Fly Like an Eagle (song)
| "Fly Like an Eagle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Steve Miller Band | ||||
| from the album Fly Like an Eagle | ||||
| Released | December 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, space rock | |||
| Length |
3:00 (single version) 4:42 (album version) | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Writer(s) | Steve Miller | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Miller | |||
| Steve Miller Band singles chronology | ||||
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"Fly Like an Eagle" is a song written by Steve Miller for the album of the same name.[1] The song went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of March 12, 1977, kept from the top spot by “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)” by Barbra Streisand. The single edit can be found on Greatest Hits (1974–1978). The song has an unusually mellow and "dreamy" feel. It is usually played in tandem with "Space Intro".
Background
An earlier 1973 version of the song features a more bluesy and less funk-inspired rhythm, and guitar taking the synthesizer parts (albeit with similar delay effects).[2] The lyrics are slightly different, indicating that the place the eagle wants to fly away from is a Native American reservation.
The main guitar hook in the song was first used in a slightly different form on Miller's 1969 track "My Dark Hour" (which featured Paul McCartney).
Seal version
| "Fly Like an Eagle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Seal | ||||
| from the album Space Jam soundtrack | ||||
| B-side | Instrumental | |||
| Released | November 21, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | September 1996 | |||
| Genre | R&B, space rock, funk rock, psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 4:14 | |||
| Label | ZTT, Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | Steve Miller | |||
| Producer(s) | Rashad "Ringo" Smith | |||
| Seal singles chronology | ||||
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British artist Seal covered "Fly Like an Eagle" for the Space Jam soundtrack, even sampling Miller's original "Space Intro" parts in the song's chorus. This version peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the Canadian RPM 100 Chart. The single was his first top ten since 1995's "Kiss from a Rose".
Weekly charts
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 13 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 79 |
Other cover versions
The song was sampled by Vanilla Ice for his single "Rollin' in My 5.0". Ice has performed "Fly Like an Eagle" as a guest performer during Steve Miller Band shows.
The Neville Brothers covered this song on their album Family Groove in 1992. Steve Miller played some guitar parts on this version.
Religious gospel singer Yolanda Adams covered the song and did the medley from More Than a Melody recorded in 1995.
Polvo covered the song live, introducing it with 'This is a song about blatant localism'.
In 1998, guitarist Ed Hamilton covered the song from his album Groovology.[4][5]
American nu metal band Limp Bizkit reference the song's hook on their song "Crushed", which featured on the soundtrack of the film End of Days.
City High sampled the song in their unreleased remix of the City High Anthem in 2002.
Phish covered the song at its New Year's Eve show in the early minutes of January 1, 2013.
Lord Finesse sampled this track.
A part of the vocals were sampled by Nate Dogg in Xzibit's song “Been a Long Time”.
Biz Markie samples the song in his 1986 hit, “Nobody Beats the Biz”.
Additional information
The song has also been used in advertisements by the United States Postal Service from 1998 to 2002, using the "Eagle" logo.
The song is featured as a playable song in Rock Band 3.[6]
In 2012, "Fly Like an Eagle" was chosen as "the best-ever song about birds" by Birds & Blooms magazine. "We’re not at all surprised by the popularity of Steve Miller's Fly Like An Eagle with our readers," said Birds & Blooms ' editor Stacy Tornio in a press release. "It’s an iconic song for the iconic American bird." Other notable songs on the Birds & Blooms list were Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and the Beatles' "Blackbird".[7] Osbourn High School (Manassas, Virginia) has used this song for their warning bell.
Similar synthesizer effects were used in weather warnings by WFLD. [8]
The Futurama episode "Time Keeps On Slippin'" comes from a line in the song.
References
- ↑ Steve Miller, Fast Focus interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auDvx3Xu4JY
- ↑ Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle, live 1973 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9G5BQc-G_Y
- ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1997". Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ↑ "Groovology overview". Allmusic.com.
- ↑ "Groovology Ed Hamilton". JazzTimes.com.
- ↑ http://ps3.ign.com/articles/111/1114861p1.html
- ↑ Steve Miller’s ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ Voted Best Song By Bird Lovers http://ultimateclassicrock.com/steve-miller-fly-like-an-eagle-voted-best-bird-song-by-bird-lovers/
- ↑ WFLD Channel 32 - Weather Alert (1978?) http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/#videoclip-4125
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