"I Got the Fire" is a song written by American musician

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...

and originally recorded by his band Montrose in 1974. It was later covered by

Axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

in 1982 and

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

in 1983.

Recorded versions

Montrose version

The song was originally released by Montrose on their 1974 ''

Paper Money A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

'' album. The guitar solo was the result of a fortunate accident. As

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted, it was the result of "a studio screwup which resulted in the bottom-heavy reverberating noise in its intro." The song was one of the last the band recorded with original vocalist

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

before he left Montrose to start a solo career.

Iron Maiden version

With a slight title change to "I've Got the Fire", the song was covered by English heavy metal band

as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of their "

Flight of Icarus "Flight of Icarus" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was their eighth single, the first from their fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983), and their first in the United States, where it was one of their few with sub ...

" single in 1983. The band had earlier released a live version of the song as the B-side of their "

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

" single in 1980. The 1983 version was a studio recording.

Axe version

The song was also covered in 1982 by US hard rock band

for their album '' Offering''. Axe featured former

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

vocalist Bobby Barth.

Rest in Pieces version

The song was also covered in 1990 by New York hardcore/metal band Rest in Pieces on their album ''Under My Skin''.

References

{{authority control Montrose (band) songs 1974 songs Song recordings produced by Ted Templeman