Journey

About Journey

With their cosmic album covers and trend-setting feathered bangs, few rock bands have come to epitomize the notion of arena rock quite like Journey. Look up a definition of the term "power ballad" in the dictionary and you're likely to see the vintage late-70's quintet grinning back at you. In the 70's and the 80's, Journey had a string of relentlessly accessible hits that shot straight to no.1. Part of Journey's winning formula was to keep their themes positive and broad, and chart-toppers like "Wheel In the Sky", "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Who's Cryin' Now?" bring all of the energy of epic rock music without testing anyone's comfort zone. The band formed in San Francisco in 1971, in the aftermath of the receding psychedelic 1960's acid wave. Manager Herbie Herbert was looking for an all-purpose back-up band for Bay Area solo rockers in need of more touring muscle. Original band members included Santana's guitarist Neal Schon, the only original band member still with Journey, and The Tubes' drummer Praire Prince. Basically, Journey started life as a collection of session musicians, and their first two albums were collections of technically virtuosic fusion-jazz that left little impression on mainstream radio. In the early days, the band also had no real lead singer. After their first two albums produced lackluster sales, Journey's record label Columbia Records suggested they switch their focus towards rock music and start auditioning charismatic front-men. First with singer Robert Fleischman, then with Steve Perry, Journey really found their collective voice. Late-70's albums like Infinity, Evolution and Departure all capture the band at the height of their guitar-and-keyboard glory. In 1981, Journey released their biggest selling album, Escape, which yielded their three biggest top-10 hits. Since hitting the peak of their commercial popularity in the early 80's, Journey have shuffled through numerous line-up changes, as well as undergone several break-ups and reformations. Journey also secured their place as a pop culture footnote when "Don't Stop Believin'" was used to score the final, controversial scene of HBO's wildly popular mob drama The Sopranos.