Survivor is a legendary American rock band. The band's style can be attributed to hard rock. The musicians are distinguished by energetic tempo, aggressive melody and very rich keyboard instruments.
The history of the creation of the Survivor group
1977 was the year the rock band was created. Jim Peterik was at the forefront of the band, which is why he is often referred to as the "father" of Survivor.
In addition to Jim Peterik, the band included: Dave Bickler - vocalist and keyboardist, as well as guitarist Frank Sullivan. A little later, bassist Denis Keith Johnson and drummer Gary Smith joined the band.
Jim first named the new band The Jim Peterik Band. A year has passed, and Peterik invited the soloists to approve the new name of the Survivor band. The musicians voted "yes", thereby confirming the emergence of a new rock band.
In 1978, in Chicago, the musicians performed in one of the city's nightclubs. After the debut performance, the musicians toured the Midwest and the Pacific coast for about a year.
In the same year, the musicians managed to conclude a lucrative contract with Scotti Bros. records. In 1980, the American rock band released their debut album, Survivor.
The collection not only became successful (commercially), but also aroused genuine interest among rock fans.
In honor of the release of the record, the team went on tour for 8 months. After the tour, the musicians started working on a new album, but with a changed line-up.
Denis Keith and Gary Smith left the band. The fact is that the musicians, in addition to working in the Survivor group, had other, more profitable projects.
Soon the rock team was replenished with Mark Drabi, who sat down on drums, and Stephen Ellis, who was in charge of bass. The updated composition presented the compilation Premonition.
For many fans, this record has become a real "breakthrough". Music critics consider the album to be one of the best works of the rock band, but the real "breakthrough" happened a little later.
Soundtrack Eye of the Tiger for the film “Rocky 3”
Sylvester Stallone, who was just starring in the movie "Rocky 3", was in search of a suitable track for the movie. Quite by chance, the American actor heard the track of Survivor Poor Man's Son.
He met with the soloists of the group. The band soon released the soundtrack for the movie Eye of the Tiger.
The musical composition took a leading position in the music charts. In addition, the track took 1st position on Billboard (6 weeks), also topped the British and Australian charts.
In the early 1980s, the group released a compilation album of the same name, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart. The album went platinum.
The group began releasing studio albums. In the mid-1980s, the band's discography was replenished with the albums Caught in the Game and Vital Songs. Another vocalist was already working on the recording of the last collection.
Dave Bickler had health problems that negatively affected the condition of his voice. He was replaced by Jim Jamison. During this period of time, the musicians released another soundtrack for the film "Rocky 4".
In 1986, the musicians presented the album When Seconds Count to fans, which went gold. Two years later, the band's discography was replenished with the Too Hot To Sleep album.
The compilation was not successful (commercially). A distinctive feature of the collection was the predominance of hard rock. Despite the fact that this album did not give the musicians a lot of money, music critics consider it among the best collections.
Until 2000, the rock band did not show itself in any way. Each of the musicians pursued a solo career. The guys released solo albums and toured.
Changes in the group
As a result, the group began to suffer from the loss of soloists. Jim Peterik and Frank Sullivan were the first to leave the band. Jim Jamison continued to perform with various musicians under the name Jimi Jamison's Survivor.
In 2006, the musicians presented a new album. The compilation was filled with both new and some old songs re-released from the Fire Makes Steel bootleg.
Since 1999, the group has toured in various line-ups, took part in various shows and recorded the soundtrack for the Sylvester Stallone film Racer (the track never sounded in the film).
Survivor can also be heard in the comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Survivor band today
The activities of the musicians of the Survivor group are aimed at a solo career. Fans can hear the soloists of the rock band as independent singers. Musicians continue to perform, attend music festivals and interesting shows.
