I am so sorry about your friend, but that is the best tribute and memory
you could have.
Tina
On Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 1:11 PM, Paul Braun <pbraun42@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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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>
--
Tina Manley
www.tinamanley.com
tina-manley.artistwebsites.com
--
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