Fergie Frederiksen

A music enthusiast seeking to devise a parlor game modeled on the actor Kevin Bacon’s vast network of professional links might readily select singer Fergie Frederiksen as a central figure, given the breadth of bands and personnel he has intersected throughout his career. Born Dennis Hardy Frederiksen in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on May 15, 1951, he was already performing in local clubs during his teenage years. In 1975 he relocated to Chicago, where he stepped in for his friend Tommy Shaw in MS Funk after Shaw departed to join Styx. Shortly thereafter Frederiksen co-founded Trillion alongside Patrick Leonard; the group issued its self-titled debut on Epic in 1978. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles to pursue session opportunities, while Leonard later joined Toy Matinee and established himself as a producer whose clients ranged from Madonna to Roger Waters.

In 1983 Frederiksen assumed lead-vocal duties with Le Roux, the band that had achieved its strongest chart showing the previous year via the Top 20 single “Nobody Said It Was Easy.” Their follow-up album, So Fired Up, yielded the modest hit “Carrie’s Gone,” a song inspired by Frederiksen’s relationship with actress and singer Carrie Hamilton, daughter of comedienne Carol Burnett. He next participated in the short-lived project Abandoned Shame, whose ranks included longtime associate bassist Ricky Phillips—formerly of The Babys and later of Bad English—and drummer Pat Torpey, who would go on to Mr. Big. Before the ensemble could obtain a recording contract, a videotape of their performances reached Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro. At the time Toto, fresh from the blockbuster success of Toto IV, required a replacement for longtime vocalist Bobby Kimball and recruited Frederiksen.

Rather than replicate the formula of Toto IV, the band pursued a more aggressive sonic approach with Frederiksen at the microphone. Although Isolation ranked among the most anticipated releases of 1984, the album underperformed commercially upon its late-year arrival; nevertheless it attained Gold certification and produced the Top 30 single “Stranger In Town.” After the project Frederiksen withdrew from the music industry for an extended interval. He reemerged in 1999 with the solo album Equilibrium, which featured Ricky Phillips, and also joined the supergroup World Class Rockers, whose membership drew from Wings, the Spencer Davis Group, and the Eagles, among others. In 2002 he appeared on the self-titled debut by the band Mecca, whose lineup included former Toto bassist David Hungate.