Survivor
Few Rock groups have used soundtracks as a career path but they played a large part in Survivor's story.
Multi-instrumentalist Jim Peterik first got noticed as a member of the brass-driven Ides of March. He wrote their '70 million seller "Vehicle." After a brief stint as a solo Peterik formed Survivor with Frank Sullivan (lead guitar), Dave Bickler (vocals, keyboards), Stephen Ellis (bass) and Marc Droubay (drums). Prior to the release of Survivor's debut Peterik penned .38 Special's single "Rockin' Into The Night" which just missed the Top 40. A year later, he and Sullivan composed another song for .38 Special. "Hold On Loosely" did far better.
Survivor's self-titled 1980 debut and sophomore album two years later, "Premonition" failed to have much impact. But when Sylvester Stallone said he wanted a hard Rock sound for his Rocky III soundtrack the president of Survivor's label played "Premonition" for him. The actor liked what he heard and Survivor was commissioned to write and record the film's theme song. Seeing a rough cut of the film Peterik and Sullivan keyed in on the phrase "eye of the tiger." With its slashing guitar and theatrical vocals, "Eye Of The Tiger" became a huge hit. That success led to placing another song on a soundtrack. But '84 release "Moment Of Truth" from The Karate Kid soundtrack didn't register. Later in the year Bickler departed and was replaced by Jimi Jamison. The group bounced back with a pair of hits from their "Vital Signs" album, "High On You" and "The Search Is Over." The album sold over a million copies.
"Burning Heart" showed up on the Rocky IV soundtrack and became another Top Five hit. The group's last Top Ten hit, "Is This Love," came in '87.
Survivor has a clean, well produced sound and some better than average songs. "Eye Of The Tiger" and "Vital Signs" are their most popular albums and best studio efforts. But since Survivor is ultimately a singles band "Greatest Hits" is the smart option. It has all the hits and near misses.