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"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky
Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. It tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa , an uneducated but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia....
, composed by Bill Conti
Bill Conti

Bill Conti is an Italian American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony....
 with lyrics by Carol Connors
Carol Connors (singer)

Carol Connors is a retired United States singer-songwriter....
 and Ayn Robbins
Ayn Robbins

Ayn Robbins is a lyricist. She is best known for co-writing with Carol Connors the lyrics for two Academy Awards and Grammy nominated songs, "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky and "Someone's Waiting for You" from The Rescuers ....
, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with the movie Rocky, the song became part of American popular culture
Culture of the United States

The development of the culture of the United States of America ? Music of the United States, Cinema of the United States, Dance of the United States, Architecture of the United States, Literature of the United States, Poetry of the United States, Cuisine of the United States and the Visual arts of the United States ? has been marked by a tens...
 after main character Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (character)

Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. is a fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky from 1976 to 2006. By the end of the series, he is a two-time former Heavyweight Champion of the World....
 completed his daily training regimen while the song played. The song finishes as Rocky completes his famous run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Rocky Steps

The Rocky Steps are the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name originates from their appearance in the film Rocky, and four of its sequels, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky V and Rocky Balboa , in which the eponymous character runs up the steps to the song "Gonna Fly Now"....
 and raises his arms in a victory pose.






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"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky
Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. It tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa , an uneducated but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia....
, composed by Bill Conti
Bill Conti

Bill Conti is an Italian American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony....
 with lyrics by Carol Connors
Carol Connors (singer)

Carol Connors is a retired United States singer-songwriter....
 and Ayn Robbins
Ayn Robbins

Ayn Robbins is a lyricist. She is best known for co-writing with Carol Connors the lyrics for two Academy Awards and Grammy nominated songs, "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky and "Someone's Waiting for You" from The Rescuers ....
, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford. Released in 1976 with the movie Rocky, the song became part of American popular culture
Culture of the United States

The development of the culture of the United States of America ? Music of the United States, Cinema of the United States, Dance of the United States, Architecture of the United States, Literature of the United States, Poetry of the United States, Cuisine of the United States and the Visual arts of the United States ? has been marked by a tens...
 after main character Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (character)

Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. is a fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky from 1976 to 2006. By the end of the series, he is a two-time former Heavyweight Champion of the World....
 completed his daily training regimen while the song played. The song finishes as Rocky completes his famous run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Rocky Steps

The Rocky Steps are the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name originates from their appearance in the film Rocky, and four of its sequels, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky V and Rocky Balboa , in which the eponymous character runs up the steps to the song "Gonna Fly Now"....
 and raises his arms in a victory pose. The song is also often played at sporting events, especially at sporting events in the city of Philadelphia or featuring sports teams from there.

The song (whose lyrics have a total count of 30 words) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in the 49th Academy Awards
49th Academy Awards

The 49th Academy Awards were presented March 28, 1977 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Richard Pryor, Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn, and Warren Beatty....
. The version of the song from the movie, performed by Conti with an orchestra, hit number one on the Billboard
Billboard

Billboard is a weekly United States magazine devoted to the music industry. It maintains several internationally recognized Record chart that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis....
 Hot 100 chart in 1977, while a version by jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson hit the top 30. Disco
Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music that originated in and was initially popular among African American, gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans communities in the United States in the late 1960s....
 versions by Rhythm Heritage
Rhythm Heritage

Rhythm Heritage was a 1970s United States disco-funk Musical ensemble, best known for their 1976 United States #1 single "Theme from S.W.A.T. " They also recorded theme music for several other American Broadcasting Company television shows, including "Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow" from Baretta ....
 and Current
Current

Current may refer to:* Current affairs* Electric current* Current ** Ocean current* Current , geometrical current in differential topology...
 were on the chart at the same time. Conti's single was certified gold by the RIAA.

In Rocky II
Rocky II

Rocky II is the 1979 in film sequel to Rocky, a motion picture in which an unknown boxing had been given a chance to go the distance with the World Heavyweight Champion....
, an alternate version of the song was used, with a children's choir singing the chorus.

in Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (film)

Rocky Balboa is a 2006 in film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone who also stars as underdog Boxing Rocky Balboa. It is the sixth and final film in the Rocky , which began with the Oscar-winning Rocky thirty years earlier in 1976....
, a slightly alternate version of the song used more trumpets and different vocal tones.

For the soundtrack to the sixth film in the series, Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (film)

Rocky Balboa is a 2006 in film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone who also stars as underdog Boxing Rocky Balboa. It is the sixth and final film in the Rocky , which began with the Oscar-winning Rocky thirty years earlier in 1976....
 (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
    Walter Mondale

    Walter Frederick Mondale is an Politics of the United States and member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He was the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States under President of the United States Jimmy Carter, a two-term United States Senate from Minnesota, and the very unsuccessful Democ...
     used this as his campaign song
    Campaign song

    Campaign songs are partisan ditties used in American political canvasses and more especially in presidential contests. The words were commonly set to established melodies like "Yankee Doodle," "Hail, Columbia," "Rosin the Bow," "Hail to the Chief" "John Brown's Body," "Dixie" and "O Tannenbaum" ; or to tunes widely popular at the time, such a...
     in 1984.


  • Toronto
    Toronto

    Toronto is the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population in Canada and the Provinces and territories of Canada Provincial and territorial capitals of Canada of Ontario....
    's Citytv
    CITY-TV

    CITY-TV is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, owned and operated by Rogers Media. It is the flagship station of the Citytv television system....
     used Canadian
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
     Maynard Ferguson's version of the theme for its CityPulse
    CityNews

    CityNews are local newscasts on the Citytv system in CKEM-TV Edmonton, CKAL-TV Calgary, and, most notably, CITY-TV Toronto....
     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
    Fighting Talk

    Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English association football season. Its first series aired in October 2003, and was presented by Johnny Vaughan....
    .


  • Canadian singer Esthero
    Esthero

    Esthero is a Canada singer-songwriter who hails originally from Toronto, Ontario, but has recently moved to Los Angeles. The name Esthero, es-TAIR-oh, refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer, Doc ....
     sampled the music for track Dragonfly's Outro on her album Wikked Lil' Grrrls
    Wikked Lil' Grrrls

    Wikked Lil' Grrrls is Canadian singer Esthero's second album, her first full-length in seven years....
    .


  • Finnish
    Finland

    Finland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic countries situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland....
     Elite league
    SM-liiga

    The SM-liiga is the top Professional sports ice hockey List of professional sports leagues in Finland, and generally regarded as one of the top leagues in Europe....
     ice hockey
    Ice hockey

    Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team sport played on ice. It is a fast paced and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover such as Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia and Russia, though with the advent of indoor artificial ice r...
     team Jokerit
    Jokerit

    Jokerit is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They play in Helsinki, Finland at the Hartwall Areena. The team has won 6 league championships ....
    , from Helsinki
    Helsinki

    Helsinki is the Capital and largest List of cities and towns in Finland of Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea....
    , have chosen to play the song whenever they score a goal on their home ice, at the Hartwall Areena
    Hartwall Areena

    Hartwall Areena is a large multifunctional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. The arena Naming rights from its largest sponsor, the beverage company Hartwall, based in Helsinki....
    .


  • In Crouching Ninja Hidden Teddy, the 2005 short film by British film company Splats, this song is played when Steve Gibbs delivers the Ninjas into the school.


  • At the beginning of every Philadelphia Eagles
    Philadelphia Eagles

    The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. They are members of the NFC East of the National Football Conference in the National Football League ....
     home game at Lincoln Financial Field
    Lincoln Financial Field

    Lincoln Financial Field, familiarly known as "The Linc", is the home stadium of the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles. It has a seating capacity of 68,532 ....
    , a video montage of Gonna Fly Now is shown on the Jumbotron
    Jumbotron

    A JumboTron is a large-screen television using large-screen television technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close up shots of the event....
     screen. It is composed of clips of the Rocky series and clips of the team's stars from past games.


  • On an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
    The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

    The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an Emmy-nominated American television situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996....
    , lead character Will Smith
    Will Smith

    Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an United Statesn actor, film producer and rapping. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film....
     trains to defeat a childhood bully. Scenes of his training are shown with this song playing, including a similar scene of Will running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.