I may have posted this photo at some time last year - I don't remember.
But the events of the past two days says that I need to share it again.
I'm sure some of you are familiar with the rock group Survivor and are
aware of my connections with its history and members.
They had two lead singers (well, two that counted anyway) - original guy
Dave Bickler and his replacement, Jimi Jamison. Jimi's always been one of
my favorite vocalists, and a number of years ago I was fortunate enough to
be introduced to him. Meeting one of your heroes is fraught with risk -
what if they turn out to be unkind, unpleasant? That would tarnish the
enjoyment you get from their work.
Fortunately, Jimi wasn't any of that. Because I was friends with Jim
Peterik, I was OK in Jimi's book. We hit it off right away, and in the
years to come, had many long coversations about music, life, family,
friendship.
Last April, Sheri and I decided to take a short vacation in Tunica since
she got an offer to stay at one of the casinos for almost free, and it was
some place we hadn't been before. Conveniently, it's roughly a half-hour
from Memphis, so I emailed Jimi to see if he'd be in town by chance. He
was, and said he'd love to hang out for a while. I told him I wanted to see
*his* Memphis - I could see the tourist-guide Memphis any time. Jimi moved
to Memphis with his mother when he was less than a year old, so he'd spent
pretty much his entire life in Memphis. He had a friend help him plan the
day. She works at the FedEx headquarters in the pilot-training department,
so she had arranged for Jimi and I to fly the brand-new 777 simulator (I
did surprisingly well in "beginner mode"), and then we headed over to
Willie Mitchell's Royal Studio. Royal is one of the oldest
continuously-operating recording studios in the world, opening in 1956 in a
defunct movie theatre. It's where Al Green recorded almost all of his
albums. I shot a number of photos (I definitely want to go back
better-prepared - it's an amazing place with a history and vibe you can
just feel.) Two that really stand out for me involve Jimi, who was good
friends with one of the producers there, was having a lot of fun. This
first one is from when he put on headphones and stood at Rev. Green's
"pulpit" in the vocal booth and started singing one of his songs. Any time
I hear his voice, especially when I'm standing right there and there's
nothing between me and that magnificent instrument but air, always lights
me up and makes my soul happy. I knew there was a Memphis soul singer
inside of him - it was in his blood. I laid out a plan to fund an album
project, and he and Carl had been working on songs. It saddens me that the
world will never hear what would have come from those sessions.
http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=4698
The second one is from the back hallway leading into the studio. There was
an old promotional poster of Al Green on the wall - if you know his work,
it's an iconic photo. Jimi saw that, a smile lit up his face, and he
mimicked the pose. I had to have that photo. Had to. Of all the photos I
have of Jimi, it's my favorite. To me, it shows the real Jimi - the sense
of fun, the mischievous sense of humour. I see my friend, not the rockstar.
Looking at it again, I may try desaturating some of the greenish-yellow out
of it, but for right now, it'll do. Although, the wall really was that
shade of green...
http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=4801
Monday evening, while we were sitting at the bar at a restaurant in Chicago
waiting for our table, I got a text from a friend with a link to a breaking
story that said the lead singer of Survivor, Jimi Jamison, was dead at the
age of 63. I thought it was a hoax. I showed it to Sheri, we stared at each
other, she told me that I'd better go outside and try to find out the
truth. I called Gwen to find out. She was crying when she answered the
phone - I knew the truth. Survivor had played a concert in California on
Saturday evening, he'd flown home to Memphis Sunday morning, and died from
a heart attack on Sunday night.
There's a lot more I could say about Jimi, but the words are hard right
now. Based on the messages and postings of grief from all over the world
that are coming into our Facebook pages, Jimi's talent, warmth and
generosity touched millions of lives over the years. Almost universally
loved by anyone who had any contact with him. That's one hell of a legacy
to leave behind.
I'm sad that I won't be able to attend his funeral - it sounds like it's
going to be on Saturday, and I have a show to work at the casino and a
major thing happening at work. But I'm sure his friends will put together
one heck of a tribute concert, hopefully benefitting St. Jude's hospital,
one of his pet charities. You can bet I'll be there for that.
Goodbye, my friend. Thank you for the music, the memories, the friendship.
I am a better person for having known you.
--
Paul Braun
Certified Music Junkie
"Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life." -- Berthold Auerbach
--
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