‘Rocky’ Theme ‘Gonna Fly Now’ at 50: ‘Never Giving Up Is the Message’

“Gonna Fly Now”, the theme from *Rocky*, is being revisited as the film reaches its 50th anniversary and a new movie revisits its making. Co-writer Carol Connors says the song’s message is about perseverance: she pictured Rocky in training and felt he could do anything, even fly.

The original *Rocky* was made for $980,000 and won three Oscars; its theme reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1977. Connors and Ayn Robbins wrote the lyrics, with music by Bill Conti, and each received an Oscar nomination alongside a Grammy nod for the song. Connors says she and Robbins were paid $500 each and Conti $2,000 upfront, before the film’s success brought them further earnings.