Burning Heart (song) explained

"Burning Heart" is a song by Survivor. It appeared in the 1985 film Rocky IV and on its soundtrack album; the film's star Sylvester Stallone personally commissioned the song.^[2] The single peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in February 1986, behind "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne and Friends. It was the biggest hit the band had with Jimi Jamison on lead vocals. It was also a top 5 hit in the UK, Germany and several other European countries, and reached the top 15 in Canada.

Content

"Burning Heart", which is about an "all or nothing" battle, was inspired by the Cold War,^[3] as shown by lyrics such as "Is it East versus West?"^[4] and "Can any nation stand alone?" The Communist East versus Capitalist West conflict is reflected in the film by the fight in the boxing ring between Rocky and Ivan Drago.

Music video

The music video for "Burning Heart" features Survivor giving a concert, mixed with scenes from the film Rocky IV.^[5] A version with only the band (no movie footage) also exists, available on YouTube.

Track listings

7-inch single

1. "Burning Heart" – 3:51
2. "Feels Like Love" – 3:20^[6]

12-inch maxi

1. "Burning Heart" – 3:51
2. "Eye of the Tiger" – 3:46
3. "Feels Like Love" – 3:20

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Chart (1985–1986)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7]	55
Austrian Singles Chart[8]	6
Belgium (Flanders) (Ultratop)[9]	1
Canada RPM Singles	14
Dutch Nederlandse Top 40 / Nationale Hitparade	2
Eurochart Hot 100	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10]	2
French SNEP Singles Chart	2
German Singles Chart	6
Irish Singles Chart[11]	2
South Africa[12]	27
Swedish Singles Chart	5
Swiss Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart[13]	5
US Billboard Hot 100[14]	2
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks	11

Year-end charts

End of year chart (1986)	Position
Dutch Top 40[15]	17
Swiss Singles Chart[16]	15
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[17]	8

Certifications

Cover versions

• 1999: Jimi Jamison released a live version of "Burning Heart" on his album Empires.^[18]
• 2003: Seventh Avenue

Notes and References

1. Web site: FMQB. 38.
2. Book: King, Alex P. . Hit-parade — 20 ans de tubes . Pascal . 2004 . Paris . 342 . fr . 2-35019-009-9.
3. Billboard, 2 November 1985, S. 72 "burning heart" cold war&f=false Google Books
4. Daniel S. Papp: "Contemporary international relations: frameworks for understanding", Macmillan, 1988, S. 15 Internet Archive
5. http://www.myvideo.de/watch/5471752/Survivor_Burning_Heart Music video in Myvideo.de
6. Web site: Survivor - Burning Heart (Vinyl) at Discogs . 1985 . Discogs.com . 2012-02-09.
7. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 301.
8. "Burning Heart", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved March 31, 2009)
9. Web site: Survivor - Burning Heart - ultratop.be . .
10. Book: Pennanen, Timo . Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 . 2021 . Survivor. 251. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava . Helsinki. June 18, 2022.
11. Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved March 31, 2009)
12. Web site: South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Songs (A-B).
13. UK Singles Chart Official Charts Company (Retrieved March 31, 2009)
14. Billboard [{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p5568/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} allmusic.com] (Retrieved March 31, 2009)
15. Web site: Single top 100 over 1986 . Top40 . nl . 21 September 2010.
16. 1986 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved March 31, 2009)
17. December 27, 1986 . 1986 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles . Y-21 . Billboard . 98 . 52 . Nielsen Business Media . Inc .
18. Web site: Empires: Jimi Jamison: Music . Amazon . 2012-02-09.