Eye in the Sky (song)

"Eye in the Sky"
Single by The Alan Parsons Project
from the album Eye in the Sky
B-side	"Gemini", "Mammagamma" (Germany)
Released	1982
Format	7"
Recorded	Late 1981
Genre	Soft rock, progressive rock
Length	4:36 3:55 (7" version)
Label	Arista
Writer(s)	Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson
Producer(s)	Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson
The Alan Parsons Project singles chronology
"Snake Eyes" (1981) "Eye in the Sky" (1982) "Psychobabble" (1982)
Eye in the Sky track listing "Sirius" (1) "Eye in the Sky" (2) "Children of the Moon" (3)

"Eye in the Sky" is a 1982 song by the British rock band The Alan Parsons Project from the album Eye in the Sky. It hit #3 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in October 1982,^[1] #1 in both Canada and Spain, and #6 in New Zealand and was their most successful release. The instrumental piece entitled "Sirius" segues into "Eye in the Sky"' on the original recording.

Overview

The 1:54 minute instrumental piece entitled "Sirius" immediately precedes "Eye in the Sky"' on the original recording, which then seamlessly leads into "Eye in the Sky" as a second track. On the single release, "Eye In The Sky" appears on its own, with "Sirius" being edited out; this is the version that was usually played on pop radio at the time. However, Album-oriented Rock (AOR) and classic rock stations almost exclusively include the "Sirius" intro.

"Sirius", meanwhile, is best known in the U.S. as the instrumental song that was used to introduce the starting lineup of the Chicago Bulls for home games played at the old Chicago Stadium and then the United Center in the 1990s, during their run of six (6) NBA championships between 1991 and 1998. The piece has also been used by the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks to introduce their starting lineup during home games. The Utah Jazz also used the instrumental piece to introduce their starting lineup for Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which was played at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 14, 1998. Since the 1994 season, "Sirius" has played before the Nebraska Cornhuskers' home football games as part of the pre-game Tunnel Walk.^[2][3] In Italy, Serie A team Sassuolo Calcio use this song when the team enters the pitch at the home games. In Australia the piece is used by the Melbourne Rebels when introducing their starting lineup. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat used an abbreviated version of "Sirius" as his entrance music for his 1980s tenure in the World Wrestling Federation.

"Eye In The Sky" is heard on the 2002/2003 video game compilation Activision Anthology on the virtual tape deck in the main menu.

Reports surfaced in November 2010 that Lady Antebellum's single "Need You Now" has the same melody as "Eye In The Sky".^[4]

Charts

Charts (1982)	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report[5]	22
Canadian RPM Top Singles[6]	1
Canadian RPM Top Adult Contemporary[7]	7
French Singles Chart[8]	16
German Singles Chart[9]	38
Italian Singles Chart[10]	5
New Zealand Singles Chart[9]	6
Spain (AFYVE)[11]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[12]	3
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[12]	11

Year-end chart

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles[13]	31
Italian Singles Chart[10]	45
Spanish Singles Chart	1
US Billboard Hot 100	32
US Cashbox Top 100[14]	28

Cover versions

• Asia Featuring John Payne released a cover of this song on their album Recollections: A Tribute to British Prog in 2014.
• Synthpop artist Parralox released a cover of this song as a single in 2013.
• Folk rock artist Jonatha Brooke covered this song on her 2004 album, Back in the Circus.^[15]
• Israeli artist Noa covered this song on her 2002 album, Now.
• Rapper Immortal Technique sampled the song on his 2011 album, The Martyr.
• Gary War covered the song on his 2008 album New Raytheonport.
• "The Saga Continues" by P. Diddy on his 2001 album The Saga Continues...
• "Ja no brillen mai" by Joan Dausà i els Tipus d'Interès (in Catalan).
• The song was covered in 2013 by Red Band and Marina Maximilian Blumin on Israeli TV show The Red and Dvir Show (המופע של רד ודביר).
• An instrumental cover of the song was released on jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman's 2013 album "This Just In".

References

1. Trust, Gary (27 October 2009). "Backwards Bullets: This Week In Charts 1982". Billboard.com. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
2. "Tunnel Walk Tradition". Huskers.com. NU Media Relations. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
3. "Nebraska Tunnnel Walk". YouTube. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
4. Geller, Wendy (2010-10-18). "Lady Antebellum's 'Need You Now'--A Ripoff?". Our Country blog. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "Eye in the Sky in Canadian Charts". CollectionsCanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
7. "Eye in the Sky in Canadian Adult Contemporary Charts". CollectionsCanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
8. "Artists". InfoDisc.fr. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
9. "The Alan Parsons Project: Eye in the Sky (song)". Retrieved 8 July 2015.
10. "I singoli più venduti del 1982". HitParade Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 8 July 2015.
11. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
12. "The Alan Parsons Project". MusicVF.com.
13. "Top 100 Singles". RPM (republished online at CollectionsCanada.gc.ca) 37 (19). 25 December 1982. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
14. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1982 Top 100 Pop Singles (As published in the December 25, 1982, issue)". Cashbox. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
15. Hermann, Andy (23 February 2004). "Jonatha Brooke: Back in the Circus". PopMatters. Retrieved 11 October 2015. Even better is her completely unexpected take on that old Alan Parsons Project chestnut, "Eye in the Sky", which she reclaims as a heart-wrenching folk ballad.

External links

• Songfacts - Eye in the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project