Michael Sembello - Maniac (Flashdance)

[tpj1965]

Sembello wrote this with his songwriting partner Dennis Matkosky, who got the idea when he saw the William Lustig movie Maniac, which is about a serial killer who stalks his victims in New York City. Says Sembello: He came up with the original kernel of inspiration and to me with the basic idea and groove and i believe the temporary lyrics for the chorus he had were:

"He's a maniac,maniac that's for sure

He will kill your cat and nail him to the door"

That direction obviously wasn't going to work at which point the genius of Phil Ramone, producer of the soundtrack who had the vision to see the potential of the song, asked us to change it to the present concept of a girl possessed with the passion of a gift for dance. Without Phil it would not have happened.

Sembello: "It was nominated for an academy award and was disqualified according to "academy rules" because the song was changed from the original and was not originally written solely for the film, which pisses me off to this day. (Thanks for Michael Sembello for the info. To learn more, check out michaelsembello.com.)

This was accidentally included on a tape of Sembello's songs his wife sent to Paramount for consideration in Flashdance. The studio loved it and used it in the movie. The dance scenes in the video (and the movie), were performed by body double Marine Jahan. The video was the first to use nothing but scenes from the movie. It started a movie/music cross-promotion trend (Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, etc.). SongFacts

The song "Maniac" was selected for inclusion in the blockbuster movie "Flashdance". This song was the number #1 song on the Billboard chart and went on to become the third highest grossing song from a soundtrack. His contribution to that soundtrack was rewarded with a Grammy in 1983 for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special. Sembello has done considerable soundtrack work, including such movies as Cocoon, Gremlins and Independence Day.

[Sir Droopy]

Love this song/vid. My first taste of softcore strippers, this vid brought on some teen fantasies for me And now I get to enjoy this honey on the L word

Edited March 20, 2007 by Sir Droopy