This song was given a lucky break when a Studio 54 DJ flipped to the B-side of “Substitute”, a Righteous Brothers cover. During a time when most disco hits were heavily produced, this track stood out for it’s clean and minimalistic approach.

A couple years before this song came out, Gaynor had been propelled into the blossoming disco genre thanks to the success of her 1975 album Never Can Say Goodbye. The “Substitute” record was meant to be capitalize on that success. Popular disco songs of that era relied on their production—pitched up vocals, background singers, and a sped-up tempo. This song was minimalist by comparison and that unique quality helped the song succeed.

The song was written and produced by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren. Perren had traded in his Motown credentials for disco (he was a successful songwriter that worked along Motown legend Berry Gordy.). By the late seventies Perren and Fekaris (who’d also racked up some notable Motown credits ) teamed up to create this song. There is a rumor that Fekaris wrote this song after being fired from Motown Records. He saw one of his songs on TV, and felt reinvigorated.

Gaynor herself had a reason to sing a song about survival. She suffered a major fall on stage which left her with a broken back and spent six months in the hospital recovering. She was recording this song in a back brace. Gaynor said it changed her perspective and gave her a new reason to sing an anthem like this:

I began to have a spiritual awakening and decided that I wanted to have more purpose to my singing than people just having a good time… That’s why I chose ‘I Will Survive’ and I wanted to continue as often as possible to give them songs that would have positive impact on their lives.

This became the definitive song of Gaynor’s career, and she named her autobiography after it. It’s been covered over 200 times (and in different languages). The song was inducted into the Library of Congress for its enduring cultural significance—an honor only awarded to 25 songs in history. It was the first and only disco song to win a Grammy. When people ask Gloria if she’s bothered that her name is forever tied to this song, she responded to Billboard by saying:

From the beginning I recognized it was a timeless lyric that everyone could relate to, so I don’t get tired of singing it. I’m always freshening it up; changing the beat, the lyrics, modernizing the arrangement – I’ve even stuck a hip-hop section in the middle of it. I become 295% grade A ham when I do this song because people still love it.

Watch the music video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I