"I Will Survive" is a song sung by American artist Gloria Gaynor. It was released in October 1978 by Polydor Records as the second single from her sixth album, Love Tracks (1978). The song was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. Its lyrics describe the narrator finding strength after a difficult breakup. The song is often considered an anthem for gay empowerment and is a well-known example of disco music.

The song was played frequently on the radio in 1979. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three separate weeks and also reached the top of the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart. It was later given a Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song won the Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards and was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It is one of the best-selling singles in history, with over 15 million copies sold worldwide.

In 2016, the Library of Congress recognized Gaynor's original recording as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and added it to the National Recording Registry. In 2023 and 2025, Billboard magazine listed "I Will Survive" among the best pop and dance songs of all time.

Composition and recording

According to Dino Fekaris, the main writer of the song "I Will Survive," the song began because of his experience being fired by Motown Records in the mid-1970s after working there as a staff writer for seven years. Without a job, he turned on the TV in his room, and he saw a theme song he had written for the film Generation (performed by Rare Earth) playing. He saw this as a good sign and jumped on his bed, saying, "I'm going to make it. I'm going to be a songwriter. I will survive!" Fekaris worked with his collaborator, Freddie Perren, another former Motown employee, to write the song. However, the song was not recorded for two years because no singer was found who could perform it well.

In 1978, Perren was asked by Polydor to produce "Substitute" for Gloria Gaynor. He agreed on the condition that he could also produce the B-side. When Gaynor was asked what kind of songs she liked, she said she preferred songs that were meaningful, had good lyrics, and touched people's hearts. The producers gave her the lyrics of "I Will Survive" written on a piece of brown paper. Gaynor recognized the song as a potential hit right away.

According to Robert "Boogie" Bowles, who played guitar on the song, during the three-hour recording session, most of the time was spent recording the A-side, "Substitute." This left only 35 minutes for the B-side, "I Will Survive." The musicians did not know the song's title or melody at first, but they felt relaxed because they believed the B-side would not be played. They used only chord changes and a few notes to improvise much of the backing track, and Bowles added jazzy blues guitar notes to complete the music. Because the intro and main part of the song had different styles, making a smooth transition difficult, the song was recorded in two parts and then joined together. Gaynor recorded the vocals while wearing a back brace, as she had recently had surgery after falling at a concert. The injury and a recent loss helped her connect with the song's message. She said, "That's why I was able to sing the song with so much conviction."

Releases

Gaynor believed "I Will Survive" would be a popular song and tried to convince the record label to release it as the main track, called the A-side. However, the label did not agree and instead released it as the second track, called the B-side, to "Substitute." Gaynor's husband shared the song with Richie Kaczor, a DJ at Studio 54, who liked it. Gaynor gave Kaczor a collection of the records to share with his friends. Other DJs at discos and radio stations began playing the B-side instead. As the song became more popular, the label decided to release "I Will Survive" as the A-side. To promote the single, a music video was filmed at Xenon Discotheque in New York. The video showed Sheila Reid-Pender, a roller skater from a local group named The Village Wizards, performing a dance on the floor.

The original A-side, "Substitute," appeared on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart for four weeks starting October 14, 1978, reaching No. 78. It also appeared on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart for four weeks in October–November 1978, reaching No. 107. In contrast, "I Will Survive" performed much better. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1978 and reached No. 1 on the chart in March 1979. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, which was the only year the award was given. In 2012, the song was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Remixes

After the success of Sister Sledge, another 1970s disco group, with remixed songs in the UK in 1993, "I Will Survive" was remixed and released that summer. This version reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the UK Dance Singles Chart. It also reached number six in Ireland and number nine in Portugal. In 1999, a remix of the song appeared on the French charts, reaching number 23. In 2000, another remix reached number six in Spain. In November 2013, Gaynor released a gospel album called We Will Survive, which includes a new remix of "I Will Survive" by DJ Shpank in both extended and radio edit versions. In 2018, a remix of the song again appeared on the French charts, reaching number 12.

Music video

A promotional video was filmed in 1979 at a New York disco called Xenon. It shows Gaynor singing, mixed in with roller skating dance scenes performed by Sheila Reid-Pender of Harlem, who was part of the skating group called The Village Wizards. Three videos were filmed that day, but only the "I Will Survive" video was kept. Gaynor was not present during the recording of the roller skating part 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 gave a lecture and signed copies of her book We Will Survive. In the book, Gaynor wrote, "I wanted everybody—including myself—to believe that we could survive."

In 2022, the video was remastered in high definition and officially posted on Gaynor's YouTube channel. It gained over 4.5 million views in two months.

Impact and legacy

In 2000, VH1 listed "I Will Survive" as number one in their "100 Greatest Dance Songs" ranking. Rolling Stone included it in their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list, placing it at number 489 in 2004, number 492 in 2010, and number 251 in 2021. Billboard magazine ranked it number 97 in their "The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs" list in 2008. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it number two in their "Best Disco Songs of All Time" poll. In 2016, The Daily Telegraph placed "I Will Survive" at number 48 in their "The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. In 2017, Paste Magazine ranked it number seven in their "The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics" list. In 2018, Pitchfork included it in their list of "50 Songs That Define the Last 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Pride."

In 2023, Billboard ranked it number 35 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" list, and in 2025, it was ranked number 21 in their "100 Best Dance Songs of All Time" list. In 1998, the France men's national football team used "I Will Survive" as their unofficial anthem, especially focusing on the instrumental part with the "la la la la la" chant. France won that year's FIFA World Cup for the first time as hosts, and the song became very popular among younger people in the country 20 years after its original release. The chant was inspired by a remix of the song by Hermes House Band, but Gaynor later released a version that included the "la la la la la" chant.

Personnel

The vocalist is Gloria Gaynor. The drummer is James Gadson. The percussionist is Paulinho Da Costa. The bass guitarist is Scott Edwards. The keyboardist is Freddie Perren. The guitarists are Bob "Boogie" Bowles and Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin. The strings and horns were arranged and conducted by Dave Blumberg.

Official versions

Recorded by Gloria Gaynor

• "I Will Survive" (1978 single version) – 3:15
• "I Will Survive" (1978 album version) – 4:56
• "I Will Survive" (1978 12" Mix) – 8:02
• "Yo Viviré" (I Will Survive Spanish 12" Mix) – 7:55
• "I Will Survive" (Tom Moulton Mix) – 10:33
• "I Will Survive" (2009 re-recording) – 5:35
• "I Will Survive" (2009 re-recording Spanish version) – 5:37

Billie Jo Spears version

"I Will Survive" was covered by American country artist Billie Jo Spears in 1979. Spears was known for popular country songs that showed strong women, including "Mr. Walker, It's All Over," which was about sexual harassment, and "Standing Tall," which told the story of a woman leaving a bad relationship. Her version of "I Will Survive" was produced in February 1979 by Larry Butler at the Jack Clement Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

The single was released in March 1979 by United Artists Records. The B-side was the song "Rainy Days and Stormy Nights." The record was a seven-inch vinyl. It entered the American Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in April 1979 and stayed on the chart for 11 weeks, reaching number 21 in June 1979. In Canada, the song reached number 9 on the RPM Country Tracks chart. It also charted in the United Kingdom, reaching number 47. The song was on Spears's 1979 album with the same name. In 1980, the song was nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards. This was Spears's only Grammy nomination.

Spears's version had a similar disco style to the original song by Gaynor. Rolling Stone included it on its 2018 list titled "Country Disco: 15 Great, Wild and WTF Songs." Writer Stephen L. Betts wrote, "With the familiar piano opening by Hargus 'Pig' Robbins and backing vocals from The Jordanaires, the Grammy-nominated country-meets-western-meets-Studio 54 song remains deliciously odd and totally irresistible." Spears later said, "It is still a country record. I could never go pop with my mouthful of firecrackers." She also said the song was hard to sing live: "That is a very difficult song to sing. There are so many words in it and they come so fast."

• "I Will Survive" – 3:16
• "Rainy Days and Stormy Nights" – 2:35

Hermes House Band version

In 1994, the Dutch group Hermes House Band performed a version of the song titled "I Will Survive (La La La)," which reached the top of both the Dutch Top 40 and Single Top 100 charts. In 1998 and 2018, their version reached number one on the French hitlist after the French team won the FIFA World Cup. The song is also used as a goal song during home games for Feyenoord, Galatasaray, Celta de Vigo, and Amur Khabarovsk.

Chantay Savage version

In 1996, American singer Chantay Savage performed a version of the song "I Will Survive" as a slow, emotional song. This version was released on January 23, 1996, by RCA Records. It was the first single from her second album, I Will Survive (Doin' It My Way), which was also released in 1996. This version reached number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 52 on the Eurochart Hot 100.

Michael Hill from Cash Box commented:

Alan Jones from Music Week described Savage's version as a "sublime R&B-flavoured rendition." Gerald Martinez from New Sunday Times wrote,

• "I Will Survive" (Puff Daddy "Bad Boy Mix")
• "I Will Survive" (Silk's Old Skool Extended Mix with Clean Rap)
• "I Will Survive" (Original LP version – edit)

• "I Will Survive" (Silk's Classic House Mix)
• "I Will Survive" (Rhythm Radio version)

Diana Ross version

In 1996, American singer Diana Ross released a cover of the song "I Will Survive." The track was released on February 5 by Motown Records as the fourth and final single from her twenty-first album, Take Me Higher (1995). The song was produced by Narada Michael Walden and reached number 14 on the United Kingdom music chart. It also reached number three in Iceland and number 16 in Scotland. In the United States, the song peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Larry Flick of Billboard magazine wrote that the cover of Gloria Gaynor’s "I Will Survive" was a notable part of Diana Ross’s performance. He noted that the song stood out in her show. Gil L. Robertson IV of Cash Box called it a "standout track" from the Take Me Higher album. In a 2010 review, Daily Vault’s Mark Millan stated that the song was "done very well," as the team gave new life to a classic track from the disco era.

The Stud Brothers of Melody Maker described the cover as a "cheesy, breathy version" of Gloria Gaynor’s feminist anthem. Alan Jones of Music Week said that combining two popular songs would appeal to many people, and new dance mixes by Roger Sanchez would help the track succeed as a single. James Hamilton of Record Mirror Dance Update mentioned the "fast-paced Hi-NRG 0-134bpm Motiv 8 Club Vocal and Hell Razor Dub" in his weekly column. In a 2015 review, Pop Rescue noted that the cover was performed "vocally and musically with strong energy."

European CD maxi single

Cake version

American rock band Cake performed a version of "I Will Survive" for their second album, Fashion Nugget (1996). John McCrea, the band's lead singer, changed some of the lyrics, including replacing the phrase "I should've changed that stupid lock" with "…my fucking lock." Gloria Gaynor, the original singer, said she did not like Cake's version because it included "profanity."

The music video for Cake's version shows McCrea dressed as a city parking enforcement officer driving a Cushman three-wheeled scooter while giving out parking tickets to cars. Their version of the song reached number 28 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in March 1997.

Daina Darzin from Cash Box said the band performed "at its bizarre best" on their "thoroughly and charmingly mangled version" of the Gloria Gaynor disco song. A reviewer from Music Week gave the song a rating of three out of five, calling it "a straight-up cover." Alan Jones from Music Week wrote:

• "I Will Survive" (radio edit) – 4:14
• "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle" – 4:12

Other cover versions and samples

• Greek singer Filippos Nikolaou included a Greek version of the song in his 1979 album, Όμορφες στιγμές (Beautiful moments).
• A humorous version of the song titled "I Will Not Survive" was released by the Indonesian comedic musical group Project Pop in August 2005 as part of their album Pop Circus.
• 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 the UK iTunes chart. The song debuted at number sixteen on the UK Singles Chart on June 9, 2013, and reached number eight the following week.
• Madonna performed the song live during The Celebration Tour, which led Gaynor to congratulate Madonna on the tour’s launch, wish her well after her mid-2023 health issue, and comment in a playful way that she had "excellent taste in music." On March 7, 2024, Madonna performed the song as a duet with Kylie Minogue in Los Angeles.
• The song’s instrumental break was used in Erasure’s "Love to Hate You" (1991), Robbie Williams’s "Supreme" (2000), The Pussycat Dolls’ "Hush Hush; Hush Hush" (2009), and K-pop girl group Ive’s "After Like" (2022).

In popular culture

The song plays an important role in the 2001 episode "I Will Survive" from the television series Ally McBeal. Gaynor appears in the episode without being credited, portraying a made-up version of herself. She performs her song in two ways: first, as a vision seen only by Ally McBeal, and second, as her real self during a club performance that other characters in the show can see.