"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from ''Rocky''", is the theme song from the movie '' Rocky'', composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta West and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with ''Rocky'', the song became part of 1970s American popular culture after the film's main character and namesake

Rocky Balboa Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name The Italian Stallion), is a fictional title character and the protagonist of the ''Rocky'' film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in all e ...

as part of his daily training regimen runs up the 72 stone steps leading to the entrance of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin F ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and raises his arms in a victory pose, while the song plays. The song was written in Philadelphia. The song is often played at sporting events, especially in Philadelphia. Most notably, the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

play the song before the opening kick-off of every home game at

Lincoln Financial Field Lincoln Financial Field is an American football stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves as the home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. ...

Reception

The song (whose lyrics are only 30 words long) was nominated for Best Original Song at the 49th Academy Awards. The version of the song from the movie, performed by Conti with an orchestra, hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1977, while a version by jazz trumpeter

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

hit the top 30. Disco versions by

Rhythm Heritage Rhythm Heritage was a 1970s American disco-funk band, best known for their 1976 US number one single " Theme from ''S.W.A.T.''". It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIA ...

and Current were on the chart at the same time (Conti's own version reveals some early disco influence in the orchestration). ''Billboard'' ranked Conti's version as the No. 21 song of 1977. Conti's single was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, for shipments exceeding one million in the United States. The

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

placed it 58th on its AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

John Rockwell John Sargent Rockwell (born September 16, 1940) is an American music critic, dance critic and arts administrator. According to ''Grove Music Online'', "Rockwell brings two signal attributes to his critical work: a genuine admiration for all k ...

called it "a classic bit of movie-music pomposity" but said it had a "cheesy inspirational appeal."

Variations

In '' Rocky II'', an alternative version of the song was used, with a children's choir singing the chorus. ''

Rocky III ''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to '' Rocky II'' (1979) and is the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. Along with Stallone reprising the title r ...

'' included an updated disco influenced arrangement during the training montage on the beach. This recording is however missing from the soundtrack album, the sleeve notes of which say "All music on this album selected by

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

", who instead opted to reprise the original versions of "Reflections" from the first film, and "Gonna Fly Now" and "Conquest" from the second installment. ''

Rocky IV ''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, ...

'' was scored by Vince DiCola who mainly introduced new themes of his own but "Gonna Fly Now" returned with its composer for later installments. In '' Rocky V'', two different versions of the song are played: an instrumental horn version and a different orchestral version. In ''

'', a slightly different version of the song used more trumpets and different vocal tones. The soundtrack for that film also includes a vocal remix performed by

Natalie Wilde Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie (1884–1983), Armenian writer and principal organizer of Operation Nemesis Music Albums * ''Natal ...

. '' Creed'' samples the first few notes of the track during the film's last fight, as does its sequel, '' Creed II''.

Personnel

*DeEtta West - vocals *Nelson Pigford - vocals * Johnny Guerin - drums * Max Bennett - bass * Dennis Budimir - guitar * Mike Melvoin - piano

Chart performance

Weekly charts

;Rhythm Heritage ;Bill Conti

Year-end charts

;Maynard Ferguson

In popular culture

Due to its original use, the song (or a soundalike of it) is used frequently in various forms of popular media where a main character is forced to train hard in order to defeat an opponent, often during a montage sequence. American politician and former

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesot ...

used "Gonna Fly Now" as his presidential campaign song in 1984. Renditions of the song without lyrics were used by the groundbreaking Toronto newscast ''

CityPulse ''CityNews'' (corporately styled City''News'') is the title of news and current affairs programming on Rogers Sports & Media's Citytv network in Canada. The newscast division was founded on September 28, 1975 as ''CityPulse'' as a standalone loc ...

'' beginning in 1976, with an arrangement by

. The theme was subsequently remixed and rearranged every few years, until 2002. The song was also used in a 1994 episode of ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'', during Will Smith's visit to Philadelphia. Elements of "Gonna Fly Now" are incorporated in "

Bucky Done Gun "Bucky Done Gun" is the third single from musician M.I.A.'s album ''Arular''. The song was composed in London in 2004 as one of the last compositions for her debut album and credited to Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Carol Conners, Bill Conti, W ...

", a song off of M.I.A.'s album ''

Arular ''Arular'' is the debut studio album by British recording artist M.I.A. It was released on 22 March 2005 in the United States, and one month later in the United Kingdom, with a slightly different track listing. In 2004, the album's release was ...

''.

French radio

The daily French radio program ''

Les Grosses Têtes Les Grosses Têtes (; ("The Big Heads" or "The Big Brains" in English) is a daily comedy radio programme on the French language RTL radio network. Broadcast since 1 April 1977, the current host since 2014 has been Laurent Ruquier. Presently bro ...

'', on the RTL French radio network, uses an arrangement by Gaya Bécaud from “Gonna Fly Now”.

Ice hockey

The Finnish professional ice hockey team Jokerit from the KHL uses "Gonna Fly Now" as their goal song.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Songs from Rocky (film series) Film theme songs 1976 songs Songs written by Bill Conti Songs written by Carol Connors (singer) Boxing music United Artists Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles