eye of the tiger

"Eye of the Tiger" was a song performed by the American rock group, Survivor. It was released on January 1, 1982 and was written at the request of Sylvester Stallone for the film Rocky III. The song became a popular sporting event anthem, especially in boxing, and was for a short time the entrance theme for professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. This song has also been used satirically, such as the trailer and ad campaign for the Will Ferrell film, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, released in August 2006.

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks from July 24, 1982. It was preceded by "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League and followed by "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller Band. "Eye of the Tiger" also reached number one in the UK and Australian charts. The song won a Grammy Award, an Academy Award nomination, and was voted "Best New Song" by the People's Choice Awards.

Dual meanings of the title

The song's title refers to a line in the movie Rocky III, meaning "killer instinct" or a desire/propensity for aggressiveness.

The "eye spots" on the back of tigers' ears serve to confuse predators and reduce the risk of attack from behind, and they are probably most useful for tiger cubs.

In the wild, seeing the "eyes" of the tiger signifies death, because right before a tiger attacks, it turns its ears forward so that the spot on the back of each ear faces nearer its prey. Hence, once someone sees these "eyes", the tiger is about to attack.

Trivia

• Survivor performed a spoof of the song for a Starbucks TV advertisement, promoting the Starbucks Doubleshot espresso beverage. The band is shown following a guy named Glen on his way to work. The commercial can be seen here.[1] [2]
• The song was used in the UK in a commercial for Frosties.
• A cover of the song by CKY (featuring Brandon DiCamillo on vocals} was used in the movie Landspeed: CKY in a Rocky parody. The cover is only available on CKY Vol. 2 which is out of print.
• The song is usually played during Memphis Tigers basketball games.
• This was the first song WHTZ in New York City played when they introduced their Top 40 format.
• This song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic on his second album In 3-D. Entitled "Theme from Rocky XIII (The Rye or the Kaiser)", it was also later released on The Food Album.
• It was the start ever song play on the first ever community radio station on-air in the United Kingdom, 103 The Eye.

External links

• "Eye of the Tiger" Song Facts