Stephan Ellis Played Bass on Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ Dies [Video]

Stephen Ellis, the former bassist for the 80s rock band Survivor, has died. He was 69 years old.

Frankie Sullivan, Survivor’s guitarist verified Ellis’ death on the band’s official Facebook Page. He did not give a date or cause of death.

Sullivan wrote on the page how the band was devastated to hear Ellis had died. He wrote about how Ellis was interested only in the music. He had a charm with the group and fans.

Jim Peterik who founded Survivor with Sullivan and was also the band’s rhythm guitarist and keyboardist wrote on his Facebook that Ellis’ death “hit me like a shot.” He also said that Ellis was the epitome of rock ‘n’ roll. He had the attitude, look, and the way he played his Fender Precision bass defined the sound of Survivor, which would become the bands signature.

Dave Bickler, the former lead singer whose vocals appeared on “Eye of the Tiger,” tweeted on Twitter that he heard the news of the passing of Ellis. He added that his former band member was an original, fantastic bandmate, and a great musician.

Survivor formed in 1978. However, the bassist did not join until the early 80s. Ellis played on the band’s album “Premonition,” which featured the song “Poor Man’s Son” which hit the Top 40.

Sylvester Stallone approached the band one year later to record a song for the soundtrack of his movie “Rocky III.” The band recorded “Eye of the Tiger” which became Survivor’s signature song.

For six weeks, “Eye Of The Tiger” was number one on the Billboard Charts, was certified platinum, and sold over nine million copies. The track won the Grammy Award in 1982 for Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group With Vocal and was nominated for an Oscar in 1982 for Best Original Song.

Written by Barbara Sobel

Sources:

Rolling Stone: Stephan Ellis, Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ Bassist, Dead at 69
Music Radar: Survivor’s Stephan Ellis, bassist on Eye Of The Tiger, has died
Ultimate Classic Rock: Former Survivor Bassist Stephen Ellis has died

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