Journey is another of the great bands of the 70′s and 80′s that is still going strong today, nearly 40 years after they first started out.
The band started out in the Bay Area of California back in 1973.
The band released their first album in 1975 but did not reach commercial success until they hired new lead singer Steve Perry in 1977. With Perry on vocals, the group took off and started a long string of chart hits that included such classics as:
WHEEL IN THE SKY
LIGHTS
LOVIN, TOUCHIN, SQUEEZIN
ANY WAY YOU WANT IT
THE PARTY’S OVER
WHO’S CRYING NOW
STONE IN LOVE
DON’T STOP BELIEVIN
OPEN ARMS
STILL THEY RIDE
SEPARATE WAYS
FAITHFULLY
AFTER THE FALL
SEND HER MY LOVE
GIRL CAN’T HELP IT
ASK THE LONELY
ONLY THE YOUNG
I’LL BE ALRIGHT WITHOUT YOU
WHEN YOU LOVE A WOMAN
and many others….
During their peak years, the band consisted of:
Steve Perry – Vocals
Neal Schon – Guitar
Jonathan Cain – Keyboards, Piano
Ross Vallory – Bass
Steve Smith – Drums
Eighteen of their songs charted in the Billboard Top-40.
Unbelievably, they never had a #1 hit on the US Billboard charts. Their highest charting hit was “Open Arms” which peaked at #2.
The group broke up and reunited various times starting in 1984 as Steve Perry left to pursue a solo career. Guitarist Neal Schon and Keyboardist Jonathan Cain joined the newly formed group “Bad English”.
Current “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson actually played bass and recorded with the group from 1985-1987.
The group reunited from 1995-1997 but did not tour due to a hip injury that Steve Perry had suffered. The group decided to hire a new lead singer which lead to the departure of Perry and drummer Steve Smith.
From 1998-2006 the band used singers Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Solo as lead singers but the group was unable to crack the billboard charts with any new material.
In 2007, the band hired Filipino singer Arnel Pineda as it’s new lead singer. Members of the band had seen Pineda perform in YOU TUBE videos in which he sang many classic Journey songs with an eerie similarity to the distinctive voice of Steve Perry.
The group has had a resurgence in popularity with Pineda on lead vocals in recent years. In 2008, they released a double album “Revelation” that contained one disc of new material and one disc of remakes of classic Journey material. The album was a huge success and spawned the hit single “After all these Years”.
The group is currently working on a new album due out in 2010.
This is one of the great groups that I never got to see in concert. I am a big Steve Perry fan and would not want to see the group without Perry.
Their music is still widely heard on the radio, in movies, and on television. Many of their videos were staples on MTV during their peak years. Hopefully, they will soon be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they surely deserve to be.
Journey is currently:
Arnel Pineda – Vocals
Neal Schon – Guitar
Jonathan Cain – Keyboards, Piano, Guitar
Ross Vallory – Bass
Deen Castronovo – Drums
I saw them once, back in the late 80s. A buddy got some tickets that were supposed to be really great – third row. When we got to the stadium, we were 6 seats from one of the big speaker stacks! I thought it was going to be a sucky evening, when Neal Schon came over and played to our little area, through 3+ songs. Second best concert I ever went to – best was 10 rows back, dead centre on the aisle for Sheena Easton. (Sheena is to me what Stevie is to you, Mark.
)
By: johncerickson on August 12, 2011
at 3:00 pm
Yo, dude! Jamie needs your help, and those of your faithful readers! She’s in a caption contest over at
http://thegoodgreatsby.com/caption-contest-august-7/
and needs all the votes she can get. Don’t make a Chicagoan llok bad – help me stuff a ballot box!
By: johncerickson on August 13, 2011
at 10:08 am
Deen (drums) lives in Salem. Think I told you that already. Anyway, he’s big into the Boys & Girls’ Club and has created a music program for the organization. He’s played along side other kids (ranging in all ages) at several little concerts to showcase the kids’ talents. Very cool.
By: Blonde Cousin on August 14, 2011
at 11:10 am
Blonde Cousin – I remember that! I sure hope he convinces his Journey bandmates to start playing regular gigs in Salem
By: TheIdiotSpeaketh on August 14, 2011
at 12:14 pm
[...] If you’d like to read more about Journey, Mark Pakulak at The Idiot Speaketh has a wonderful post with photographs of Journey in his Music Flashbacks series. No animals were injured in the production of this [...]
By: Ogre Returns part 2 of 2 – or Music and the Web « Christine M Grote on December 13, 2011
at 8:07 am