“I believe any success in life is made by going into an area with a blind and furious optimism.” Sylvester Stallone

The latest entry into the UGottaLaff Songbook is Gonna Fly Now, the theme song from Rocky. And I will share with you that, when I hear it, I cry. I laugh. I jump up and down and pump my arms. And, of course, I get the goosebumps. Wasn’t Sylvester Stallone so young and handsome in the film? And isn’t the underdog theme one that just never gets old?

Also, I love when the children join Rocky in his run, cheering him on, and experiencing life’s glorious possibilities. Gonna Fly Now was composed by Bill Conti, with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta West and Nelson Pigford. The film’s script was written by Sylvester Stallone.

In 1977, Rocky won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Directing (John G. Avildsen), and Best Film Editing. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film. In 1978, Rocky won the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film.

I haven’t watched the later Rocky movies. I didn’t want to gild the lily. Which is kind of a weird way to describe this hardscrabble movie, isn’t it?