Throughout rock music history, certain bands have scored massive hit singles right off the bat. More often than not, however, a band’s first foray into the Top 40 is a modest success, perhaps setting the table to improve upon it.
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In the case of arena rock stalwarts Survivor, their first single to crack the Top 40 barely squeaked its way to that level and is now mostly forgotten. But one man hearing and loving that song led to their big break and biggest hit.
The Making of a Band
Survivor formed in 1978 with a more impressive pedigree than most start-up bands. That’s because their founder had already been the artistic driving force for a long-running band (The Ides Of March) that once scored a top 5 hit (“Vehicle”). That man was Jim Peterik.
Peterik was considering leaving performing behind in favor of writing and producing for others when he met guitarist Frankie Sullivan. Lead vocalist Dave Bickler joined, a rhythm section was corralled, and Survivor was born. The name referred to Peterik, once just missing being a passenger on a plane that crashed.
The band’s self-titled debut album didn’t make much of a dent in the public consciousness in 1979. Survivor changed their bassist and drummer before making their follow-up album, Premonition, which arrived in 1981. That album contained the song that would give them Top 40 exposure and, more importantly, a passageway to the single that would help their popularity explode.
“Son” Rising
Survivor released the song “Poor Man’s Son” as the lead single off Premonition. Written, like most of the band’s songs from that era, by Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan, “Poor Man’s Son” featured a taut rock groove that would become the band’s calling card. Dave Bickler, who could go toe-to-toe with any belter in rock, delivered a restrained yet potent lead vocal.
“Poor Man’s Son” managed to get a foothold on rock radio like no song that Survivor had released to that point. It crossed over to pop radio as well. The song made it to No. 33 on the pop charts.
Not bad at all, and the exposure that it lent the band likely would have helped them rise a little higher up the ladder with their next album release. But before that time came, they received an opportunity to do a soundtrack song. And that opportunity came directly from “Poor Man’s Son”.
When Sly Comes Calling
Sylvester Stallone understood better than anyone how much the right music could contribute to a successful movie. His breakthrough film, Rocky, wouldn’t have hit as hard with Bill Conti’s theme music. When making Rocky III, Stallone had the idea to utilize a rock song to make that same kind of impact.
While assembling the film, Stallone used the Queen song “Another One Bites The Dust” as the backing music behind the opening montage. But he couldn’t get the rights to it. That’s when he remembered a song that had the right sound and feel for what he wanted. That song was Survivor’s “Poor Man’s Son”.
Stallone called Jim Peterik out of the blue and asked if the band could come up with something in the vein of “Poor Man’s Son” but with lyrics more relevant to the film. The band took the assignment and delivered a little song called “Eye Of The Tiger”. Without “Poor Man’s Son”, that No. 1 single might never have happened.
Photo by Ron Wolfson/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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