creed, the latest addition to the Rocky franchise, is out on January 15th and to get us in the mood, we’ve created two energising playlists worthy of the movie’s fighting champs.