44 Years Later, Iconic '80s Film Anthem Still Gives Us Chills-But It Almost Sounded Completely Different

When Rocky III was released 44 years ago, Sylvester Stallone had a specific song in mind to show Rocky Balboa's intense training to regain his title. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get the publishing rights to it. The song was none other than "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen, which is also the band's highest-selling single and one of their most popular songs of all time.

After realizing that he wouldn't be able to use the song, Stallone reached out to Survivor, a fledgling Chicago rock band that had yet to have a No. 1 song. In a 2012 interview with Guitar World, the band's co-founder and guitarist Jim Peterik talked about the fateful day he came home to a voicemail from Stallone.

"At first, I thought it was a joke, but I called the number and sure enough, Stallone answered," Peterik said. "He told me that he loved the band and had heard 'Poor Man's Son' and 'Take You On A Saturday' from our Premonition album and wanted that same kind of 'street' sound for his new movie, Rocky III."

'Thank You, Queen!'

Stallone sent a copy of the film, and Peterik watched it with bandmate Frankie Sullivan. They were both surprised to hear that "Another One Bites the Dust" had already been edited into the scenes. When he asked why he didn't just use that, Stallone explained that he couldn't get the rights to use it.

"At that point, I just said, 'Thank you, Queen!'" Peterik joked.

Survivor became a household name, thanks to "Eye of the Tiger." The song was in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks and No. 1 for 6 weeks. It won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.

The Secret Tape Still Exists Today

In 1982, Queen's Brian May attended one of Survivor's concerts. May had heard the story and asked Sullivan about it. He confirmed that "Another One Bites the Dust" did play in the film copy they received. "I offered to send him a copy of the tape, which I still own," he told Louder Sound.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 11:45 AM.