Michael Sembello » Tracks » Maniac

Michael Sembello – Maniac (4:01)

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About This Track

The song was used in the 1983 film Flashdance and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The film Maniac was 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:

He’s a maniac, maniac that’s for sure,
He will kill your cat and nail him to the door.

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:

She’s a maniac, maniac on the floor
And she’s dancing like she’s never danced before.
“Maniac” appears during an early scene in Flashdance and 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 Flashdance after Sembello’s wife sent a tape to executives at Paramount Pictures who were looking for music to use in the film.


Charts and awards
“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 Flashdance won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for A Motion Picture or a Television Special.
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Albums featuring this track

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  • Trademark88

    <3. Every artist on the "Drive" soundtrack wishes to sound like this

    9 days ago

  • BLKYNITE77

    LUV THIS SONG WHEN I WAS A CHILD AND STILL LUV IT AS AN ADULT MAN TIME DOSE FLY . JEJEJE!!!

    13 days ago

  • EdwardBell

    Great<3

    22 days ago

  • lisabemine

    Ok.......... I'm doing the flashdance.

    last month

  • skank_pit

    \o/

    last month

  • kaftoskaitsiou

    timeless.

    March 2012

  • jhoncarter

    <333333333333333333333

    March 2012

  • Jehssicahls

    <3

    February 2012

  • lauryyn

    love this! flashdance ftw :-)

    January 2012

  • Anni--x3

    ♫♫ ♥

    December 2011

  • angeliqueluff

    loveee this song <3

    December 2011

  • NitaD1

    Not bad...

    December 2011

  • Retro_Saiyan

    Fantabulous song.

    December 2011

  • silversurfer250

    Cold Kinetic Heat.

    November 2011

  • fancykatya

    I'd have to agree with kiteo on remaining in the dark on what Sembello looked like in the 80's~

    October 2011

  • kiteo

    I'd sooner have remained in the dark over what Michael Sembello looked like.

    September 2011

  • lapoig

    Good song for training ! Feel so good !

    September 2011

  • below50

    Super extra......I am dancing like I never dance before.

    August 2011

  • nikiroussi68

    Flashdance! Great dance at that scene!

    August 2011

  • Velimirius

    \o/\o/\o/\o/

    July 2011
See all 201 shouts

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