Jimmy Wayne Jamison (CD)

Second posthumous release from the Jimi Jamison archives / Previous release in Iconoclassic’s Jimi Jamison Archive Series sold out within one year. – After leading Survivor to the top of the charts in the mid-’80s with hits like “I Can’t Hold Back,” “High on You,” “The Search Is Over,” “Burning Heart,” and “Is This Love,” powerhouse vocalist Jimi Jamison reunited with his former Survivor band-mate, songwriter Jim Peterik (“Eye of the Tiger,” “Hold on Loosely,” “Vehicle”) to cut…a country-rock album? The concept seems perplexing, yet it makes perfect sense. The singer was born Jimmy Wayne Jamison in smalltown Mississippi. He performed songs by The Marshall Tucker Band in his dues paying club days, cut background vocals for Molly Hatchet, and sang prominent harmonies all over ZZ Top’s massive Eliminator album. Those who knew him best said that you could hear his Southern roots, even when he joined Survivor. Meanwhile, master songwriter Jim Peterik had written with Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, and Blackhawk. “I heard what I called ‘the yodel’ in his voice,’” he explains. “It’s not really Southern, but he’s got a catch in his voice that I made sure was in every song.” When we think of country music today, the line often blurs between true old school country, pop, and straight up rock & roll. The same is true with Jimmy Wayne Jamison, which at times, doesn’t stray too far from the Jimi Jamison that we all know and love so dearly.