Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” is one of the more iconic one-hit wonders of all time. The song’s use in Rocky III established it as one of the go-to songs about triumph over adversity. Now the guys from Survivor find themselves in the sort of sticky situation more notable artists like Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young have encountered before – having their music used to represent something they don’t stand behind. Namely, “Eye of the Tiger” was used as the intro music for Kim Davis at a rally for her thrown by noted class act, and Beyonce lover, Mike Huckabee.
You may have heard Davis’ name in the news, as this simple county clerk went to jail on account of the fact she refused to issue marriage licenses for gay couples, even though she was legally required to do so. However, this tremendous act of bravery/bigotry (mostly bigotry) has made her a folk hero, and got her the whole “Eye of the Tiger” treatment.
Frankie Sullivan, one of the co-writers of the song, has gone on the offensive regarding this usage of “Eye of the Tiger.” He made the following statement on Facebook:
As this is a pertinent political hot-button issue, and because filling time is what they do, CNN brought on Jim Peterik, a former member of Survivor and the other co-writer of “Eye of the Tiger,” for an interview Wednesday. His general point is the same as Sullivan’s, namely that this unauthorized usage of “Eye of the Tiger” in this context is not acceptable. But if you want to hear Peterik articulate his point further, you can check out the above video of his CNN interview.
