Jim Peterik gained an army of loyal fans through his work with Survivor in the 80s. As one of the biggest hit makers of the AOR/melodic rock scene, the already veteran performer struck song writing gold with Frankie Sullivan, and the pair knocked out hit after hit. Their original seven album run between 1979-88 is almost perfect. Outside of Survivor, Peterik also put his name to big selling singles by .38 Special, tunes recorded by Sammy Hagar and Cheap Trick, and also worked with Night Ranger’s Kelly Keagy. In AOR terms, the man is a bona fide legend. Unfortunately, in the 21st Century, he has become more obsessed with writing material that sounds like it belongs in a stage musical. Although this style has its fans, its overbearing and grandiose nature – as evidenced on his work with Pride of Lions with Toby Hitchcock and bits of Dennis DeYoung’s final work, ‘26 East, Vol 1 & Vol 2’ – really doesn’t suit everyone. There are lots of times when ploughing through these huge works, that an older Peterik fan might wish Jim would return to something less…bombastic.
Tag Archives: survivor
PRIDE OF LIONS – Lion Heart
Formed in 2003, Pride of Lions is a melodic rock band that combines the musical talents and songwriting of ex-Survivor legend Jim Peterik and vocalist Toby Hitchcock. Their sound blends old style melodic rock with the bombast of musical theatre – a musical mix that’s surely won them as many detractors as genuine fans. Peterik’s gift for a huge chorus has remained obvious, but in Hitchcock, he’s found a musical partner who is often so overbearing that his voice tends to smother any real melodicism Peterik’s songs might have had. This made their first five albums very hard on the ears. It’s not that Hitchcock isn’t talented in his own way – his ‘Reckoning’ solo album from 2019 is actually very good for what it is – it’s just that working with Peterik always tended to bring out his worst vocal excesses. [Peterik’s bloated musical theatre sound, meanwhile, was much better suited to superior singer Dennis De Young…and even that produced mixed results.]
JIMI JAMISON: August 23, 1951 – August 31, 2014
On August 31st 2014 AOR vocalist Jimi Jamison died following a heart attack. He was 63 years old.
Best known as vocalist for Survivor, Jamison possessed one of the finest voices within the melodic rock scene. His range, although similar to previous Survivor vocalist Dave Bickler (singer of the band’s biggest hit ‘Eye of the Tiger’) was superior; his soaring tones second only to Journey’s Steve Perry for a pure AOR sound. Jamison recorded vocals for the band’s second biggest hit ‘Burning Heart’ (from Rocky IV) and for three Survivor albums in the 1980s: ‘Vital Signs’, ‘When Seconds Count’ and the harder sounding ‘Too Hot To Sleep’ – each one vital for any respectable melodic rock album collection. A further Survivor album, ‘Reach’, was released eight years later to critical praise but lesser commercial success.