Stayin' Alive

Writing and recording

The executive producer of the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack and Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood 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 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 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 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". "We'd also written a song called 'Saturday Night'", Maurice explains, "But there were so many songs called 'Saturday Night' even one by the Bay City Rollers, so when we rewrote it for the movie, we called it 'Stayin' Alive'." Rather than insist the Bee Gees change "Stayin' Alive" to match the film's original title, Stigwood renamed the movie from "Saturday Night" to "Saturday Night Fever," connecting it to their song "Night Fever" instead.

Several words from Robin Gibb's Concorde 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 New York, and the lyrics actually say that". Barry Gibb reflects, "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".

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.

The track was finished at Criteria Studios, with Maurice Gibb laying down a bass line similar to the guitar riff, Barry Gibb and Alan Kendall on guitar riffs, and Blue Weaver 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 left the recording sessions early as his mother died. The shortage of qualified replacement 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", 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). 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 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 RSO Records requesting the song immediately after seeing trailers for Saturday Night Fever, 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's single, "Love Is Thicker Than Water", followed by the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" for their longest run, eight weeks. This was then replaced by Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You". Barry Gibb 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.

Initial plans were for Yvonne Elliman, 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. Satisfied with this switch, Elliman's interpretation made the soundtrack, while the Bee Gees' version was relegated to the B-side of the "Stayin' Alive" single. The brothers' version has since appeared on CD in hits compilations.

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

Critical reception

Billboard magazine reviewed the single, calling it one of the Bee Gees' best songs and an "almost irresistible dance tune." A reviewer from 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." Record World called it "a pulsing, rather ominous dance tune."

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song is of an entirely different concept from Saturday Night Fever. Filmed on MGM Studios' backlot #2 in Culver City, California, while the group was simultaneously filming the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the lot, the video featured Quality Street (a set that was used for such films as The Three Musketeers and Young Frankenstein) as well as the Grand Central Station set used in the films The Band Wagon and the opening of That's Entertainment! with Fred Astaire. 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 operated several lines from Grand Central Terminal in New York City during the 20th century until 1969.

Personnel

Credits.

• Barry Gibb – lead vocals, harmony vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar
• Robin Gibb – harmony vocals, background vocals
• Maurice Gibb – harmony vocals, background vocals, bass guitar
• Alan Kendall – lead guitar
• Blue Weaver – electric piano, string synth
• Bernard Lupe (Dennis Bryon) – drum loop
• Joe Lala – percussion

Track listing

• "Stayin' Alive" – 3:29
• "If I Can't Have You" – 3:25
• "More Than A Woman" - 3:29
• "Night Fever" - 3:32

1989 reissue

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

Use in medical training

"Stayin' Alive" is used to train people to provide the correct rate of chest compressions per minute while performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The song has around 103 beats per minute, and 100–120 chest compressions per minute are recommended for CPR. According to the BMJ, the song "doubles as a metronome for correct cardiac compression rate". Using the song has been found to improve memory retention for CPR skills during the months after training.

A study on canine CPR training for veterinarians found that using the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" as an auditory aid helped participants maintain an accurate chest compression rate better than no auditory aid, but that Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" or a traditional metronome was more effective.

The original idea has been attributed to Alson Inaba, a Hawaiian emergency medicine physician. The song was featured in an educational campaign by the American Heart Association, which included a video and a multi-city tour to promote CPR. The video featured actor and medical doctor Ken Jeong in the classic John Travolta outfit from Saturday Night Fever. Vinnie Jones starred in the British version of this CPR video in association with the British Heart Foundation shown on TV in January 2012. As any song with the correct tempo can be helpful, one hospital put together a Spotify playlist, including "Stayin' Alive" and dozens of other songs that have about 100 bpm."Hospital's Spotify playlist has the beats for CPR." 29 October 2018. Modern Healthcare. Vol. 48, issue 44.

The concept of using "Stayin' Alive" for CPR was parodied in the Season 5 episode of comedy series The Office "Stress Relief" and the song itself was used in a season 11 episode of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy in 2015. Misty Quigley from Yellowjackets also performs CPR to the beat of 'Stayin' Alive' on Crystal/Kristen in Season 2, episode 5, "Two Truths and a Lie," airing in 2023.

Accolades

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

• }}

N-Trance version

• Hip-hop
• disco
• Barry Gibb
• Robin Gibb
• Maurice Gibb
• Dale Longworth
• Kevin O'Toole
• Ricardo Lyte
• Dale Longworth
• Kevin O'Toole

In 1995, British electronic music group N-Trance recorded a dance version of "Stayin' Alive", with new lyrics and rapping by Ricardo da Force. This cover was released in September 1995 by All Around the World Productions as the third single from the group's debut album, Electronic Pleasure (1995). It reached number one on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart 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 peaking within the top five in several other countries. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Stayin' Alive" peaked at number three. The accompanying music video was directed by Alex De Rakoff, featuring the group performing at a disco.

Chart performance

N-Trance's cover of "Stayin' Alive" peaked at number one in Australia and on two Canadian charts: the RPM Dance chart and The Records singles chart. In Europe, it peaked at number one in Scotland and reached number two in Finland, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the single peaked during its first week on the UK Singles Chart, on 10 September 1995. It also reached number one on the RM UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart. It additionally entered the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it rose to number three.

Outside Europe, "Stayin' Alive" went to number three in New Zealand, number nine on the Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales chart in the United States, number 56 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart in Canada, and number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single earned a gold record in France and Germany, a silver record in the UK, a platinum record in New Zealand, and a double-platinum record in Australia.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "U.K. import enthusiasts are already aware of this jumpy rap interpretation of the Bee Gees 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 [sic], but he certainly has a rousing, infectious style that makes the track spark. Singer Kelly Llorenna injects some bright diva flash during the bridge and chorus." Writing for Dotmusic, James Masterton 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 complimented the group's "knack for ingenious disco updates". A reviewer from Music Week gave 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 from the Record Mirror Dance Update described the N-Trance cover as a "jiggly rolling 0–106.4bpm chugger" in his weekly dance column.

Music video

A humoristic music video was made for "Stayin' Alive", directed by British director Alex De Rakoff and produced by Spidercom Films. It features N-Trance performing the song at a 1970s disco. The video was A-listed on Dutch music television channel TMF and was a Box Top on British The Box for six weeks in October 1995. The following month, it was A-listed on Germany's VIVA and received active rotation on MTV Europe.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

"Stayin' Alive" (Serban mix)

• Robin Gibb
• Maurice Gibb

On 10 February 2017, Capitol Records released a new version of the song entitled "Stayin' Alive (Serban mix)". The song was mixed by Șerban Ghenea from "hi-resolution audio files" from the original recording session of "Stayin' Alive", and it was mastered by Tom Coyne. The single was released to mark the 40th anniversary of the Saturday Night Fever (1977) soundtrack.

Track listing

• Digital download

1. "Stayin' Alive" (Serban mix) – 4:57

Other media

Cornell Dupree covered "Stayin' Alive" in 1977. Greek singer Bessy Argyraki released a Greek language version of the song called "Pio Dynata" in the 1970's.

The song is used in the 1980 comedy film Airplane!. 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 sped the track up by 10% in the film, and had to get permission from the Gibb brothers to do so.

In 2019, a cover was performed by Lizzo was released as a stand-alone promotional single for the movie Happy Death Day 2U. The song plays throughout the first set of end credits before the post-credit scene.

In 2010, Kingsley and Perdomo released a country version of the song with a prominent banjo part playing the riff. It is featured on their album "Fake Smiles".

In the BBC show Sherlock, it is a ringtone of Jim Moriarty, 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 appeared on the soundtrack to the 2022 film, Bullet Train.

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