Maniac (song)
Encyclopedia
"Maniac" is a synthpop
song performed by Michael Sembello
. The song was used in the 1983 film Flashdance
and was inspired by the 1980 horror film
Maniac
.
The film Maniac was about a serial killer
who stalks his victims in New York City
. The song's performer and co-writer Michael Sembello recalls that an early version of the chorus
was:
At the suggestion of the record's producer Phil Ramone
, the lyrics were rewritten to describe a girl with a passion for dancing. The lyrics became:
"Maniac" appears during an early scene in Flashdance and is used as the backing track of a montage sequence showing Alex (Jennifer Beals
) training strenuously in her converted warehouse.
The song was included in Flashdance after Sembello's wife sent a tape to executives at Paramount Pictures
who were looking for music to use in the film.
The solo and the final solos were played with Fender Stratocaster
in 2010.
Greek power metal
band Firewind
did a cover of the song on their album The Premonition, in 2008.
Irish DJ Mark McCabe released a dance remix featuring the chorus which spent 10 weeks at number 1 in Ireland and is now the 2nd biggest selling single in Ireland.
In 1995 Sargant Fury, a Heavy Metal band from Germany, recorded a cover which featured on their album "Turn the page".
Reggae artists Bounty Killer
and Ritchie Stephens and recorded a cover which featured on their respective 1997 and 1998 albums.
The French avant-garde metal band Carnival in Coal
also covered the song on their album French Cancan, and the song was also covered by the band Evergreen Terrace
on their album Writer's Block. Popular South African band Van Coke Kartel recorded a cover for the song in 2010.
The song was sampled in the Basement Jaxx
song "Twerk", from their album "Scars
", in 2009.
Mexican tropical
cover band
Tropical Forever covered the song as "Lo Menea" in a tropical style, and adapted the lyrics to Spanish.
Polish actor and singer Roman Frankl performed the song translated into Polish as "Jesteś moja" ("You are mine") in early 80s.
for two weeks in September 1983 and is one of the highest-grossing songs ever written for a film. In addition to producing "Maniac", Phil Ramone produced the song that would dethrone it from the top spot, Billy Joel
's "Tell Her About It
". The Original Soundtrack of Flashdance won the 1984 Grammy Award
for Best Album of Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or a Television Special
.
The song was nominated for an Academy Award, but it was disqualified since the original version had not been written for the film. Michael Sembello states on the website Songfacts that the decision "pisses me off to this day". Another song from the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling
" performed by Irene Cara
, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1984.
(1989
) starring Tony Danza
, Katie, played by Amy Dolenz, reenacts the Flashdance
sequence dancing in the room on the song.
The Simpsons
episode Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
had Groundskeeper Willie
perform a one-man-band
version of the song.
Scrubs
episode My Way Home
had The Blanks
perform an a cappella version of the song.
A soundalike instrumental was used in an audtion scene in the Family Guy
episode The King is Dead
The song is in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in an iPod
spoof called the iPistol, with the silhouette figure doing dance moves from Flashdance.
In Tommy Boy
, after he and his soon-to-be step brother go "cow tipping
", Tommy Callahan sings Maniac and dances to it while his step brother sprays the mud off of him.
In Dance Flick
, Thomas was dancing to this song.
This song was included along with other 80's hits when Stifler Seann William Scott
from American Wedding
, dances for everyone at a gay club.
In Just Wright
, Leslie (Queen Latifah
) briefly sings this song while at Rucker Park
with Scott (Common
).
The song was in the 2011 comedy film
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
.
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
song performed by Michael Sembello
Michael Sembello
Michael Sembello is an American musician and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Career:Sembello was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied with jazz great Pat Martino and began his career as a professional musician by becoming a session musician, working increasingly with...
. The song was used in the 1983 film Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
and was inspired by the 1980 horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
Maniac
Maniac (1980 film)
Maniac is a 1980 American slasher film , about a disturbed and traumatized serial killer who scalps his victims. It was directed by William Lustig and written by Joe Spinell and C. A. Rosenberg...
.
The film Maniac was about a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who stalks his victims in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The song's performer and co-writer Michael Sembello recalls that an early version of the chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
was:
- He's a maniac, maniac that's for sure,
- He will kill your cat and nail him to the door.
At the suggestion of the record's producer Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone is a South-African violinist, composer, recording engineer, and record producer.-Biography:As a young child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten...
, the lyrics were rewritten to describe a girl with a passion for dancing. The lyrics became:
- She's a maniac, maniac on the floor
- And she's dancing like she's never danced before.
"Maniac" appears during an early scene in Flashdance and is used as the backing track of a montage sequence showing Alex (Jennifer Beals
Jennifer Beals
Jennifer Beals is an American actress and a former teen model. She is known for her roles as Alexandra "Alex" Owens in the 1983 film Flashdance, and as Bette Porter on the Showtime drama series The L Word. She earned an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for the former...
) training strenuously in her converted warehouse.
The song was included in Flashdance after Sembello's wife sent a tape to executives at Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
who were looking for music to use in the film.
The solo and the final solos were played with Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
Covers
The synth was covered by Wiz Khalifa in his Number 1 hit single, Black and YellowBlack and Yellow
"Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his debut studio album, Rolling Papers. It was released on September 14, 2010 as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Wiz Khalifa, and StarGate, and it was produced by StarGate. It was released as a CD single in...
in 2010.
Greek power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Firewind
Firewind
Firewind is a Greek power metal band. Formed in 1998, the group is currently signed to Century Media Records and was originally a small project created by guitarist, Gus G. to showcase his demo, Nocturnal Symphony in 1998. Firewind later became a full band over three years later when they recorded...
did a cover of the song on their album The Premonition, in 2008.
Irish DJ Mark McCabe released a dance remix featuring the chorus which spent 10 weeks at number 1 in Ireland and is now the 2nd biggest selling single in Ireland.
In 1995 Sargant Fury, a Heavy Metal band from Germany, recorded a cover which featured on their album "Turn the page".
Reggae artists Bounty Killer
Bounty Killer
Bounty Killer is a Grammy nominated Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. He is the founder of a dancehall collective known as The Alliance.-Early life and career:...
and Ritchie Stephens and recorded a cover which featured on their respective 1997 and 1998 albums.
The French avant-garde metal band Carnival in Coal
Carnival in Coal
Carnival in Coal was an extreme metal/avant-garde metal band from France. Founded in 1995, the band mixed death metal, black metal and other extreme metal genres with genres such as easy listening, disco, and pop.-History:...
also covered the song on their album French Cancan, and the song was also covered by the band Evergreen Terrace
Evergreen Terrace (band)
Evergreen Terrace is a five-piece melodic hardcore/metalcore band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1999, they are named after the street on which The Simpsons claim residence...
on their album Writer's Block. Popular South African band Van Coke Kartel recorded a cover for the song in 2010.
The song was sampled in the Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...
song "Twerk", from their album "Scars
Scars (Basement Jaxx album)
Scars is the fifth studio album by British electronic dance music duo Basement Jaxx, released on 21 September 2009. It was preceded by the first single "Raindrops", released on 21 June, while the second single, "Feelings Gone", was also released in the United Kingdom on 21 September...
", in 2009.
Mexican tropical
Tropical music
Musica tropical or tropical music is a broad term for vocal and instrumental music with "tropical" flavor usually associated with the Afro-Caribbean music. It is part of an even broader category of Latin music. Usually it is an upbeat dance music, but also includes ballads. It features complex,...
cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
Tropical Forever covered the song as "Lo Menea" in a tropical style, and adapted the lyrics to Spanish.
Polish actor and singer Roman Frankl performed the song translated into Polish as "Jesteś moja" ("You are mine") in early 80s.
Charts and awards
"Maniac" reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for two weeks in September 1983 and is one of the highest-grossing songs ever written for a film. In addition to producing "Maniac", Phil Ramone produced the song that would dethrone it from the top spot, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's "Tell Her About It
Tell Her About It
"Tell Her About It" is a hit 1983 song performed by Billy Joel, from the hit album An Innocent Man. An apparent homage to the Motown Sound, the song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for one week on September 24, 1983, replacing the Phil Ramone-produced song, "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. The...
". The Original Soundtrack of Flashdance won the 1984 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Album of Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or a Television Special
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
.
The song was nominated for an Academy Award, but it was disqualified since the original version had not been written for the film. Michael Sembello states on the website Songfacts that the decision "pisses me off to this day". Another song from the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling
Flashdance... What a Feeling
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance, written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and Irene Cara, and performed by Cara. Despite the title, the word "Flashdance" is never used in the lyrics; however, the line "In a flash, take a hold of my heart" refers to the...
" performed by Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1984.
In popular culture
In the teen comedy She's Out of ControlShe's Out of Control
She's Out of Control is an independent American 1989 coming of age comedy film starring Tony Danza, Ami Dolenz and Catherine Hicks. The original music score was composed by Alan Silvestri...
(1989
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
) starring Tony Danza
Tony Danza
Tony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
, Katie, played by Amy Dolenz, reenacts the Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
sequence dancing in the room on the song.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialacious", also known as "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialacious", is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons eighth season and originally aired February 7, 1997. After Marge becomes stressed, the Simpsons hire a new nanny, a Mary Poppins parody, Shary Bobbins , who tries to...
had Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
perform a one-man-band
One-man band
A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of musical instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical contraptions. The simplest type of "one-man band" — a singer accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar and harmonica mounted in a metal "harp rack" below the...
version of the song.
Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
episode My Way Home
My Way Home
"My Way Home" is the 7th episode of season five and the 100th episode of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on January 24, 2006 on NBC....
had The Blanks
The Blanks
The Blanks are an a cappella group. Most notably, they appeared in the TV series Scrubs in a recurring guest role, under various names such as Ted's Band and The Worthless Peons...
perform an a cappella version of the song.
A soundalike instrumental was used in an audtion scene in the Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode The King is Dead
The song is in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
spoof called the iPistol, with the silhouette figure doing dance moves from Flashdance.
In Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy is a 1995 road comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, and Fred Wolf. It stars former Saturday Night Live colleagues Chris Farley and David Spade. The film tells the story of a socially and emotionally immature man who learns lessons about friendship and...
, after he and his soon-to-be step brother go "cow tipping
Cow tipping
Cow tipping or cow pushing is the purported activity of sneaking up on a sleeping, upright cow and pushing it over for fun. As cattle do not sleep standing up, cow tipping is a myth.-Myth and reality:...
", Tommy Callahan sings Maniac and dances to it while his step brother sprays the mud off of him.
In Dance Flick
Dance Flick
Dance Flick is a 2009 American comedy directed by Damien Dante Wayans, written by his uncles, the Wayans Brothers, and starring Damon Wayans, Jr., and Shoshana Bush. The film is a spoof of the popular dance film genre...
, Thomas was dancing to this song.
This song was included along with other 80's hits when Stifler Seann William Scott
Seann William Scott
Seann William Scott is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Steve Stifler in the American Pie film series...
from American Wedding
American Wedding
American Wedding is a 2003 comedy film that is a sequel to American Pie and American Pie 2 as part of the American Pie series. It was written by Adam Herz and directed by Jesse Dylan...
, dances for everyone at a gay club.
In Just Wright
Just Wright
Just Wright is a 2010 romantic comedy film starring Common and Queen Latifah that tells the story of a physical therapist who falls in love with a pro basketball player. The film received mixed reviews.-Plot:...
, Leslie (Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
) briefly sings this song while at Rucker Park
Rucker Park
Rucker Park is a basketball court in the Harlem neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located at 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard across the street from the former Polo Grounds site...
with Scott (Common
Common
Common may refer to:* COMMON, the largest association of users of mid-range IBM computers* Common , a British Thoroughbred racehorse* Common , a part of certain Christian liturgy* Commoner, someone does not hold a title of peerage...
).
The song was in the 2011 comedy film
Lie
For other uses, see Lie A lie is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others....
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son is a 2011 crime comedy film directed by John Whitesell and written by Matthew Fogel and Don Rhymer. The film is the second sequel to Big Momma's House and stars Martin Lawrence reprising his role as FBI agent Malcolm Turner...
.