"Stayin' Alive" is a song written and performed by the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack. The song was released in December 1977 by

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

as the second single from the ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

'' soundtrack. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. Career Musical career Galuten attended Berkle ...

and Karl Richardson. It is one of the Bee Gees'

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

s. In 2004, "Stayin' Alive" was placed at No. 189 by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' on their list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

. The 2021 updated ''Rolling Stone'' list of 500 Greatest Songs placed "Stayin' Alive" at No. 99. In 2004, it ranked No. 9 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In a UK television poll on ITV in December 2011 it was voted fifth in '' The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song''. On its release, "Stayin' Alive" climbed the charts to hit the number one spot on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the week of 4 February 1978, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. Consequently, it became one of the band's most recognisable tunes, partly because it appeared in the opening credits of ''

''. In the United States, it would become the second of the Bee Gees' six consecutive number-one singles, tying the record with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

for most consecutive number ones in the United States at the time (a record broken by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

who achieved seven consecutive number-ones). In 1979, at the

21st Annual Grammy Awards The 21st Annual Grammy Awards were held in 1979, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1978. Award winners *Record of the Year ** Phil Ramone (producer) & Billy Joel for " ...

, "Stayin' Alive" won the award for

Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices The Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices was awarded from 1977 to 1986. From 1977 to 1981 it was called the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for Voices. The award is presented to the arranger of the music. Years refle ...

, alongside 3 other wins at that ceremony, including Album of The Year.

Writing and recording

The

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack and Bee Gees manager

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical produc ...

asked the band to write a few songs for the soundtrack. At this point, the film was in early stages and it did not have a title; in fact, all Stigwood had to go on was a ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'' cover story about

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

mania. They wrote "Stayin' Alive" over the course of a few days while sprawled on the staircase at the

Château d'Hérouville The Château d'Hérouville (commonly referred to as Honky Château) is a French 18th-century château located in the village of Hérouville, in the Val d'Oise département of France, near Paris. The château was built in 1740 by "Gaudot", an arc ...

studio near Paris. As with many other artists during the 1970s, the Bee Gees recorded most of the soundtrack in France for tax reasons.

wanted the song to share the then-title of the film, "Saturday Night", but the Bee Gees refused a title change, insisting that there had been too many songs with "Saturday" in the title, and the album already had a song with the word "night" in the title—"Night Fever". "We'd also written a song called 'Saturday Night'", Maurice explains, "But there were so many songs called 'Saturday Night' even

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

by the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity, as a band in the 1970s. One of many 70s acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles", they were called the "tartan teen sensations fro ...

, so when we rewrote it for the movie, we called it 'Stayin' Alive'." Rather than change the name of the former song to match the film, Stigwood expanded the name of the film to encompass the title of the latter song. Several words from

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successfu ...

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

ticket inspired the Gibbs to write the lyrics for "Stayin' Alive". Robin recalls, "The subject matter of 'Stayin' Alive' is actually quite a serious one; It's about survival in the streets of

, and the lyrics actually say that". Barry Gibb reflects, "Everybody struggles against the world, fighting all the bullshit and things that can drag you down. And it really is a victory just to survive. But when you climb back on top and win bigger than ever before, well that's something everybody reacts to everybody". Over the years, the brothers have had mixed feelings about the song, admitting it brought them tremendous fame but conversely branded them as a disco act, despite a long and varied career before and after. The track was finished at

Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...

, with

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...

laying down a bass line similar to the guitar riff, Barry Gibb and

Alan Kendall Alan Kendall (born 9 September 1944) is an English musician and was the lead guitarist for the Bee Gees, in an unofficial capacity from 1971 until 1980, and again from 1987 until 2001. Career His first recording was " Don't Play That Song (Yo ...

on guitar riffs, and

Blue Weaver Derek John "Blue" Weaver (born 11 March 1947) is a Welsh rock keyboardist, session musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Weaver's career as a musician began as a co-founding member of 1960s Welsh rock band Amen Corner and its succ ...

adding synthesizers. The Boneroo Horns parts were added. Barry sings falsetto on the whole song, except on the line "life's going nowhere, somebody help me". The band's drummer

Dennis Bryon Dennis Ronald Bryon (14 April 1949 – 14 November 2024) was a Welsh rock drummer from Cardiff, best known for his work with the Bee Gees from 1974 to 1980. Bryon and Ringo Starr are the only drummers to have five songs in the top ten Billboard ...

left the recording sessions early as his mother died. The shortage of qualified replacement drummers in the area prompted the group to try a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

, but it did not offer satisfactory results. After listening to the drum track of the already-recorded "

Night Fever "Night Fever" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to ''Saturday Night Fever'' on RSO Records. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film ''Saturday Night'', but singer Robin Gibb express ...

", the group and producer Albhy Galuten took two bars from that track, rerecorded them as a recurrent loop on a separate tape (creating the song's constant rhythm), and proceeded with sessions for "Stayin' Alive". The group jokingly listed the drummer as "Bernard Lupe" (a takeoff on session drummer

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is known for his precise time-keeping and his signature use of Tuplet, triplets against a half-time backbeat: the P ...

). Lupe became a highly sought-after drummer—until it was discovered that he did not exist. Albhy Galuten talks about the recording of "Stayin' Alive": In their work together, Gibb and Galuten had tried playing with a

click track A click track is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, sometimes for synchronization to a Film, moving image. The click track originated in early sound movies, where optical marks were made on the film to indicate precise ...

as Galuten explained:

Release

The song was not initially scheduled for release, with " How Deep Is Your Love" selected as lead single, but fans called radio stations and

requesting the song immediately after seeing trailers for ''

'', featuring the track over the aforementioned introductory scene. The single was eventually released in mid-December, a month after the album, and moved to the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States in February, where it stayed for four weeks. Soon after, it slid to number two, near the third hit from the album, "Night Fever". In the United Kingdom, "Stayin' Alive" was not as popular as it was in the United States, but was still a hit, reaching number four. Further demonstrating the Bee Gees' US chart domination in 1978, "Stayin' Alive" was replaced at number one with the group's younger brother

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and songwriter. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, musicians who had formed the Bee Gees during the late 1950s. Andy G ...

's single, " Love Is Thicker Than Water", followed by the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" for their longest run, eight weeks. This was then replaced by

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

's "

If I Can't Have You If I Can't Have You may refer to: * "If I Can't Have You" (Bee Gees song), 1977, also recorded by Yvonne Elliman * "If I Can't Have You" (Kelly Clarkson song), 2009 * "If I Can't Have You" (Shawn Mendes song), 2019 *"If I Can't Have You", by Sara B ...

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, he rose to global fame as a member ...

had a hand in writing all four of these songs, becoming the only person in history to write four successive US number-one singles. Besides the version that appeared on the soundtrack album (4:43 in length) and the edited 45RPM single for Top 40 radio release (3:29), there was yet another version, from the same recording session but of a slightly different mix, that was distributed on twelve-inch vinyl to club DJs and radio stations that specialised in airing longer versions of hit songs. This "Special Disco Version" featured all the same parts as the album version but had a horn rhythm section interjected twice. Although twelve-inch disco mixes were usually sped up, this version was slowed down slightly. It is the longest version of "Stayin' Alive" ever made, and faded at 6:59. It was finally released on CD in 2007 by Reprise on an expanded and remastered version of ''

Bee Gees Greatest Greatest may refer to: * ''Greatest!'', a 1959 album by Johnny Cash * '' Bee Gees Greatest'', a 1979 album by Bee Gees * ''Greatest'' (The Go-Go's album), 1990 * ''Greatest'' (Duran Duran album), 1998 * Greatest (Raspberries album), 2005 * Grea ...

''. Initial plans were for

, then known for ballads, to record " How Deep Is Your Love" for ''Saturday Night Fever'', while the Bee Gees produced their own version of the more disco-oriented "If I Can't Have You" for the film. Robert Stigwood thought he would prefer the songs from different genders and directed the group to cut the ballad, while Elliman cut "If I Can't Have You" with her usual producer

Freddie Perren Frederick James Perren (May 15, 1943 – December 16, 2004) was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor. He co-wrote and co-produced songs including "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gay ...

. Satisfied with this switch, Elliman's interpretation made the soundtrack, while the Bee Gees' version was relegated to the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the "Stayin' Alive" single. The brothers' version has since appeared on CD in hits compilations.

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

commented about this song saying: "The great thing about 'Stayin' Alive' is that it had a great

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

hook to start with which set up the theme, that pulsating beat. It's no coincidence, by the way, that the disco beat of 120 beats per minute coincides the heartbeat of your heart when you're excited. This was a key thing which underlined the whole tune, and when the vocals came in, the vocals were so designed that they pushed that beat further".

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine reviewed the single calling it one of the Bee Gees best songs and an "almost irresistible dance tune." A reviewer from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that it "combines catchy melodies, falsetto harmonies and a dancing beat in a package that will lead to big pop and R&B chart numbers." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it "a pulsing, rather ominous dance tune."

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song is of an entirely different concept from ''Saturday Night Fever''. Filmed on

MGM Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro ...

' backlot #2 in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

, while the group was simultaneously filming the movie ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

'' on the lot, the video featured Quality Street (a set that was used for such films as ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' and ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Victor Fra ...

'') as well as the Grand Central Station set used in the films ''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The plot follows an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will revive his career, but the play ...

'' and the opening of ''

That's Entertainment! ''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and ...

'' with

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

. As the group walks past one of the railway cars in the video, the words "New York Central" can be seen printed on the side of the train above a passenger window. The MGM art directors added this bit of authenticity because the actual

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

operated several lines from

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

during the 20th century until 1969.

Personnel

Credits. *

–

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

vocals,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

– lead and harmony vocals *

– harmony and backing vocals,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

– keyboards *Bernard Lupe (

) –

drum loop In music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections can be repeated to create ostinato patterns. Longer sections can also be repeated: for example, a player might loop what they play on an entire verse of a song in order to ...

Joe Lala Joseph Anthony Lala (November 3, 1947 – March 18, 2014) was an American musician and actor. In 1966, he co-founded the rock band Blues Image. Life and career Lala was born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, into a family of Italian-American bac ...

–

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

Track listing

*"Stayin' Alive" – 3:29 *"

" – 3:25

1989 reissue

*"Stayin' Alive" – 4:45 *"Subway" – 4:20 *"Love So Right" – 3:33

Use in medical training

"Stayin' Alive" is used to train people to provide the correct rate of chest compressions per minute while performing

cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during Cardiac arrest, cardiac or Respiratory arrest, respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function ...

(CPR). The song has around 103

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

, and 100–120 chest compressions per minute are recommended for CPR. According to

the BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

, the song "doubles as a metronome for correct cardiac compression rate". Using the song has been found to improve memory retention for CPR skills during the months after training. A study on canine CPR training for veterinarians found that using the Bee Gees' “Stayin' Alive" as an auditory aid helped participants maintain an accurate chest compression rate better than no auditory aid, but that

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's "

Another One Bites the Dust "Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British Rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album ''The Game (Queen album), The Game'' (1980). It was a worl ...

" or a traditional

metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

was more effective. The original idea has been attributed to Alson Inaba, a Hawaiian emergency medicine physician. The song was featured in an educational campaign by the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...

, which included a video and a multi-city tour to promote CPR. The video featured actor and medical doctor

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong ( ; ; born July 13, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the NBC sitcom ''Community'' ...

in the classic

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

outfit from ''

''.

Vinnie Jones Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is an English actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, C ...

starred in the British version of this CPR video in association with the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

shown on TV in January 2012. As any song with the correct tempo can be helpful, one hospital put together a

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

playlist, including "Stayin' Alive" and dozens of other songs that have about 100 bpm. The concept of using "Stayin' Alive" for CPR was parodied in the Season 5 episode of comedy series ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' "

Stress Relief In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a form of psychological and mental discomfort. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and reaction to the envi ...

" and the song itself was used in a season 11 episode of the medical drama ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' in 2015. Misty Quigley from

Yellowjackets A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp. Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to: Places * Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town * Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida Arts, ...

also performs CPR to the beat of 'Stayin' Alive' on Crystal/Kristen in Season 2, episode 5, "Two Truths and a Lie," airing in 2023.

Accolades

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

N-Trance version

In 1995, British electronic music group

N-Trance N-Trance () are a British electronic music group who were formed by Kevin O'Toole and Dale Longworth in 1990. The group is known for their European hit songs " Set You Free" and " Electronic Pleasure", and their covers of the 1970s disco songs " ...

recorded a dance version of "Stayin' Alive", with new lyrics and rapping by

Ricardo da Force Jervis Ricardo Alfonso Lyte (30 April 1967 – 8 March 2013), known professionally as Ricardo da Force, was an English vocalist, rapper, and DJ, most notable for contributing vocals to house and dance music tracks of The KLF and N-Trance. He got ...

. This cover was released in September 1995 by

All Around the World Productions Xploded Music is a British record label set up by Cris Nuttall and Matt Cadman. The label is a joint venture with Universal, and has developed from their previous partnership with the All Around the World dance music label. All Around the Worl ...

as the third single from the group's debut album, ''

Electronic Pleasure ''Electronic Pleasure'' is the first full-length studio album released by British electronic music group N-Trance. It was released in November 1995 and in the US in 1996. Critical reception ''Music & Media'' wrote, "The album of this group, base ...

'' (1995). It reached number one on Australia's

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Dance/Urban chart. The song was also a major hit in Europe, reaching number two in Finland, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and peaking within the top five in several other countries. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, "Stayin' Alive" peaked at number three. Its music video was directed by

Alex De Rakoff Alex De Rakoff (born 13 November 1970) is a British writer, producer, and director. Personal life In April 2005, he married American actress Monet Mazur. Together, they have two children. As of July 2018, the couple have filed for divorce. Film ...

, featuring the group performing at a disco.

Chart performance

N-Trance's cover of "Stayin' Alive" peaked at number one in Australia and on two Canadian charts: the ''

Dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

chart and ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

''s singles chart. In Europe, it peaked at number one in Scotland and reached number two in Finland, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the single peaked during its first week on the UK Singles Chart, on 10 September 1995. It also reached number one on the '' RM'' UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart. It additionally entered the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, as well as on the

, where it rose to number three. Outside Europe, "Stayin' Alive" went to number three in New Zealand, number nine on the ''

'' Maxi-Singles Sales chart in the United States, number 56 on the ''RPM'' 100 Hit Tracks chart in Canada, and number 62 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. The single earned a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in France and Germany, a silver record in the UK, a platinum record in New Zealand, and a double-platinum record in Australia.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' magazine wrote, "U.K. import enthusiasts are already aware of this jumpy

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

interpretation of the

classic. Early radio reaction holds promise for a quick and successful ride up the

. There is not a whole lot of substance in TLK's rap ic but he certainly has a rousing, infectious style that makes the track spark. Singer

Kelly Llorenna Kelly Llorenna (born 1 May 1975) is an English dance music singer, who was born in Slough, Berkshire and raised in Oldham, Greater Manchester. She is best known as the former lead vocalist for the dance group N-Trance in the 1990s. Their bigges ...

injects some bright diva flash during the bridge and chorus." Writing for ''

Dotmusic ''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...

'',

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

stated that N-Trance "take the song into a whole new dimension". He added, "This is no ordinary cover, this is a fantastic reinterpretation that only the bold would bet against being Number One next week." Ross Jones from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' complimented the group's "knack for ingenious disco updates". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave the song three out of five, saying that rapper da Force "takes the mic for this radical reworking of the Bee Gees classic which isn't Euro enough to grab the same audience as their recent international hit ' Set You Free'".

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update described the N-Trance cover as a "jiggly rolling 0–106.4bpm chugger" in his weekly dance column.

Music video

A music video was made for "Stayin Alive", directed by British director

and produced by Spidercom Films. It features N-Trance performing the song at a 1970s disco.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

"Stayin' Alive" (Serban mix)

On 10 February 2017,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

released a new version of the song entitled "Stayin' Alive (Serban mix)". The song was mixed by Șerban Ghenea from "hi-resolution audio files" from the original recording session of "Stayin' Alive", and it was mastered by Tom Coyne. The single was released to mark the 40th anniversary of the ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977) soundtrack.

Track listing

* Digital download #"Stayin' Alive" (Serban mix) – 4:57

Other media

Greek singer Bessy Argyraki released a

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

version of the song called "Pio Dynata" in the 1970's. The song is used in the 1980 comedy film ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster film, disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker in their List of directorial debuts, directoria ...

''. During a bar-room fight, the song accidentally starts playing on a jukebox, turning the scene into a parody of ''Saturday Night Fever''.

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) was an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker who specialised in writing slapstick comedy films during the 1980s. Members of the team have ...

sped the track up by 10% in the film, and had to get permission from the Gibb brothers to do so. In the BBC show '' Sherlock'', it is a ringtone of

Jim Moriarty James Moriarty (born 20 June 1953) is a New Zealand actor and theatre director, who began acting professionally in 1967. He came to national attention and is probably best known for his role as the school teacher Riki Winiata in the 1970s soap ...

, in its series two premiere on New Year's Day, 2012. It is also heard in the series two finale, when Moriarty tells Sherlock that their final problem is 'Stayin' Alive', whilst playing the song on his phone. In 2010, Kingsley and Perdomo released a country version of the song with a prominent banjo part playing the riff. It is featured on their album "Fake Smiles" A

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

cover version by Avu-chan appeared on the soundtrack to the 2022 film, '' Bullet Train''.

References

External links

Bee Gees Stayin' Alive FansiteStayin' Alive – The Story Behind the Song at ''Wow-Vinyl''CPR video featuring Stayin' Alive
with

from the

{{Authority control 1977 songs 1977 singles 1995 singles Bee Gees songs British disco songs All Around the World Productions singles Capitol Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Film theme songs Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices Jo Stafford songs Music videos directed by Alex De Rakoff Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers N-Trance songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Canada Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Mexico Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in New Zealand RPM Top Singles number-one singles RSO Records singles Song recordings produced by Albhy Galuten Songs from Saturday Night Fever Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb

Writing and recording

Release

Critical reception

Music video

Personnel

Track listing

1989 reissue

Use in medical training

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

N-Trance version

Chart performance

Critical reception

Music video

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

"Stayin' Alive" (Serban mix)

Track listing

Other media

See also

References

External links