To the people of Memphis and the mid-south, Jimi Jamison is much more than the former lead singer of Survivor.

Memphians remember a very young Jimi Jamison as the front man for a group called Target back in the mid 70’s. It was obvious then that Jimi had a big career ahead of him. Target released two albums and Jimi moved on to sing with Cobra in the early 80’s and by 1983 had an invitation to audition for Survivor.

In addition to being the front man for these bands, Jimi Jamison has performed back up vocals for recordings by ZZ Top, Krokus (which also featured Memphian Andy Tanas), Jeff Healy Band, and numerous other recording artists. Billy Gibbons refers to Jimi as the fourth member of ZZ Top and Casey Kasem, on his nationally syndicated radio show American Top 40, referred to Jimi Jamison as “The Voice.”

By the time he joined Survivor they already had one hit under their belt, “Eye of the Tiger.” Dave Bickler, the original lead singer, needed surgery on his vocal cords and could no longer continue with the band. Among Jamison’s best known performances are "Burning Heart", from the Rocky IV movie with Sylvester Stallone, which hit #2 on the Billboard Charts, "High On You" (#8), and "The Search Is Over" (#4).

So what has Jimi Jamison been doing since Survivor broke up you ask? Well when his venture with Survivor broke down, he established his own band. He released several solo albums, When Love Comes Down in 1991, Empires followed in 1999. Fans of the television program Baywatch will recognize his voice from a song he wrote for the show's theme, "I'm Always Here."

Jamison would later reunite with Survivor for a tour in 2000, and he ended up remaining with the band up through the release of their new album Reach in 2006.

In 2005 he took a little time to have fun with other members of Survivor. To show that they didn’t take themselves too seriously, they got together to do an Emmy nominated Starbucks commercial by doing a parody of “Eye of the Tiger.”

So Jimi Jamison has been working steadily since the first break up of Survivor. This year he released a new album called Crossroads Moment and it is his best solo effort yet. He did get a little help from his friends like Don Barnes (.38 Special), Dave Bickler (Survivor's original lead singer), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow), Mickey Thomas (Starship), Mike Reno (Loverboy) and Jim Peterik (founding member of Survivor).

One of the best tracks on the album is “When Rock Was King” a song written by Jim Peterik, who by the way wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album. “When Rock Was King” is a song about looking back at the great groups of the 80’s like Kansas, AC/DC, Loverboy, Boston, Toto, Journey, Cheap Trick, Reo Speedwagon, and of course Survivor.

British magazine Powerplay said “If you’re a fan of classic Survivor albums like When Seconds Count and Too Hot To Sleep you’ll love Crossroads Moment. German magazine Breakout chose the record as “Special tip of the Month” and wrote “Crossroads Moment is without a doubt the ultimate AOR/Melodic Rock record, the best thing which happened this year”. Rock Hard Italy voted the album as “Dynamite” writing: “it is really exciting to hear Jim and Jimi on songs that go straight back to the radio appeal of their former band”. There are some awesome guitars by Mike Aquino, Joel Hoekstra and Jim Peterik. Crossroads Moment is available at iTunes and at cduniverse.com

Jimi also just finished recording a new Christmas song called “It Wouldn’t Feel like Christmas” that is a great song and should be available soon.

That brings you up to date on what Jimi Jamison has been and now here is where you can catch him in the future.
Nov 28 Salamandra Concert Hall Barcelona, Spain
Nov 29 Heineken Concert Hall Madrid, Spain
Dec 5 Mohegan Sun Hotel Casino Uncasville, CT
Dec 17 BayView Event Center Lake Minnetonka, MN

Jimi is known for his charity work and one of his favorite charities is found in his hometown of Memphis, TN, St. Jude Children's Hospital. This is from his website.

We are happy to announce the First Annual JIMI JAMISON CONCERT, benefitting St. Jude Children's Hospital, to be held at Minglewood Hall in Memphis, Tennessee on February 20, 2010. This will be an incredible Concert, with Jimi Jamison and his band... and, some of Jimi's friends appearing with him. Jimi has always given so much of himself and his talent to charities over the years, so this is a wonderful opportunity for all of us... fans, friends, and artists... to give something in return. This will definitely be an event you don't want to miss! VIP tickets will be available... which will include a Meet and Greet with the artists, a photo of yourself and the artists.... and, of course, best seating! The General Admission tickets will also be available, and at Minglewood Hall... there will not be a bad seat, a wonderful venue for this incredible Concert.

We will also have a silent auction and a raffle. There is no better way to help St. Jude, than an evening with Jimi Jamison and his friends...

You can stay current with what Jimi Jamison is up to at his website.

Listen to Jimi Jamison's music on All Memphis Music.com.