Dennis Hardy "Fergie" Frederiksen (May 15, 1951 – January 18, 2014) was an American rock singer best known as the former lead singer of Trillion, Angel, LeRoux and Toto, as well as providing backing vocals for Survivor. He contributed to hit singles in three consecutive years, all with different bands: Survivor's "American Heartbeat" in 1982, LeRoux's "Carrie's Gone" in 1983 and Toto's "Stranger in Town" in 1984.
Early life and career
Frederiksen started his musical career at the age of 13, and he played clubs and pubs at the age of 15 with a group called the Common People in Grand Rapids, MI. In 1975, while he was still attending college at Central Michigan, Frederiksen was asked by his friend Tommy Shaw to replace him as the lead vocalist for the band MSFunk, as Shaw was leaving to join Styx. Frederiksen was with MSFunk for a year before disbanding in 1976. While living in Chicago, he helped form a local progressive rock band called Trillion with keyboardist Patrick Leonard. Trillion's debut album was released in 1978 and was produced by Gary Lyons (producer of Foreigner's debut album); all but one of its nine tracks were co-written by Frederiksen. The band went on to tour with Styx, Heart and Aerosmith, where Frederiksen began performing his trademark back-flips during live shows to fire up crowds, a tactic he would continue with later bands. Frederiksen would leave the group after one album, and was replaced by Thom Griffin.
After leaving Trillion, Frederiksen started focusing mainly on session work; primarily movie soundtracks. In 1979, he signed with Casablanca Records, where he performed under the alias of David London. (Frederiksen wanted to separate his rock image from the disco image Casablanca was known for.) He sang two tracks ("Samantha" and "Sound Of The City") on the soundtrack to Can't Stop The Music (which reached number 47 on the Billboard 200), as well as a more AOR-style solo album in 1981, with his friend Mark Christian as the lead guitarist. This would turn out to be one of the last albums released by Casablanca Records, as the fall of disco in the early 1980s forced the label to fold, eventually becoming part of Polygram Records. He would drop the stage name soon after, officially going by his childhood nickname "Fergie", which stemmed from his grade school classmates once incorrectly thinking his last name was "Ferguson".
While at Casablanca, he met Gregg Giuffria, of the recently defunct glam-rock band Angel (one of the few rock acts signed by the record label). The two started working in his studio in late 1981 in hopes of a possible new Angel LP under a new line-up. It was in these Angel recordings where Frederiksen met bassist Ricky Phillips. The two became long-time friends and have collaborated on many projects. This line-up never completed an official album, as Giuffria started focusing heavily on the formation of his group Giuffria in 1982, but did record three songs during band sessions: "Whips", "Troubleshooter", and "Should Have Known Better". These tracks were later released on the Angel Rarities collection, and were eventually covered by White Sister.
After Kansas singer Steve Walsh originally left the band, auditions were held in early 1982. Frederiksen was one of several candidates who tried out, but John Elefante eventually took over the lead vocal spot. However, Kansas manager Budd Carr spotted Fergie during auditions and began working with him soon after, which ultimately would prove instrumental for Frederiksen's career. It was around this time that long-time friends Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan from Survivor invited Frederiksen to their studio during the recording of their third album, while lead singer Dave Bickler was experiencing vocal cord strain. Ultimately, Bickler was able to finish the album, and Frederiksen assisted with background vocals. The band's third album Eye of the Tiger was released in May 1982, with Frederiksen credited simply as "Fergie". It jumped to number 2 on the Billboard charts, and eventually went 2× Platinum on the strength of its #1 title track. Frederiksen provided harmonies on five tracks, including the album's second single, "American Heartbeat", which charted in the top 20.