Maniac (Michael Sembello song)

"Maniac" is a song performed by Michael Sembello. The song was used in the 1983 film Flashdance.

"Maniac"
Side-A label of U.S. 7-inch vinyl single
Single by Michael Sembello
from the album Bossa Nova Hotel and Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture
Released	1983
Genre	Synth-pop[1]
Length	4:21 (album/single version) 4:02 (soundtrack version) 5:57 (12" version)
Label	EMI, Casablanca
Songwriter(s)	Dennis Matkosky and Michael Sembello
Producer(s)	Phil Ramone and Michael Sembello[2]
Michael Sembello singles chronology
"Maniac" (1983) "Automatic Man" (1983)
Audio sample
file help

"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.

Sembello had originally written the song as a horror theme after watching the slasher film Maniac (1980). Originally about a cat-killing maniac, co-producer Phil Ramone convinced the writers to change the lyrics to better reflect Flashdance's subject matter.[3]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album Bossa Nova Hotel.[4]

• Michael Sembello – vocals, guitar, synthesizer bass
• Dennis Matkosky – keyboards, synthesizer
• Carlos Vega – Simmons drums
• Dennis Karmazyn – cello

Charts and awards

"Maniac" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks beginning on September 10, 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".[2] Original Soundtrack of Flashdance won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or a Television Special.[5]

The song was nominated for an Academy Award. Another song from the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" performed by Irene Cara, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1983.[6]

Weekly charts Chart (1983) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 11 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[9] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[12] 28 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 11 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 10 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 7 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[16] 22 Spain (AFYVE)[17] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 43 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[20] 34 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 1 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[20] 6 US Billboard Top Rock Tracks[20] 34 US Cash Box[21] 3 Chart (2020) Peak position Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[22] 57

Year-end charts Chart (1983) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] 39 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[24] 13 Germany (Official German Charts)[25] 58 US Billboard Hot 100[26] 9 US Cash Box[27] 18 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[28] 566 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 200,000 Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Dance act 4 Rhythm covered "Maniac" in 1995;[30] their version reached No. 28 in the Irish Singles Chart, the same position as the original track.[12] "Maniac 2000", a performance of Mark McCabe rapping over the 4 Rhythm version,[30] reached No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart and remained in the charts for 21 weeks, re-entering for a further five weeks in 2007 and another in 2015.[12] Greek power metal band Firewind covered the song on their 2008 album The Premonition.

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1983
• List of number-one singles of 1983 (Canada)

References

1. "'Flashdance The Musical' Shakes Up Seattle, Portland, Tempe And Costa Mesa (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. April 17, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
2. Bronson, Fred (1992). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. New York, NY: Billboard Publications. pp. 576-577. ISBN 0-8230-8298-9.
3. Pemberton, Pat (October 30, 2013). "17 Fear-Filled Songs Inspired by Scary Movies". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
4. Bossa Nova Hotel (liner notes). Michael Sembello. Warner Bros. Retrieved September 17, 2016.CS1 maint: others (link)
5. "1983 Grammy Winners: 26th Annual GRAMMY Awards (1983)". Grammy.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
6. "The 56th Academy Awards – 1984". Oscars.org. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
7. "The Countdown Chart – Week Ending 4th September, 1983". Imgur (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved December 4, 2016.
8. "Ultratop.be – Michael Sembello – Maniac" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
9. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4331." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4332." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Michael Sembello – Maniac". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Michael Sembello". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Michael Sembello - Maniac" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Michael Sembello – Maniac" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
15. "Charts.nz – Michael Sembello – Maniac". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
16. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (S)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
17. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
18. "Swisscharts.com – Michael Sembello – Maniac". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
20. "Michael Sembello – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
21. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 3, 1983". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012.
22. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
23. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
24. "The Top Singles of 1983". RPM. Vol. 39 no. 17. 24 December 1983. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
25. "Jahrescharts – 1983" (in German). Offiziellecharts.de. GfK Entertainment Charts. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015.
26. "Top 100 Hits for 1983". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
27. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1983". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012.
28. "Hot 100 60th Anniversary". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
29. "British single certifications – Michael Sembello – Maniac". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 31, 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Maniac in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
30. Kavanagh, Mark (January 26, 2018). "There's a huge story behind Maniac 2000 that you don't know". Buzz.ie. Retrieved October 14, 2019.