Gonna Fly Now (Theme From "Rocky") - 2006 - Remaster

"Gonna Fly Now" is perhaps the most inspirational, motivational song ever recorded. It soundtracks the training montage in the first Rocky movie as Sylvester Stallone runs through the streets of Philadelphia, does one-armed pushups, pounds a slab of beef, and does some impressive sit-ups. It ends with a classic shot of him running up the steps to the Philadelphia Art Museum and raising his arms in celebration. It's a classic scene, and it's inextricably entwined with the music. Rocky is an underdog story that itself overcame long odds to succeed. Stallone was scraping by as an actor when he wrote the screenplay, which he insisted on starring in himself. It was made for less than one million dollars but made over $200 million. It's also one of the most celebrated works in film history, an example of a movie with heart that succeeds on every level. The song quickly became iconic and grew its own roots outside of the film. Even if you haven't seen the movie, you know what the song represents.

Like the movie, the song was made on the cheap. It's the work of composer Bill Conti, who was paid $25,000 to score the film. The director, John Avildsen, asked him to provide about 90 seconds of music so he could edit the training scene together. Montages rely almost exclusively on music, so they serve as a guide for the visuals. After he started editing, Avildsen asked for another 30 seconds... and then another. The final scene ended up running 2:45, the equivalent of a full-length song. Conti recorded it, along with the rest of the score, in one three-hour session - he was being thrifty because he had to pay for the musicians and studio time out of his $25,000. Conti says he grossed $15,000, which was a huge payday for him. He went to Germany to work on his next project, and when he got back, the movie, which was released on December 3, 1976, was a hit. Conti worked out a deal to release "Gonna Fly Now" as a single and include it on a soundtrack album for the film. The song quickly climbed the charts and rose to #1 in the US on July 2, 1977, eight months after the movie hit theaters.

The song has lyrics, but not many - just 30 words total. Adding a lyric was the suggestion of director John Avildsen. The lyric was written by Conti's collaborators Carol Conners and Ayn Robbins. As Conners tells it, she was taking a shower when the words "gonna fly now" came into her head. She called Conti from the shower and said she knew what the words should be. Carol Conners (real name Annette Kleinbard) was the lead singer for The Teddy Bears, who had a major hit with "To Know Him Is To Love Him," written by Phil Spector specifically to showcase her singing voice. But Conners didn't sing on "Gonna Fly Now." That honor went to Conti's wife, Shelby Conti, and two of her friends: DeEtta West and Nelson Pigford. All three were working at the Los Angeles radio station KHJ when Bill called Shelby and asked if she could round up some co-workers and come by the studio to sing. She, West and Pigford came by on their lunch break and put down their vocals.