(Photos courtesy of Sally J. Irwin)
Our webzine is proud to host an interview of the Man with the Golden Voice, Mr Jimi Jamison himself. No introduction needed. Welcome on board, Jimi.
Thanks, it is an honor to be here.
Let’s take a trip back the memory lane. You are a Mississippi-born. Stax and Soul music must have been in the air, correct?
Right. Being from Memphis,Tn, we were surrounded with rhythm & blues and soul music so naturally I was influenced by the sounds of Stax Records and soul music. My first band "The Brutes" (because we were all on the school football team) played mainly soul music. It was all around us and all over the radio so we were very influenced by it. I even learned to play trumpet because whats a soul band without a trumpet and sax.
I also sang background vocals for several artists at Stax toward the end of that era.
Was Memphis-based outfit Combinations in 1973 your first official release? A psychedelic pop with prog elements album, which caught me off guard the first time I listened to it. What do you recall from that recording?
No. My first release was with a band called "The Debuts" an R&B band. We recorded a song for ATCO Records called "If I Cry" which was originally meant for the Box Tops.
Combinations was a strange group of 10 really talented players and singers. We recorded at Trans Maximus studio headed by Stever Cropper and Jerry Williams, pretty good company for a young musician. Our music was always hard for even me catagorize, so I'll go with your description. We actually recorded the first record for RCA and a second which was never realeased and hasn't been heard by the public to this day..
It was a great band, we rehearsed every day for a year and played 2 shows before disbanding.
Then 3 years later Target came. Two albums on A&M, tours with Black Sabbath, Kiss and Styx among others. Why didn’t this band make it big?
I think we were our own worse enemies. We had a way of thinking and doing things that would rival any punk rock band. We never allowed anyone to tell us what to play, write or even how long we played. Requesting a song was a sure way to make sure we never played it. Very rebellious. We didn't take direction well but we could rock the house.
The forming of a new band followed in 1983, Cobra. Excellent lineup and album, but the group disbanded shortly after its release. Reasons?
I think it was a communication breakdown. We had different ideas about the style of music we should play.
1984 and Survivor. How did all happen? Was it a strange transition from Memphis to Chicago?
Cobra, on Epic Records, and Survivor had mutual friends at Epic, which was actually CBS, who suggested me as a replacement for their current singer. They called me to audition but wasn't sure I even wanted to do it. All I knew about them was " Eye OF The Tiger". I went out and bought their older albums and realized that they weren't just some studio musicians who got lucky. They really were good songwriters, so at the prodding of all my friends I pulled on my cowboy boots and went to Chicago, figuring I'd go in and sing a couple of songs, pacify my friends back home and then get back to what I was doing as I had other offers (Joe Perry etc…) I went home and about a month later got a call saying "please come join the band were tired of auditioning people".
Quoting Jim Peterik: "Very few bands can survive a lead singer transplant. Jimi had the most magical voice I’ve ever heard." Given that Peterik still considers ‘Vital Signs’ to be Survivor’s peak (AOR’s peak, if I’m allowed to say), what would you have to add or reply to him?
Jim is a great guy and great songwriter.
Yes…It usually is hard to replace a singer with a #1 song but I never really felt any pressure. At that time no one knew who was in the band or what they looked like anyway and as always I just do the best I can do and people would like me or they wouldn't. When we started doing videos for MTV… everything sky rocketed. We had #1 ("I Can't Hold Back") videos for weeks at a time and the album started selling like crazy.
"Too Hot To Sleep". Why this album never got the deserved promotion it would have taken to make it a success?
When this record was finished our record label and CBS (our distributer) were at odds so it never got pushed and was never distributed to stores. Most of our fans didn't really even know about it.
In 1989 you did not accept an invitation to join Deep Purple, as long as collaboration with Mutt Lange. What was the cause behind these decisions?
Yeah… I really wanted to play with that band. It was an honor just to be asked. I had just finished my first solo record for Scotti Bros and they wanted me to go out and promote it. Looking back, I think they wanted to keep me close by in case Survivor got back together….. Depressingly…. I had to tell Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord that I couldn't join. They and I also were very disappointed about that.
And yes….Mutt Lange had contacted Survivor management to work with me on a project and it was kept from me … I'm sure it was at the direction of the other band members not to tell me. I would have never known had it not been for a friend in the organization. I was very pissed about that one.
Did Survivor split due to your move to release "When Love Comes Down" in 1991? Or was it something else?
We sank everything we had into the “Too Hot To Sleep” album. We were so sure that it would be the biggest Survivor record ever. We all agreed that it was the best album we had ever recorded and all our hopes and future of the band was on the line. We spent a ridiculous amount of money on it - $600,000.00 so we were really banking on its success. Little did we know that our record label and CBS Records (our distributers and promotion company) were at odds and CBS refused to work the record. We were really depressed and called a meeting. It was at that point that we decided to go our separate ways. My deciding to accept our record labels offer to do a solo album wasn't the reason we broke up. Of course it didn't help but it played a very small part.
You have collaborated with Frankie Sullivan on "Reach" and with Jim Peterik on the brilliant "Crossroads Moment". Here’s a question you must have been sick and tired of answering to: is a Survivor reunion possible? Or would it be "more pain than gain", as Peterik has stated?
Well ... nothing is impossible but it doesn't look like it will happen anytime in the near future. I think Jim is very happy doing what he is doing now.
How was it working again with your good friend Peterik on "Crossroads Moment"?
Its always a pleasure working with an great songwriter. We have always been very close personal friends and know how to communicate to make a project the best it can be.
Kelly Keagy‘s songs written for the aforementioned album were left out. Is it your intention to release them in the near future?
I'm not sure right now. Frontiers had the rights on the choice of songs. Kelly, Jim and I wrote "Dream Higher" which I believe is the only one the Kelly was involved in writing. He's a great talent and a good friend and I'm sure we'll do it again.
"Extra Moments". How did this come up? Some songs could have easily been on "Crossroads Moment".
This cd was actually songs that we didn't use for the Crossroads Moment cd. Jim P. and I donated all proceeds from this record to help keep melodicrock.com and our friend Andrew McNiece on the internet. We believe that it is a very important website with information about whats going on with just about any artist.
Is a new album featuring you and Bobby Kimball on the way?
Yes, Bobby and I have been in the studio recently. I've finished my vocals and Bob is working on his now. It was actually Serafino at Frontiers Records idea. These guys really know and promote great music. We have some really great songwriters submitting songs - Mutt Lange, Richard Page (Mr Mister) and many others. Bobby and I perform together often and we are also planning on touring for the cd.
Your first ever visit to Europe at Firefest was a smash. Everybody was in awe of your performance. You said once you consider yourself to be more of a live singer than a studio one. What were your impressions of this experience?
It was a wonderful show. The folks at Firefest are the best and the fans were kiler. They didn't want to just hear Survivor songs. They knew and wanted to hear songs from my solo cd's and Cobra also.
I would always rather sing live and be close to the people than be in a studio.
Do you enjoy touring and how your family copes?
I love touring as long as I don't have to be gone a month at a time like the old days. My family is so used to it.. they know what it takes as they are all musicians.
You continue to be dedicated to benefits and charities, which brings to mind the "Can’t Look Away" song. Do you have this inner need to contribute?
I just feel that whenever we can help someone who needs help we should always try to do it. I don't really feel a need to do it, I just enjoy doing it. It gives me a good feeling whenever I can do something I love doing and it actually helps someone at the same time. It’s a double blessing.
Is there any possibility at all to see you performing live in Athens? That would be awesome.
I would love to. I have a close friend from there who owns a studio here in Memphis called Cotton Row and has told me a lot about Greece, its people and how beautiful it is so I'm am trying looking for a promoter there to do some shows. Can't wait!
Thank you very much for this interview. It was a true honour.
My pleasure, my friend.
All the Best
Jimi Jamison
