- I Will Survive
Infobox Single
Name = I Will Survive
Artist =Gloria Gaynor
from Album = Love Tracks
Genre = Soul
disco
Released =October 27 ,1978
Length = 3:18 (45) 8:01 (12"/LP)
Writer =Freddie Perren ,Dino Fekaris
Certification = 2x Platinum (US)
Chart position = * #1 (Billboard Hot 100 )"I Will Survive" is a song first performed byGloria Gaynor , released in October 1978. It was written byFreddie Perren andDino Fekaris .The song's lyrics describe a narrator who finds personal strength while recovering from a break-up; it has often been used as an anthem of female
empowerment , agay anthem , andHIV /AIDS awareness - and is a firm favourite on thekaraoke circuit. It is one of the most famousdisco songs of all time, and easily Gaynor's biggest hit; it received massive airplay in 1979, reaching number one on theBillboard Hot 100 , also reaching number one in theUK the next day.The song was originally released as the
B-side to a song first recorded byThe Righteous Brothers called "Substitute", a track thought to have more potential for mainstream success by her record label. It became a worldwide hit forClout in 1978, instead. Disc jockeys began flipping the single over and eventually copies of the record were pressed with "I Will Survive" as the A-side ("Substitute" managed to peak at number 107 on Billboard'sBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart).The song was rated number nine on
George Carlin 's 10 Most Embarrassing Songs of All Time. [George Carlin, "The 10 Most Embarrassing Songs of All Time," "Napalm & Silly Putty" (New York: Comedy Concepts, Inc., 2001), 187.]It received the
Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the only year that the award was given. It is ranked #489 on the "Rolling Stone " magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The Song was also listed at #97 on "Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time." [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-00.shtml]After the success of fellow '70s stars
Sister Sledge 's remixed singles in theUK in 1993, this song was also released in a remixed form there in about June/July 1993. Also meriting success, this remix reached number five on theUK Singles Chart (while the original version had topped the chart in 1979), but was her only successful remix single in the UK.Promotional video
The video was filmed in 1979 in a New York discotheque called Xenon. Sheila Reid-Pender is the featured skater in the video from the skating group, The Village Wizards. They formed at The Village Skating Rink located in Greenwich Village which was the first rollerskating rink to open in Manhattan and was owned by Richard "Dick" Clammer. The still popular video can be seen on VH-1 and You Tube.
Cake version
Infobox Single |
Name = I Will Survive
Artist = Cake
from Album =Fashion Nugget
Format =CD single
Recorded = 1996
Genre =Alternative rock
Length =
Label = Capricorn
Writer =
Last single = "Ruby Sees All " (1995)
This single = "I Will Survive" (1996)
Next single = "The Distance" (1997)The
alternative rock band Cake covered the song in a rock style in 1996 on the album "Fashion Nugget ". This version was considered controversial because lead singer John McCrea altered the lyrics to be "I should have changed my fucking lock". Despite this, the track was released as the album's lead-off single. This is Gloria Gaynor's least favorite version of the song due to its use of profanity. [ [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/music/story/E91C22DD527945C4862573ED007A7C69?OpenDocument STLtoday - 'I Will Survive' is disco queen's mantra for hope ] ] .Track listing
# "I Will Survive"
Cake Music video
The music video for Cake's version features John McCrea as a parking control officer who is writing tickets in San Francisco, often at the expense of normally happy people (such as a newly wed couple). This is combined with footage of Todd Roper playing in the streets, Victor Damiani playing on top of a car, and Greg Brown playing in a crowded courtyard.
Chart positions
Cover versions
*
Dame Shirley Bassey produced a cover version for her album in 2007, "Get the Party Started". There is also a live version where she sings the song withAlbita ,Alicia Villareal ,Ana Gabriel ,Arturo Sandoval ,Gilberto Santa Rosa ,Gloria Estefan ,Johnny Pacheco ,José Alberto "El Canario ",José Feliciano ,Los Tri-O , Luis Enrique,Marc Anthony ,Milly Quezada ,Mickey Perfecto ,Olga Tañón ,Patti Labelle ,Rosario ,Paulina Rubio ,Tito Nieves , andVictor Manuelle .Fact|date=November 2007
*Crazy Frog did his version of the song in 2006.
* Régine sang the song in French in 1979 as "Je survivrai "
*Larusso sang the song in French in 2006 as "Je Survivrai"
*Ajda Pekkan sang it in Turkish with the title "Bambaşka Biri".
* R.E.M. recorded an acoustic version as part of the 1996 Fan Club Singles.
*Andrés Calamaro released his version of the song in 2001 and is included as a bonus track on the album "Lo mejor de Andrés Calamaro".
*Gladys Knight & The Pips added a live version to their 1980 album "Touch".
*Diana Ross covered the song for her 1995 album, "Take Me Higher ".
* In 1998Chile ansoap opera Marparaíso used this song as its main theme in a translated version named "Yo viviré."Fact|date=November 2007
*Tony Clifton (AKAAndy Kaufman ) made a guest appearance in "The Muppet Show" in 1982, and sang "I Will Survive" in his very particular Vegas style.Jim Carrey also performed the song as Kaufman in the film "Man on the Moon".
* Wilson, NC Metal act,Sodlayer , covered it in their very particularDeath metal style.
* Part of it was sunga cappella in "Men in Black II " by Frank the Pug.
* In the film "The Replacements", the football players being held in jail after a fight lighten their spirits by singing the song while performing a line dance, led byOrlando Jones ' character.
* Several lines of it are sung, although to a quite different tune, inThey Might Be Giants 's song "The Biggest One" (which can be found on the compilation "".)
* ThePuppini Sisters released an interesting 40s harmonizing version of the song in 2007 on their album "Betcha Bottom Dollar".
* Japanese pop artistRina Aiuchi covered the song on aGiza Studio compilation album.
* A Korean version is sung by Jin-Ju. Fact|date=November 2007
* There is a Russian version called "Ya budu zhitz" ("I will live") sung by International Stars.
* Czech singer Helena Vondráčková sings a version in Czech called "Ja Půjdu Dál" ("I will go on").Fact|date=November 2007
* Nils Landgren (trombone/vocals) covered the song on his album Sentimental Journey (2002)
* Latin SuperstarSelena opened her last concert, which took place at the Houston Astrodome, with this song.
*Hermes House Band released a cover version of the song in 1994 which made the band famous. Later the song was sold all over the world with more than 2.5 million sellings.
* Chicago R&B singerChantay Savage released a cover of the song for her similarly titled album, "I Will Survive (Doin' It My Way)" in 1995.
* Boston indie pop duo Action Camp recorded a version in a style they call "violent tango" on the 2008 internet-only release Cover Like Tan.
* Aretha Franklin never recorded "I Will Survive," which is a common misconception perpetuated by peer to peer file sharing programs.
*The Countdown Singers have covered the song, with their version considered by some to be "Unintentionally hilarious".
* TheTop of the Poppers covered the song on their popularThe Best of Top of the Pops '79 album.
*Robbie Williams 's singleSupreme samples the background score of this song.Parodies
One [http://files.filefront.com/I+Will+Survive+Darkspacemp3/;9035743;/fileinfo.html%22%20title=%22I-Will-Survive-Darkspace.mp3 parody] is based on the multiplayer online game,
Darkspace .The song was also part of a very popular internet video in 1999 when Victor Navone's "Alien Song" (http://www.navone.org) was passed around via email, and a similar parody was made by Javier Prato, titled "
Jesus Christ - The Musical " available at (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCvOW1rLA2E). The song was also parodied byJennifer Love Hewitt during her appearance on the "Rosie O'Donnell Show ", where she complained that O'Donnell did not see her movie "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer ".Filipino band
Parokya ni Edgar made a spoof of the song called "Picha Pie", which narrates the singer's obsession withpizza . Parts of the mostly Filipino song somewhat resemble the original lyrics.Luke Smith also created a parody also called "I Will Survive" in relation to the gameCounter-Strike where he talks about how he will survive the betrayal of his teammates and still end up wiping out the opposing team.The song was parodied in the British satirical puppet show
Spitting Image . It was sung by a puppet ofQueen Elizabeth II as 'One Will Survive'.Ron Woodruff, a.k.a Fangs of the Natural Selection [FFT] clan and PR manager of nsRadio, parodied the song to reflect the situation of a post-game, gorge class, alien player who has holed up in a vent with defense chambers after the last hive has been destroyed. Typically, destroying the last hive would result in all aliens losing health gradually until death, but the Defense Chambers provide healing to the hiding gorge, in effect, unnecessarily prolonging the game and causing general grief among other players.
In Brazil, the most famous parody is named "Vai Wilson Vai" (which means literally "Go Wilson Go"), performed by the band Velhas Virgens, that tells the story of a man that felt in love with a jokel. It was released in 2005.
In an
e-card made byAmerican Greetings , an animated turkey sings a parody version of the song, declaring that she will not be killed and eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. The video, introduced in 2005, quickly became American Greetings' most popular e-card ever, being viewed by approximately 30 million people. [Gray, Tim [http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3566501 "Will The ECard Turkey Survive?"]November 23 ,2005 . Retrieved onApril 29 ,2007 .] The e-card can no longer be found on the American Greetings website.Also there was a parody that talked about
Fidel Castro .Usage in Pop Culture
* The song was used in the movies "The Replacements", "
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ", "Men in Black II "I still know what you did last summer, and "Dr. Dolittle 2 ". It was also used in a humorous segment in the 1997 movie "In & Out ", in which the main character, a closeted homosexual, dances to it. It has also been used in "Meet The Spartans ".
* The song was featured in a third season episode of "Ally Mcbeal " entitled "I Will Survive" in which Ally is haunted by the song, sung by guest star Gloria Gaynor herself, in the wake of Billy's death.
* The song features on the advertisement for the reality show "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! ", where little animated insects dance to it. It is also featured in the dancing gameDancing Stage EuroMix , and a cover byAkira Yamaoka is onDance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 .
* The song is featured in the Karaoke GameSingstar Anthems , on PlayStation 2.
* In the movie "Jenseits der Stille" ("Beyond Silence ",Germany 1996, directed byCaroline Link ), a film that deals withdeafness , Tom signs the song to Lara.
* In the "Prom Night" episode of "That '70s Show ", Gloria Gaynor, playing the role of a music teacher, sings the song, whileFez disco dances.
* The UK HitITV Prison Drama "Bad Girls" used this song twice in the history of the show. The first time it was used was in the season finale for series one. The Inmates were singing after hearing of inmate Monica Lindsay release from prison. The second and last time was in the last series.
* On the television show "Will & Grace ", Will and Jack were on holiday with Grace and Karen. They walk into a bar and Will questions whether it's a gay bar. The bar is empty except for a burly bartender wiping down the bar. Will says to Jack, "Are you sure this is a gay bar?" The jukebox kicks on and begins to play "At first I was afraid, I was petrified..." Will and Jack assuredly step up to the counter.
* On "Living Single ", Khadijah performs the song to impress the deejay, while she and the rest of the gang are enjoying themselves in a club one night.
* On the television seriesSpecial Unit 2 , in the episode "The Wall," the normally stern and stoic Captain Page sings along to it during a private moment while playing it on his car stereo.
* The song is also sung by the character Valerie Cherish (played by Lisa Kudrow) in the HBO show "The Comeback"
* The song was used as a theme song for the World Cup Champion French Soccer Team in 1998.
*Alexis Stone Lopez performed the song twice on theFox Broadcasting Company Television showAmerican Idol season one.
* The song was also used in an episode of the television showMedium (season 2, episode 2).
*Tony Clifton performed this song in a 1982 episode ofThe Muppet Show ; his character also uses the song to close the film "Man On The Moon ".
* In the 2005 movie Chicken Little, while Chicken Little tries to get to the Meeting House, they drive a fire truck to both drive there and stop some of the aliens. While trying to get there, Runt of the Litter begins to sing this song.
* In theMr. Bean's Holiday trailer, whenMr. Bean tries to eatFrench food , the song is played.
* In the 2007 Turkish moviePolis , the song is played while the family ofMusa Rami dances at the picnic.
* In the 2007 movieGray Matters , the song is sung by Gloria Gaynor herself with Heather Graham andBridget Moynahan on stage in a Las Vegas casino called Gilroy's.
*In the Movie Meet the Spartans the song is sung twice, once in the beginning as the 13 Spartans are leaving Sparta and then again as a feature production right before the credits that has the cast singing it.
*In Delta Farce (2007), Danny Trejo, a Mexican bandidos master, parodistically sings the opening part of this song in their Karaoke weekend show.
*In the series finale of Queer as Folk (US Version), Michael refers to Ms. Gloria Gaynor's song in his final monologue, while dancing with Brian in Babylon.
*It is included in the video gameKaraoke Revolution Volume 2 .
*The song is sung by the character KD (played byPurab Kohli ) in the Indian Movie - Rock On!!, 2008.References
Nadine Hubbs, "‘I Will Survive’: musical mappings of queer social space in a disco anthem." "Popular Music", (2007), http://www.maniatv.com/video/I-Will-Survive26: 231-244
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