"Stayin' Alive" is a song written and performed by the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era i ...

from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack. The song was released in 1977 as the second single from the ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brookl ...

'' soundtrack. The band co-produced the song with

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. He has numerous inventions and has produced 18 ...

and Karl Richardson. It is one of the Bee Gees'

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

s. In 2004, "Stayin' Alive" was placed at No. 189 on the list of

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. The 2021 updated Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Songs placed "Stayin' Alive" at No. 99. In 2004, it ranked No. 9 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In a UK television poll on ITV in December 2011 it was voted fifth in "'' The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song''". On its release, "Stayin' Alive" climbed the charts to hit the number one spot on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the week of 4 February 1978, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. Consequently, it became one of the band's most recognisable tunes, partly because it appeared in the opening credits of ''

''. In the United States, it would become the second of six consecutive number-one singles, tying the record with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

for most consecutive number ones in the United States at the time (a record broken by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

who achieved seven consecutive number-ones).

Writing and recording

The

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

of the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack and Bee Gees manager

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions like '' Hair' ...

asked the band to write a few songs for the soundtrack. At this point, the film was in early stages and it did not have a title; in fact, all Stigwood had to go on was a ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' cover story about discomania. They wrote "Stayin' Alive" over the course of a few days while sprawled on the staircase at the

Château d'Hérouville The Château d'Hérouville is a French 18th century château located in the village of Hérouville, in the Val d'Oise département of France, near Paris. The château was built in 1740 by "Gaudot", an architect of the school of Rome, from the r ...

studio near Paris. As with many other artists during the 1970s, the Bee Gees recorded most of the soundtrack in France for tax reasons.

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several m ...

wanted the song to share the then-title of the film, "Saturday Night", but the Bee Gees refused a title change, insisting that there had been too many songs with "Saturday" in the title, and the album already had a song with the word "night" in the title—"Night Fever". Rather than change the name of the former song to match the film, Stigwood expanded the name of the film to encompass the title of the latter song. Over the years, the brothers have had mixed feelings about the song, admitting it brought them tremendous fame but conversely branded them as a disco act, despite a long and varied career before and after. Several words from

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his o ...

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and t ...

ticket inspired the Gibbs to write the lyrics for "Stayin' Alive". Robin recalls, "The subject matter of 'Stayin' Alive' is actually quite a serious one; It's about survival in the streets of

, and the lyrics actually say that". Barry Gibb also recalls, "People crying out for help. Desperate songs. Those are the ones that become giants. The minute you capture that on record, it's gold. 'Stayin' Alive' is the epitome of that. Everybody struggles against the world, fighting all the bullshit and things that can drag you down. And it really is a victory just to survive. But when you climb back on top and win bigger than ever before, well that's something everybody reacts to everybody". "We'd also written a song called 'Saturday Night'", Maurice explains, "But there were so many songs called 'Saturday Night' even

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

by the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...

, so when we rewrote it for the movie, we called it 'Stayin' Alive'. The track was finished at

Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...

, with

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lea ...

laying down a bass line similar to the guitar riff, Barry Gibb and

Alan Kendall Alan Kendall (born 9 September 1944) is an English musician and was the lead guitarist for the Bee Gees, in an unofficial capacity from 1971 until 1980, and again from 1987 until 2001. Career His first recording was "Don't Play That Song (You ...

on guitar riffs, and

Blue Weaver Derek John "Blue" Weaver (born 11 March 1947) is a Welsh rock keyboardist, session musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Weaver's career as a musician began as a co-founding member of 1960s Welsh rock band Amen Corner and its succ ...

adding synthesizers. The Boneroo Horns parts were added. Barry sings falsetto on the whole song, except on the line "life's going nowhere, somebody help me". The band's drummer

Dennis Bryon Dennis Bryon (born 14 April 1949 in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh rock drummer from Cardiff, best known for his work with the Bee Gees from 1974 to 1979. He also worked with Amen Corner and co-produced Robin Gibb's 1983 album, '' How Old Are You?' ...

left the recording sessions early due to the death of his mother, and the group first looked for a replacement. The shortage of qualified drummers in the area prompted the group to try a drum machine, but it did not offer satisfactory results. After listening to the drum track of the already-recorded "

Night Fever "Night Fever" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to ''Saturday Night Fever'' on RSO Records. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film ''Saturday Night'', but singer Robin Gibb expressed ...

", the group and producer Albhy Galuten took two bars from that track, rerecorded them as a recurrent loop on a separate tape (creating the song's constant rhythm), and proceeded with sessions for "Stayin' Alive". The group jokingly listed the drummer as "Bernard Lupe" (a takeoff on session drummer

Bernard Purdie Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer, and an influential R&B, soul and funk musician. He is known for his precise musical time keeping and his signature use of triplets against a half-time backbeat: the "Purdi ...

). Lupe became a highly sought-after drummer—until it was discovered that he did not exist. Albhy Galuten talks about the recording of "Stayin' Alive": In their work together, Gibb and Galuten had tried playing with a

click track A click track is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, sometimes for synchronization to a moving image. The click track originated in early sound movies, where optical marks were made on the film to indicate precise timi ...

as Galuten explained:

Release

The song was not initially scheduled for release, with " How Deep Is Your Love" selected as lead single, but fans called radio stations and

requesting the song immediately after seeing trailers for ''

'', featuring the track over the aforementioned introductory scene. The single was eventually released in mid-December, a month after the album, and moved to the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States in February, where it stayed for four weeks. Soon after, it slid to number two, near the third hit from the album, "Night Fever". In the United Kingdom, "Stayin' Alive" was not as popular as it was in the United States, but was still a hit, reaching number four. Further demonstrating the Bee Gees' US chart domination in 1978, "Stayin' Alive" was replaced at number one with the group's younger brother

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through th ...

's single, "

Love Is Thicker Than Water Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love ...

", followed by the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" for their longest run, eight weeks. This was then replaced by

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

's " If I Can't Have You".

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

had a hand in writing all four of these songs, becoming the only person in history to write four successive US number-one singles. Besides the version that appeared on the soundtrack album (4:43 in length) and the edited 45RPM single for Top 40 radio release (3:29), there was yet another version, from the same recording session but of a slightly different mix, that was distributed on twelve-inch vinyl to club DJs and radio stations that specialised in airing longer versions of hit songs. This "Special Disco Version" featured all the same parts as the album version but had a horn rhythm section interjected twice. Although twelve-inch disco mixes were usually sped up, this version was slowed down slightly. It is the longest version of "Stayin' Alive" ever made, and faded at 6:59. It was finally released on CD in 2007 by Reprise on an expanded and remastered version of ''

Bee Gees Greatest ''Bee Gees Greatest'' is a greatest hits album by British pop group Bee Gees. Released by RSO Records in October 1979, the album is a retrospective of the group's material from 1975 to 1979. A remastered and expanded version of the album was re ...

''. Initial plans were for

, then known for ballads, to record " How Deep Is Your Love" for ''Saturday Night Fever'', while the Bee Gees produced their own version of the more disco-oriented "If I Can't Have You" for the film. Robert Stigwood thought he would prefer the songs from different genders and directed the group to cut the ballad, while Elliman cut "If I Can't Have You" with her usual producer

Freddie Perren Frederick James Perren (May 15, 1943 – December 16, 2004) was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor. He co-wrote and co-produced songs including " Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Ga ...

. Satisfied with this switch, Elliman's interpretation made the soundtrack, while the Bee Gees' version was relegated to the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the "Stayin' Alive" single. The brothers' version has since appeared on CD in hits compilations.

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

commented about this song saying: "The great thing about 'Stayin' Alive' is that it had a great

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

hook to start with which set up the theme, that pulsating beat. It's no coincidence, by the way, that the disco beat of 120 beats per minute coincides the heartbeat of your heart when you're excited. This was a key thing which underlined the whole tune, and when the vocals came in, the vocals were so designed that they pushed that beat further". ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' reviewed the single calling it one of the Bee Gees best songs and an "almost irresistible dance tune." '' Cash Box'' said that it "combines catchy melodies, falsetto harmonies and a dancing beat in a package that will lead to big pop and R&B chart numbers."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for the song is of an entirely different concept from ''Saturday Night Fever''. Filmed on

MGM Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

' backlot #2 in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

, while the group was simultaneously filming the movie ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

'' on the lot, the video featured Quality Street (a set that was used for such films as ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' and ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victo ...

'') as well as the Grand Central Station set used in the films ''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway theatre, Broadway show will ...

'' and the opening of ''

That's Entertainment! ''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and a ...

'' with

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

. As the group walks past one of the railway cars in the video, the words "New York Central" can be seen printed on the side of the train above a passenger window. The MGM art directors added this bit of authenticity because the actual

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

operated several lines from

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern termi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

during the 20th century until 1969.

Personnel

Credits. *

–

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

vocals,

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

– lead and harmony vocals *

– harmony and backing vocals,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

– keyboards *

(Bernard Lupe) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Joe Lala Joseph Anthony Lala (November 3, 1947 – March 18, 2014) was an American musician and actor. In 1966, he co-founded the rock band Blues Image. Life and career Lala was born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, to parents from Contessa Entellina ( ...

–

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfi ...

Track listing

*"Stayin' Alive" – 3:29 *"If I Can't Have You" – 3:25

1989 reissue

*"Stayin' Alive" - 4:45 *"Subway" – 4:20 *"Love So Right" – 3:33

Use in CPR training

"Stayin' Alive" was used in a study to train medical professionals to provide the correct number of chest compressions per minute while performing

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

. The song has around 103

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

, and 100–120 chest compressions per minute are recommended by the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

and endorsed by the

Resuscitation Council (UK) Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) is a healthcare charity focused on resuscitation education and training for healthcare professionals and bystander CPR awareness for the public. It is the United Kingdom body responsible for setting central standards ...

. A study on medical professionals found that the quality of CPR is better when thinking about "Stayin' Alive". This was parodied in the Season 5 episode of comedy series ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'' "

Stress Relief In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a type of psychological pain. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and reaction to the environment. Excess ...

" and the song itself was used in a season 11 episode of the medical drama ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into ...

'' in 2015. On 15 June 2011, the song was featured in a Hands Only CPR PSA campaign video from the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

and featured actor and medical doctor

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

in the classic

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...

outfit from ''

''.

Vinnie Jones Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is a British actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Ch ...

starred in the British version of this CPR video in association with the

shown on TV in January 2012.

Accolades

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

N-Trance version

In 1995, British electronic music group

N-Trance N-Trance () are a British electronic music group who were formed by Kevin O'Toole and Dale Longworth in 1991. The group is known for their European hit songs " Set You Free" and " Electronic Pleasure", and their covers of the 1970s disco songs ...

recorded a dance version of the song, with new lyrics and rapping by

Ricardo da Force Jervis Ricardo Alfonso Lyte (30 April 1967 – 8 March 2013), known professionally as Ricardo da Force, was an English vocalist, rapper, and DJ, most notable for contributing vocals to house and dance music tracks of The KLF and N-Trance. He got ...

. This cover was released as the third single from the group's debut album, ''

Electronic Pleasure ''Electronic Pleasure'' is the first full-length studio album released by British electronic music group N-Trance. It was released in November 1995 and the U.S. on 1996. Critical reception ''Music & Media'' wrote, "The album of this group, bas ...

'' (1995). It reached number one on Australia's

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

and Canada's ''RPM'' Dance/Urban chart. The song was also a major hit in Europe, reaching number two in Finland, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and reached the top 5 in several other countries. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, "Stayin' Alive '95" peaked at number three.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' commented, "U.K. import enthusiasts are already aware of this jumpy

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

interpretation of the

disco classic. Early radio reaction holds promise for a quick and successful ride up the Hot 100. There is not a whole lot of substance in TLK's rap ic but he certainly has a rousing, infectious style that makes the track spark. Singer

Kelly Llorenna Kelly Llorenna (born 1975) is an English dance music singer, who was born in Slough, Berkshire and raised in Oldham, Greater Manchester. She is best known as the former lead vocalist for the dance group N-Trance in the 1990s. Their biggest hi ...

injects some bright diva flash during the bridge and chorus."

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air a ...

for

Dotmusic ''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...

stated that N-Trance "take the song into a whole new dimension". He added, "This is no ordinary cover, this is a fantastic reinterpretation that only the bold would bet against being Number One next week." Ross Jones from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' complimented the group's "knack for ingenious disco updates". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song three out of five, saying that rapper da Force "takes the mic for this radical reworking of the Bee Gees classic which isn't Euro enough to grab the same audience as their recent international hit Set You Free".

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland * James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman * James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), S ...

from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update described it as a "jiggly rolling 0-106.4bpm chugger".

Chart performance

N-Trance's cover of "Stayin' Alive" peaked at number one in Australia and on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimension ...

'' Dance/Urban chart in Canada. In Europe, it peaked at number one in Scotland and reached number two in Finland, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK. In the latter nation, the single peaked during its first week on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, on September 10, 1995. It also reached number-one on the '' RM'' UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart. It additionally made it to the top 10 also in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, as well as on the

, where it rose to number three. Outside Europe, "Stayin' Alive '95" went to number three in New Zealand, number nine on the ''

Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...

in the United States, number 56 on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart in Canada, and number 62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The single earned a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

in France and Germany, a silver record in the UK, a platinum record in New Zealand, and a double-platinum record in Australia.

Music videos

was made for "Stayin Alive '95", directed by British director

Alex De Rakoff Alex De Rakoff (born 13 November 1970) is a British writer, producer, and director. Personal life In April 2005, he married American actress Monet Mazur. Together, they have two children. As of July 2018, the couple have filed for divorce. Fil ...

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Stayin' Alive (Serban Mix)

On 10 February 2017,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

released a new version of the song entitled "Stayin' Alive" (Serban mix). The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea from "hi-resolution audio files" from the original recording session of "Stayin' Alive", and it was mastered by

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

. The single was released in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977) soundtrack.

Track listing

*Digital download #"Stayin' Alive (Serban mix)" – 4:57

Other media

The song is used in the 1980 comedy film ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison (film prod ...

''. During a bar-room fight, the song accidentally starts playing on a jukebox, turning the scene into a parody of ''Saturday Night Fever''.

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) were an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker who specialized in writing slapstick comedy films during the 1980s. History David Zucker, ...

sped the track up by 10% in the film, and had to get permission from the Gibb brothers to do so. In the BBC show '' Sherlock'', as a ringtone of

Jim Moriarty James Moriarty (born 20 June 1953) is a New Zealand actor and theatre director, who began acting professionally in 1967. He came to national attention and is probably best known for his role as the school teacher Riki Winiata in the 1970s soap ...

, in its series two premiere on New Year's Day, 2012. It is also heard in the series two finale, when Moriarty tells Sherlock that their final problem is 'Stayin' Alive', whilst playing the song on his phone. A Japanese-language cover version by

Avu-chan is a Japanese musician, who debuted as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the band Queen Bee in 2009, and the band Gokumontō Ikka in 2015. As a producer and songwriter, Avu-chan uses the name , and has written songs for Meg, Rina Satō, Ai S ...

appeared on the soundtrack to the ''

Bullet Train Bullet train may refer to: Rail * Shinkansen high-speed trains of Japan, nicknamed for their appearance and speed * Other high-speed trains of a similar appearance to Japanese trains * An ongoing project to build high-speed rail in India. Rail to ...

'' 2022 film.

References

External links

Bee Gees Stayin' Alive FansiteStayin' Alive – The Story Behind the Song at ''Wow-Vinyl''
{{Authority control 1977 songs 1977 singles 1978 singles 1995 singles Bee Gees songs British disco songs All Around the World Productions singles Capitol Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices Jo Stafford songs Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers N-Trance songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Mexico Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in New Zealand RPM Top Singles number-one singles RSO Records singles Song recordings produced by Albhy Galuten Songs from Saturday Night Fever Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Songs written for films Film theme songs

Writing and recording

Release

Music video

Personnel

Track listing

1989 reissue

Use in CPR training

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

N-Trance version

Critical reception

Chart performance

Music videos

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Stayin' Alive (Serban Mix)

Track listing

Other media

See also

References

External links