Studio album · No. 6

Too Hot to Sleep Songwriting Credits by Survivor

1988 Scotti Brothers 10 tracks 52:04

Produced by Frankie Sullivan, Frank Filipetti  ·  Engineered by Frank Filipetti, Jeff Abikzer, Dan Harjung, Danny Mormando, Doug Sax

Scotti Brothers Hard rockPop rockAOR
Complete Artist
100%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Survivor carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
10 trackswritten by Survivor 0 tracksoutside writers
Survivor's roles on this album

Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

10
Tracks
3
Lyricists
2
Producers
1988
Released
Data Insight

Every song here is a Peterik and Sullivan copyright. The pair wrote all ten, and Jimi Jamison broke into the credit line on exactly two of them, the title track and "Rhythm of the City," which is the same narrow foothold he held on the two albums before this one. The split matters because of what happened next. Peterik's memoir says Jamison claimed a hand in writing "Across the Miles" and that Peterik disputed it, and the sleeve backs Peterik: the song is credited to the two founders alone. Jamison sang it, and Rory Dodd was brought in to add lead vocal on the same track, but neither singer holds a writing share. That gap between the voice on the record and the names on the copyright is a large part of why the fight over the Survivor name got as ugly as it did after the band went dark.

Survivor's seventh studio album, released October 3, 1988 and cut at Royal Recorders in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Right Track Recording in New York. Bassist Stephan Ellis and drummer Marc Droubay had been pushed out after the 1987 tour, so session players Bill Syniar and Mickey Curry played the rhythm parts and the sleeve credits only Jimi Jamison, Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan as the band. Sullivan produced with engineer Frank Filipetti, Peterik took an associate producer credit, and the record turned out to be the last Survivor album Peterik ever made.

Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
She's a Star
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
2
Desperate Dreams
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
3
Too Hot to Sleep
Jimi JamisonJim PeterikFrankie Sullivan Jimmy Wayne JamisonJames Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
4
Didn't Know It Was Love #61
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
5
Rhythm of the City
Jimi JamisonJim PeterikFrankie Sullivan Jimmy Wayne JamisonJames Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
6
Here Comes Desire
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
7
Across the Miles #74
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Rory Dodd (additional lead vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
8
Tell Me I'm the One
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
9
Can't Give It Up
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)
10
Burning Bridges
Jim PeterikFrankie Sullivan James Michael PeterikFrank Michael Sullivan III Frankie SullivanFrank Filipetti Jimi Jamison (lead vocals, backing vocals)Frankie Sullivan (guitars, backing vocals)Jim Peterik (keyboards)Peter-John Vettese (keyboards)Bill Syniar (bass)Mickey Curry (drums)Ian Lloyd (backing vocals)Tommy Shaw (backing vocals)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 13 contributors

FS
Frankie Sullivan
Writer · Producer · Vocals
On this album10 written
FM
Frank Michael Sullivan III
Writer
On this album10 written
JM
James Michael Peterik
Writer
On this album10 written
JP
Jim Peterik
Writer · keyboards
On this album10 written
JJ
Jimi Jamison
Writer · Vocals
On this album2 written
JW
Jimmy Wayne Jamison
Writer
On this album2 written
FF
Frank Filipetti
Producer
On this album10 produced
BS
Bill Syniar
bass
On this albumGuest
IL
Ian Lloyd
Vocals
On this albumGuest
MC
Mickey Curry
drums
On this albumGuest
PV
Peter-John Vettese
keyboards
On this albumGuest
RD
Rory Dodd
Vocals
On this albumGuest

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Frequently Asked Questions Too Hot to Sleep

Who wrote the songs on Too Hot to Sleep?
Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan wrote all ten tracks. Jimi Jamison is credited as a third writer on two of them, "Too Hot to Sleep" and "Rhythm of the City."
Who produced Too Hot to Sleep?
Frankie Sullivan and Frank Filipetti produced it together. Filipetti also engineered and mixed the album, and Jim Peterik took an associate producer credit.
Why does the band lineup look so small on this record?
Bassist Stephan Ellis left after a stomach ulcer forced him off the road, and drummer Marc Droubay was let go at the end of the 1987 tour. Session players Bill Syniar and Mickey Curry cut the parts instead, leaving Jamison, Peterik and Sullivan as the credited band.
Did Jimi Jamison write "Across the Miles"?
The sleeve credits it to Peterik and Sullivan only. Jamison later said he was involved in creating the song, and Peterik's 2014 memoir disputes that claim. No release credits Jamison as a writer on the track.
How did the album sell?
Poorly by Survivor's standards. It stalled at number 187 on the Billboard 200, and Jamison later blamed a dispute between Scotti Brothers and distributor Columbia for the lack of promotion. Peterik and Sullivan shelved the band afterward.
Was there a hit single?
"Didn't Know It Was Love" reached number 61 on the Hot 100 and number 40 on Mainstream Rock. "Across the Miles" got to number 74 on the Hot 100 and number 16 on Adult Contemporary, which made it one of the band's better AC showings.
Data note: Two production details disagree across sources. The Wikipedia article for the single "Across the Miles" lists Peterik, Sullivan and Filipetti as producers, while the album sleeve as transcribed on Discogs, the album's own Wikipedia article and Genius all credit Sullivan and Filipetti as producers with Peterik as associate producer. Track credits here follow the sleeve. Separately, personnel other than Rory Dodd are credited album-wide rather than track by track, so the per-track assignments for Peter-John Vettese (additional keyboards) and the guest backing vocalists Ian Lloyd and Tommy Shaw are not individually documented on any release. Rory Dodd's additional lead vocal is credited to track 7 only. One US LP pressing on Discogs lists Mickey Curry under bass; every other source, including the same album's Wikipedia personnel list and two other pressings, credits him with drums and Bill Syniar with bass.

Sources

Wikipedia: Too Hot to Sleep (infobox, track listing, personnel, production, charts) Wikipedia: Across the Miles (single background and chart peaks) Wikipedia: Survivor discography (singles chart table) Wikipedia: Survivor (band) (lineup changes, promotion dispute, no sales figure) Wikipedia: Jim Peterik (legal name James Michael Peterik) Wikipedia: Jimi Jamison (legal name Jimmy Wayne Jamison) Wikipedia: Frankie Sullivan (birth date, founding member) Discogs release 2578848: Scandinavian LP, per-track writing credits and full sleeve credits Discogs release 1404619: US LP, production and studio notes Discogs release 6251981: 2011 Rock Candy remaster, additional musician roles Discogs release 1324930: US CD, production credit Discogs artist 284218: Frankie Sullivan, legal name Frank Michael Sullivan III MusicBrainz release group search: Too Hot to Sleep by Survivor MusicBrainz artist search: Frankie Sullivan Cover Art Archive: front cover confirmed for the release group Genius: She's a Star, track 1 producers Genius: Across the Miles, track 7 producers Cover Art Archive: Too Hot to Sleep by Survivor