"Maniac" is a synthpop song performed by Michael
Sembello.
The song was used in the 1983 film
Flashdanceand was inspired by the 1980 horror film
Maniac. The film
Maniacwas about a serial killer who stalks his victims
in New York City. The song's performer and co-writer Michael
Sembello recalls that an early version of the chorus was:
At the suggestion of the record's producer Phil Ramone, the
lyrics were rewritten to describe a girl with a passion for
dancing. The lyrics became:
"Maniac" appears during an early scene in
Flashdanceand is used as the backing track of a montage
sequence showing Alex (Jennifer Beals) training strenuously in
her converted warehouse.
The song was included in
Flashdanceafter Sembello's wife sent a tape to
executives at Paramount Pictures who were looking for music to
use in the film.
Greek Power Metal band, Firewind do a cover of the song on
their album The Premonition. The French avant-garde metal band
Carnival in Coal also covered the song on their album French
Cancan, and the song was also covered by the band Evergreen
Terrace on their album Writer's Block.
"Maniac" reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100 for two
weeks in September 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". The
Original Soundtrack of won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Album
of Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or a Television
Special.
The song was nominated for an Academy Award, but it was
disqualified since the original version had not been written
for the film. Michael Sembello states on the website Songfacts
that the decision "pisses me off to this day." Another song
from the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" performed by
Irene Cara, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in
1984.
The Simpsons episode Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed
Grunt)cious had Groundskeeper Willie perform a one-man-band
version of the song.
Scrubs episode My Way Home had The Worthless Peons perform
an a cappella version of the song.
