San Francisco, CA · classic-rock · arena-rock

Journey

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The arena-rock songbook itself — 'Don't Stop Believin'' remains the closing-credits song of American life.

Journey formed in San Francisco in 1973, initially as a jazz-inflected instrumental rock band featuring former members of Santana, the Steve Miller Band and Frumious Bandersnatch. Manager Herbie Herbert originally assembled the group, first called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section, as a backing band for other Bay Area acts before it developed its own sound; a roadie named John Villanueva later suggested the name Journey.

The band played its first show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on New Year's Eve 1973, to an audience of 10,000, then flew to Hawaii the very next day to perform at Diamond Head Crater in front of more than 100,000 people.

The arrival of singer Steve Perry in the late 1970s reoriented the group towards concise, melodic songwriting, and albums such as Escape and Frontiers made them one of the biggest American rock bands of the era. Escape reached number one on the Billboard 200, and Frontiers peaked at number two in the US and number six in the UK.

The sound rests on Neal Schon's guitar, Jonathan Cain's keyboards and a high, sustained lead vocal, applied to power ballads and mid-tempo rockers alike. "Don't Stop Believin'", "Open Arms" and "Any Way You Want It" remain staples of classic-rock radio; in 2024, "Don't Stop Believin'" was certified 18-times platinum, making it the top-selling digital track in US history.

Since Perry's exit, the group has toured behind further singers, first Steve Augeri from 1998 to 2006, then Arnel Pineda from 2007 onward, backed by Schon, Cain, Deen Castronovo, Jason Derlatka and Todd Jensen, and has amassed 25 gold and platinum albums along the way.

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classic-rockarena-rock