Fly Robin Fly – Silver Convention | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#1), R&B (#1) and Dance (#1); 1975

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

After musician/arranger Silvester Levay and record producer Michael Kunze caught the dance buzz from visiting several Munich, Germany discotheques, they set about creating a hit of their own.

Stripping the sound down to a pulsing bass line and bare-bones lyrics, Levay and Kunze crafted Save Me, using nameless studio singers billed as Silver Convention (after Silvester’s nickname).

When it came time for a follow-up, Levay and Kunze booked those same singers along with some moonlighting string players from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra to record Run, Rabbit, Run. Problem was: co-writer Levay wasn’t thrilled with a song that shared its name with a Volkswagen model.

Just 30 minutes before the girls were due to arrive, Levay heard a similarly-titled song on the radio, and quickly changed his to Fly Robin Fly. Robin flew to the top of the Hot 100 in just seven weeks and stayed there for three more.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

• Stephan Prager

Lyrics Written by:

• Sylvester Levay
• Stephan Prager

Awards:

• Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1976