Journey

About Journey

Journey started in San Francisco in 1973 as a jazz-fusion side project for former Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie. The early lineup included Ross Valory on bass, George Tickner on guitar, and Prairie Prince on drums (later replaced by Aynsley Dunbar). They spent their first few years making prog-leaning rock that went absolutely nowhere commercially. Three albums in, they realized instrumental virtuosity wasn't paying the bills.

Everything changed when they brought in Steve Perry in 1977. The guy had a voice that could crack concrete from a hundred yards away, and suddenly Journey had an actual identity. Their fourth album, *Infinity*, arrived in 1978 with "Wheel in the Sky" and "Lights," the latter becoming San Francisco's unofficial anthem. They'd found the formula: soaring vocals, Schon's guitar work, and hooks big enough to fill stadiums.

The classic era hit its stride with *Escape* in 1981. "Don't Stop Believin'" was everywhere—radio, arenas, jukeboxes in small-town bars. It peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, which seemed respectable at the time. Nobody could have predicted it would become the best-selling digital track of the 20th century decades later, thanks to *The Sopranos*, *Glee*, and every wedding DJ in America. The same album gave them "Who's Crying Now" and "Open Arms," which actually hit number two.

*Frontiers* followed in 1983 with "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Faithfully," the latter written by Jonathan Cain on a tour bus and arguably their best power ballad. The band was selling out arenas nightly, moving millions of records, and looking deeply serious in their music videos while standing on separate platforms in empty warehouses.

Then Steve Perry's voice started giving out. By 1987's *Raised on Radio*, tensions were high. Perry wanted more control, other members wanted out. The album went platinum anyway because people couldn't quit them, but the band fractured soon after. They reunited in the mid-90s with Perry for *Trial by Fire*, which sold well, but his hip injury derailed a tour and he eventually walked away for good.

The Steve Augeri era came and went. Then in 2007, they found Arnel Pineda singing Journey covers in a Filipino band via YouTube. He sounded eerily like Perry, and suddenly Journey was back on the road. They've been touring ever since, playing the hits to crowds who want to hear the hits. Schon and Cain are still there. The setlist hasn't changed much in forty years.

They got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, though Perry skipped the reunion performance. These days they're a heritage act doing what heritage acts do—playing casinos, state fairs, and amphitheaters for people who remember where they were when they first heard "Don't Stop Believin'."

Crowds sing along to every word. The band locks into a tight groove, letting songs breathe. Perry era shows were stadium events; current iterations maintain the spectacle. People lose it when Faithfully hits.

Known for Don't Stop Believin', Faithfully, Lights, Any Way You Want It, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

See Journey Live