Studio album · No. 4
Vital Signs Songwriting Credits by Survivor
Produced by Ron Nevison · Engineered by Ron Nevison, Kevin Eddy, Nick Sanchez, Doug Sax
Holds writing credit on 9 of 9 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 9 / 9 documented
Scored across the 9 tracks with documented writers, by whether Survivor carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 9 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
All nine songs on the original LP carry the same two names, Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan, with no third writer anywhere on the record. The comeback the album is remembered for belongs to a singer who wrote none of it: Jamison auditioned into a catalog that was already written, and his name appears in the performer credits only. Peterik played keyboards here rather than guitar, and the split between his melodic instincts and Sullivan's rock guitar is audible in the gap between 'The Search Is Over' and 'It's the Singer, Not the Song'. The one place outside writers turn up is the CD bonus track that later reissues appended, 'The Moment of Truth', which came from The Karate Kid and was written by Bill Conti, Dennis Lambert and Peter Beckett. It was not on the 1984 album, so the Peterik and Sullivan monopoly on Vital Signs proper holds without an exception.
Survivor's fifth album and the first fronted by Jimi Jamison, who came in after vocal cord problems ended Dave Bickler's run with the band. Ron Nevison produced and engineered it at The Plant in Sausalito and the Record Plant in Los Angeles. It reversed the slide that followed Caught in the Game, reaching number 16 on the Billboard 200 on the back of four charting singles. The RIAA certified it platinum in the US.