"I Will Survive" is a song first performed by Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978. It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris.
The song's lyrics describe a narrator who finds personal strength while recovering from a break-up; it has often been used as an anthem of female empowerment, a gay anthem, and HIV/AIDS awareness - and is a firm favourite on the karaoke circuit. It is one of the most famous disco songs of all time, and easily Gaynor's biggest hit; it received massive airplay in 1979, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, also reaching number one in the UK the next day. The song was originally released as the B-side to a Gaynor song called "Substitute", a track thought to have more potential for mainstream success by her record label. Disc jockeys began flippingthe single over and eventually copies of the record were pressed with "I Will Survive" as the A-side ("Substitute" managed to peak at number 107 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart). The song was rated number nine on George Carlin's 10 Most Embarrassing Songs of All Time.
It received the Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the only year that the award was given. It is ranked #489 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
After the success of fellow '70s stars Sister Sledge's remixed singles in the UK in 1993, this song was also released in a remixed form there in about June/July 1993. Also meriting success, this remix reached number five on the UK Singles Chart (while the original version had topped the chart in 1979), but was her only successful remix single in the UK.
