‘Rocky’ Theme ‘Gonna Fly Now’ at 50: ‘Never Giving Up Is the Message’
Billboard ·
Says cowriter Carol Connors of the Hot 100 No. 1 hit, “To me, Rocky could do anything, even fly.”
As the Rocky franchise of films — the original, five Rocky sequels and three Creed movies — has resonated with moviegoers for a half-century, so has its theme song.
Fifty years ago , Rocky , about the ascent of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, brought to life by Sylvester Stallone, was released. Made on a shoestring budget of $980,000 — minuscule by blockbuster film standards, even in 1976 — and shot over 28 days via a manuscript written in longhand by Stallone in three-and-a-half days, it went on to win Oscars for best picture, best director (John Alvidsen) and best editing.
Likewise, its anthem, “Gonna Fly Now,” knocked out all competition to top the Billboard Hot 100 dated July 2, 1977 .
Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins cowrote its lyrics; Bill Conti was the composer.
The song is packing a punch again thanks to the new movie I Play Rocky , which revisits the making of the original Rocky . (On Sept. 29, the three-song Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Rocky was released, featuring a new orchestral version of “Gonna Fly Now.”)
Anthony Ippolito plays Stallone in I Play Rocky , directed by Peter Farrelly. The Amazon MGM Studios film, whose title reflects Stallone’s gloves-off insistence that he star in Rocky , premiered Sept. 12 at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of its limited release in the United States Friday (Nov. 6) and in theaters nationwide Nov. 20.
To borrow from a phrase related to the sport, I Play Rocky could be a contender — for its own best picture award, as it has been widely thumbs-upped by critics.
“Ayn Robbins and I went to see the rough cuts of a little film they called Rocky , hoping to see if there was the possibility of a theme song we could write. There was, but it took a while to find the lyrics ,” Connors, 84, tells Billboard about the origin of “Gonna Fly Now.”
“Suddenly one day when I was in the shower, I could see the whole film, especially with Rocky in training, drinking the eggs and running through the streets,” she says. “I knew what the film was about, I knew what the song was about and what the song should say. I had the words ‘gonna fly now,’ because, to me, Rocky could do anything, even fly.
“I was ecstatic,” Connors remembers. “I called Bill Conti and told him I had the lyrics. He heard the water running and asked me, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘In the shower.’ He says, ‘Are you with somebody?’ I said, ‘Bill, if I was with somebody, would I be calling you?’ He says, ‘No, but you better give me the lyrics before you electrocute yourself.’
“Because of the original Rocky ’s limited budget, with just $18,000 bankrolled for music, Annie [Robbins] and I were paid only $500 each, and Conti $2,000, for ‘Gonna Fly Now,’ ” Connors notes. “That, however, was up-front money. With Rocky turning into a worldwide box office smash, those of us involved in the movie made out very well on the back end.”
The song also marked the first in a string of hit songs from Rocky films. Rocky III yielded another Hot 100 No. 1: Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” which dominated for six weeks in 1982. In 1986, the band reached No. 2 with “Burning Heart,” from Rocky IV , which additionally spun off James Brown’s classic “Living in America” (No. 4) and Robert Tepper’s “No Easy Way Out” (No. 22).
The Hot 100 coronation of “Gonna Fly Now” marked Connors’ second — she first reigned as lead singer of The Teddy Bears, whose beloved ballad “To Know Him Is To Love Him” led for three weeks in December 1958. (Connors was born Annette Keinbard; in the early ‘60s, she changed her name to avoid confusion with Annette Funicello, of Mouseketeer fame .) She also co-wrote “Hey Little Cobra,” which The Rip Chords rode to No. 4 in 1964. (In its second week at its peak, it was outpaced only by The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” and Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.”)
Connors says that Rocky ’s commercial success couldn’t have been expected, with Stallone then yet to become widely known. Powered by its inspiring narrative, “It has taken on this incredible fabric of Americana like Paul Bunyan or Davy Crockett,” she marvels. “I don’t mean to put myself in those categories, or to put Rocky in those categories, [but] it has become part of urban legend.
“I don’t think even Sly realized the enormity that this film has, not just here in America but around the world. Hope, courage, never giving up is the message.”
Jonathan Koch is among those who received it. In 2015, then 49, he was an entertainment executive who suddenly contracted an illness that was at first unidentifiable to doctors, who even told him that he had hours to live. He had seen the original Rocky with his father at a drive-in theater when he was 11 and remembered its lessons about resilience. During his health battles, he listened to “Gonna Fly Now” repeatedly.
Eventually diagnosed with a condition related to blood flow receding from his extremities, Koch had his left hand and the lower part of his right leg amputated. He subsequently received a hand transplant and is now enjoying a new career as a motivational speaker . (In Rocky fashion, his exercise regimen includes jumping rope.)
Meanwhile, with the help of prosthetics, Koch is set to proudly walk his daughter down the aisle at her upcoming wedding.
“It’s about a boxer,” Connors says, “but the film isn’t about boxing. The match takes place in a ring, but the film is about going the distance and following your dream.”