The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 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 hit the top 30. Disco versions by Rhythm Heritage and Current were on the chart at the same time. Conti's single was certified gold by the RIAA.
In Rocky II, an alternate version of the song was used, with a children's choir singing the chorus.
For the soundtrack to the sixth film in the series, Rocky Balboa (2006) Natalie Wilde performed a vocal remix on the album.
Use in media
Due to its original use, the song 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 Walter Mondale used this as his campaign song in 1984.
- Toronto's Citytv used Canadian Maynard Ferguson's version of the theme for its CityPulse newscasts throughout the 1980s, but had phased out "Gonna Fly Now" entirely by the 2000s (a variant is still used by its cable news outlet, CP24). A few other local television stations in the United States had also used Ferguson's arrangement of the theme on their newscasts in the past.
- "Gonna Fly Now" is also used as closing music on BBC Radio Five Live's sports panel show Fighting Talk.
- Canadian singer Esthero sampled the music for track Dragonfly's Outro on her album Wikked Lil' Grrrls.
- Finnish Elite league ice hockey team Jokerit, from Helsinki, have chosen to play the song whenever they score a goal on their home ice, at the Hartwall Areena.
References
- Gonna Fly Now. "Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)". .
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Last updated on Saturday July 05, 2008 at 19:25:01 PDT (GMT -0700)
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