Jimi Jamison, who has died aged 63 of a heart attack, was the lead singer of the US rock band Survivor from 1984 to 1988, again from 2000 to 2006, and then from 2011 until his death. The group was formed in Chicago in 1978 and enjoyed a huge international hit in 1982 with Eye of the Tiger, which appeared on the soundtrack to Sylvester Stallone's boxing movie Rocky III and featured vocals by David Bickler. Bickler was forced to leave the band due to polyps on his vocal cords, and Jamison replaced him. His powerful vocal style was a perfect fit for Survivor's brash, often overblown songs. As the group's guitarist, Jim Peterik, said: "Very few bands can survive a lead singer transplant [but] Jimi had the most magical voice I'd ever heard."
One of his best-known vocal performances came in 1985 with Survivor's Burning Heart, which appeared on the soundtrack of Rocky IV. Other hits featuring Jamison included Is This Love?, Man Against the World (which he co-wrote) and The Moment of Truth, which appeared on the soundtrack to The Karate Kid (1984).
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