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Born to Be Alive (song)

1979 disco song by Patrick Hernandez

Summary

1979 disco song by Patrick Hernandez

FieldValue
nameBorn to Be Alive
coverBorn to be alive Patrick Hernandez French 12-inch single.png
captionFrench 12-inch vinyl single
typesingle
artistPatrick Hernandez
albumBorn to Be Alive
B-side"I Give You Rendez-Vous" (UK)
"Born to Be Alive (Instrumental)" (various European countries)
"It Comes So Easy" (Japan)
"Too Many People" (elsewhere)
releasedNovember 1978
genreDisco
length3:05 (European Single Version)
3:23 (Single version)
5:55 (Album Version)
7:28 (Extended Version)
labelAquarius (most European countries)
Gem (UK)
Philips (Japan)
Columbia/CBS (elsewhere)
writerPatrick Hernandez
producerJean Vanloo
misc
{{External music videoheaderAudio}}

| B-side = "I Give You Rendez-Vous" (UK) "Born to Be Alive (Instrumental)" (various European countries) "It Comes So Easy" (Japan) "Too Many People" (elsewhere) 3:23 (Single version) 5:55 (Album Version) 7:28 (Extended Version) Gem (UK) Philips (Japan) Columbia/CBS (elsewhere) "Born to Be Alive" is a song written by French singer Patrick Hernandez. It became a worldwide hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard National Disco Action chart in early 1979. The song achieved gold status in the United States, Brazil, Germany and Italy, platinum in Australia and Canada, and silver in the United Kingdom.

Charts

Weekly charts

Original version

Chart (1979)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)1
Denmark (IFPI)1
Finland5
France (IFOP)1
Italy (Musica e dischi)1
Mexico1
Portugal1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)6
Spain (AFE)1
US Billboard Hot 10016
US Billboard National Disco Action1
US Cash Box17
US Record World19

Born to Be Alive (re-mix '88)

Chart (1988)Peak
position

Year-end charts

Chart (1979)Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)4
Canada Top Singles (RPM)29
France (IFOP)1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)18
Netherlands (Single Top 100)33
US Billboard Hot 10070
US Top Audience Response Singles/LPs7
West Germany (Official German Charts)2

Certifications and sales

Cover versions and uses

Kelly Marie released a Hi-NRG interpretation of the song in 1986 but it failed to chart.

Disco Kings covered the song in 2005. Their version reached number seven in Finland, number 43 in France, number 66 in Austria and number 78 in Germany. A music video set to the song using footage from Adolf Hitler's many rallies and speeches became a viral hit on the Internet.

The song is featured on the intro of "Hockey Brings People Together" of the first season of the television series Shoresy during the warm-up brawl in the Bulldogs' tunnel.

Elisapie featured an Inuktitut language translation of the song, "Inuuniaravit," on her 2023 album Inuktitut.

The song is featured on an Amyl and The Sniffers 7" single from 2020.

Hernandez's "Reborn Version" is featured on Just Dance 2026 Edition.

References

References

  1. Adams, Bret. "Patrick Hernandez – Born to Be Alive". [[AllMusic]]. [[All Media Network]].
  2. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
  3. (27 October 1979). "Billboard – Hits of the World".
  4. (22 September 1979). "Billboard – Hits of the World".
  5. "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70's". InfoDisc.
  6. "Classifiche". [[Musica e dischi]].
  7. (29 September 1979). "Billboard – Hits of the World".
  8. (6 October 1979). "Billboard – Hits Of The World".
  9. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (H)". Rock.co.za.
  10. Salaverri, Fernando. (September 2005). "Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002". Fundación Autor-SGAE.
  11. "Born to Be Alive – Awards". [[AllMusic]]. [[All Media Network]].
  12. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 6, 1979".
  13. (29 September 1979). "Record World Singles".
  14. (31 December 1979). "National Top 100 Singles for 1979". [[Kent Music Report]].
  15. "Jahreshitparade 1979". Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien.
  16. "Jaaroverzichten 1979". [[Ultratop]]. Hung Medien.
  17. (22 December 1979). "1979 Top 200 Singles".
  18. "TOP – 1979". Top-france.fr.
  19. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1979". [[Dutch Top 40]].
  20. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1979". [[Single Top 100]]. Hung Medien.
  21. "Top 100 Hits for 1979". The Longbored Surfer.
  22. (22 December 1979). "Top Audience Response Singles/LPs".
  23. "Jahrescharts – 1979". Offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment Charts.
  24. (22 December 1979). "Hernandez Platinum for Australian Sales".
  25. Waack, William. (4 August 1979). "Agenda". [[Jornal do Brasil]].
  26. [[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique]] (SNEP). "TOP – 1979". 40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles.
  27. (8 December 1979). "West Germany - The Year in Review - Bellaphon".
  28. Barbiero, Ivano. (13 July 1979). "Sette giorni in discoteca". [[La Stampa]].
  29. (24 January 1981). "MIDEM: Important Fair - Dutch".
  30. (1986). "Kelly Marie – Born To Be Alive / Are You Ready For Love". Discogs.
  31. "Disco Kings – Born to Be Alive". Hung Medien.
  32. Rosenfeld, Gavriel D. (2005). "Hi Hitler!: How the Nazi Past is Being Normalized in Contemporary Culture". [[Cambridge University Press]].
  33. (3 September 2025). "Just Dance 2026 Edition - Born to Be Alive by Patrick Hernandez (Reborn Version) Aerobics Version". YouTube.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1978-songs 1978-singles 1988-singles disco-songs number-one-singles-in-australia number-one-singles-in-austria number-one-singles-in-belgium number-one-singles-in-denmark number-one-singles-in-france number-one-singles-in-germany number-one-singles-in-mexico number-one-singles-in-new-zealand number-one-singles-in-norway number-one-singles-in-spain number-one-singles-in-sweden rpm-top-singles-number-one-singles columbia-records-singles cbs-records-singles philips-records-singles
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