NEW YORK, Oct 21 — The 1980s arena rock band Survivor is living up to its name, announcing a reunion yesterday a year after its singer died.
The band—known for the 1982 chart-topper “Eye of the Tiger” from the “Rocky III” boxing drama and other hits such as “The Search Is Over”—recruited a little known 21-year-old country singer, Cameron Barton, as the new frontman.
“For those of you who don’t know already, I have been named the new lead singer for the band @survivorband,” the St. Louis native, whose Twitter biography says “I just wanna sing for you,” wrote to his followers, who numbered fewer than 1,200 early yesterday.
Survivor’s previous lead singer Jimi Jamison, who joined in 1984, died at age 63 in September 2014 of a stroke aggravated by drug use.
Original singer Dave Bickler, who sang “Eye of the Tiger,” left initially due to vocal cord issues and has since had an on-off relationship with Survivor.
Guitarist Frankie Sullivan said he was impressed by Barton’s seriousness and flew to meet him within 24 hours of hearing him.
“Most musicians aren’t that focused when they are that young. He learned 20 songs in about eight days,” Sullivan said in a statement.
The band said it planned a tour in 2016, with details to be announced later.
Survivor, formed in Chicago, packed arenas in the 1980s with its hard rock hits which also included “Burning Heart” and “Is This Love.” — AFP
