I Will Survive
"I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, Love Tracks (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. The song's lyrics describe the narrator's discovery of personal strength following an initially devastating breakup. The song is also frequently recalled as a symbol of female empowerment, as well as a disco staple.[2][3][4]
For other uses, see I Will Survive (disambiguation)."I Will Survive"
October 23, 1978
1978
Mom & Pop's Company Store, Los Angeles, California
4:56 (album version)
3:15 (single version)
8:01 (12" version)
- Freddie Perren
- Dino Fekaris
"I Will Survive" received heavy airplay in 1979. The single spent three non-consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also peaked atop the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart. It was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[5] It won Best Disco Recording at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards, and also received a nomination for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
In 2016, the Library of Congress deemed Gaynor's original recording to be "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry. In October 2023, Billboard ranked it among the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time".[6]
Releases[edit]
Although Gaynor was convinced that "I Will Survive" would be a hit and tried to persuade the label to release it as the A side, the label refused to entertain the idea and it was released as the B-side to "Substitute". Gaynor's husband took the song to the Studio 54 DJ Richie Kaczor, who loved it.[10] Gaynor gave Kaczor a stack of the records to give to his friends.[12] Other DJs in discos and radio stations soon followed and played that side of the record instead.[15] The popularity of "I Will Survive" led to the label releasing the song as an A side. To support the single, a video shot at Xenon Discotheque in New York was released. It featured a roller skater – Sheila Reid-Pender! from a local group called The Village Wizards – skate dancing on the dance floor.[11]
The original A side "Substitute" appeared on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart for four weeks starting October 14, 1978, peaking at No. 78.[16] It also appeared on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart for four weeks in October–November 1978, peaking at No. 107.[17] "I Will Survive" on the other hand performed significantly better; it entered the Billboard Hot 100 in December that year and reached No. 1 on the chart in March 1979. The song received the Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the only year the award was given.[18] In 2012, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[19]
Remixes[edit]
Following the success of fellow 1970s disco stars Sister Sledge with remixed singles in the UK in 1993, "I Will Survive" was also remixed and released that summer. This remix reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the UK Dance Singles Chart. It also peaked at number six in Ireland and number nine in Portugal. In 1999, a remix of the song charted in France, peaking at number 23. And in 2000, another remix reached number six in Spain. In November 2013, Gaynor released a gospel album entitled We Will Survive, which includes a new, updated remix of "I Will Survive" by DJ Shpank in both extended and radio edit formats. In 2018, a remix again charted in France, peaking at number 12.
Music video[edit]
A promotional video was filmed in 1979 at a New York discothèque called Xenon. It features Gaynor singing, interspersed with roller skating dance sequences performed by Sheila Reid-Pender of Harlem, a member of the skating group The Village Wizards.[11] Although three videos were filmed that day, the "I Will Survive" video was the only one to survive. Gaynor was not present during the taping of the roller skating segment of the video.
Gaynor and Pender met for the first time on July 7, 2014, in New York at the 92nd St. YMCA after Gaynor's lecture and promotional signing of her book We Will Survive.[20] In the book, Gaynor wrote, "I wanted everybody—including myself—to believe that we could survive."[20]
In 2022, the video was remastered in HD and officially uploaded to Gaynor's YouTube channel, obtaining over 4.5 million views in two months.[21]
Recorded by Gloria Gaynor
"I Will Survive"
March 1979
February 1979
Jack Clement Recording Studio
3:16
- Freddie Perren
- Dino Fekaris
"I Will Survive"
"Voice of the Heart"
April 14, 1996
1995
4:48
- Freddie Perren
- Dino Fekaris
1997
- 5:10
- 4:14 (radio edit)
- Freddie Perren
- Dino Fekaris
Cake
Other cover versions and samples[edit]
The Voice UK contestant Leah McFall performed the song on the first live show in the style of Chantay Savage. A studio recording of the performance was released and reached number three on UK iTunes.[158] The song debuted at number sixteen on the UK Singles Chart on June 9, 2013, and in the following week it reached number eight.[159]
The song's instrumental break has been sampled and interpolated in Robbie Williams' "Supreme" (2000)[160] and K-pop girl group Ive's "After Like" (2022).[161]
Madonna covered the song live during The Celebration Tour, which prompted a response from Gaynor who congratulated Madonna on the launch of her tour, wished her well after her mid-2023 health scare and commented tongue-in-cheek that she had "excellent taste in music".[162] On March 7th, 2024, Madonna was joined on stage in Los Angeles by Kylie Minogue, with the two performing the song as a duet.
The song has also been covered in a series of other languages. Greek singer Filippos Nikolaou included a version in Greek in his 1979 album, Όμορφες στιγμές (Beautiful moments).[163][164][165]
Filipino rock band, Parokya ni Edgar did a cover of this song in Tagalog titled Picha Pie
In popular culture[edit]
The song features prominently in the 2001 episode "I Will Survive", of the series Ally McBeal.[166] Gaynor makes uncredited appearances in a fictionalized version of herself throughout the episode, performing her song both as a hallucination – seen only by Ally McBeal – and as her real self, seen by all attending her performance at a club frequented in the show.[166]