"Maniac"
Single by Michael Sembello
from the album Bossa Nova Hotel and Flashdance soundtrack
Released	1983
Format	7"
Genre	Dance Synthpop
Length	4:12 4:21 (album version)
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Dennis Matkosky and Michael Sembello
Producer	Phil Ramone
Michael Sembello singles chronology
- "Maniac" (1983) "Automatic Man" (1983) Audio sample file info · help

"Maniac" is a synthpop song performed by Michael Sembello.

Contents 1 Song information 2 Charts and awards 3 In Popular Culture 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Song information

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.

Greek Power Metal band, Firewind do a cover of the song on their album The Premonition.

[edit] 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.

The song was nominated for an Academy Award, but it was disqualified since the original version had not been written for the film^{[citation needed]}. Michael Sembello states on the website Songfacts that the decision "pisses me off to this day." Another song from the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" performed by Irene Cara, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1984.

[edit] In Popular Culture

The Simpsons episode Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious had Groundskeeper Willie perform a one-man-band version of the song.

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (November 2009)

[edit] External links

• Songfacts - Maniac by Michael Sembello

Preceded by "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by The Eurythmics

Billboard Hot 100 number one single September 10, 1983 – September 17, 1983

Succeeded by "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel