"Fly Like an Eagle" is a song written by American musicianSteve Miller for thealbum of the same name.[5] The song was released in the United Kingdom in August 1976 and in the United States in December 1976.[1] It went to number two on the USBillboard Hot 100 for the week of March 12, 1977. The single edit can be found onGreatest Hits (1974–1978). It is often played in tandem with "Space Intro". On the album, the song segues into "Wild Mountain Honey".
An earlier 1973 version features a morebluesy and lessfunk-inspired rhythm, with the guitar taking thesynthesizer parts (albeit with similar delay effects).[8] The lyrics are slightly different, indicating that the place the eagle wants to fly away from is aNative American reservation. The final, funk-inspired album version pays homage to "Slippin' into Darkness" byWar (1971).
It was re-recorded for the eponymous album released in 1976.[6]
The intro riff was first used in a slightly different form on Miller's 1969 track "My Dark Hour".
The original Steve Miller Band version sold over one million copies.[9] The Seal version had sold over 300,000 units as of April 5, 1997.[10]
Billboard described the Steve Miller Band version as "uncharacteristically thoughtful, but rivetingly attention grabbing."[11]Cash Box said that the single edit "preserves the high points of the original while cutting the time just about in half."[12]
Twenty years after Miller's original version, British singerSeal covered "Fly Like an Eagle" for thesoundtrack to the 1996 filmSpace Jam, sampling Miller's original "Space Intro" parts in the song's chorus. This version peaked at number 10 on theBillboard Hot 100 (Seal's final Hot 100 top 10 to date), number 13 on theUK Singles Chart, and number two on the CanadianRPM 100 chart.
According to Seal, theexecutive producer of theSpace Jam soundtrack, Dominique Trenier, asked him to record it.D'Angelo, who was managed by Trenier, playedkeyboards on the song. Seal said that Steve Miller approved of the cover version and at one point called him "thanking me and saying that was the best cover of the song that he had heard."[25]
The video has scenes from the movie itself, Seal performs in the sky (both versions), All scenes add real children can do something athletic. The original version shot in black-and-white. Also, the colored version shown where a colored Seal in the black-and-white sky (some scenes swap colors along Seal and in the sky).
Larry Flick fromBillboard felt that the soundtrack toSpace Jam "is off to a roaring start, thanks to this faithfully funky rendition ofSteve Miller's classic rocker. [...] After the solemn tone of his own compositions in recent years, Seal clearly sounds like he's having a blast as he cruises through the track's rubbery bassline and space-age synths." He added, "In fact, listen closely, and you will catch him vamping a few lines from his breakthrough hit, "Crazy", toward the end."[26] Daina Darzin fromCash Box stated that "you couldn't ask for a more perfect take on the song, which Seal makes even more spacey, swirling and effortlessly gorgeous than the original."[27] Matt Diehl fromEntertainment Weekly gave the song a B, writing, "Aside from some funkyscatting and a dash ofhip-hop rhythm, the soul slickster doesn't add much to Steve Miller's '70s classic-rock classic. Seal does get points for good taste in cover material, though: The song's ethereal synthesizer squiggles, wah-wah guitars, and soaring chorus sound great in the '90s. The latest fast break on the charts from theSpace Jam soundtrack, it's perfect music forMichael Jordan to slam to."[28]
In 2012, "Fly Like an Eagle" was chosen as "the best-ever song about birds" byBirds & Blooms magazine. "We're not at all surprised by the popularity of Steve Miller's 'Fly Like an Eagle' with our readers," saidBirds & Bloomseditor Stacy Tornio in a press release. "It's an iconic song forthe iconic American bird." Other notable songs on theBirds & Blooms list wereLynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" andthe Beatles' "Blackbird".[56]
^Brown, Ashley, ed. (1990). "Space Cowboy".The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music. Vol. 11 (Reference ed.).Marshall Cavendish. p. 1227.ISBN1-85435-026-9.
^Milward, John (2013).Crossroads: How the Blues Shaped Rock 'n' Roll (and Rock Saved the Blues). UPNE. p. 16.ISBN9781555537449.
