how old is neal schon from journey

Neal Schon on Journey’s greatest tracks: “After Don‘t Stop was done I turned to everybody in the room and said, ‘I think this song is going to be massive’”

The AOR icon shares the stories behind eight Journey songs, including four from the band's life-affirming new album, Freedom, and four stone-cold classics from the catalog

Neal Schon has written a few hits in his time. He knows how to write a song that connects, across generational divides, across continents. With Journey ’s new album, Freedom , lighting up the airwaves with the San Francisco rock legends’ irresistible melodies, Guitar World sat down with Schon to talk about some of the greatest tracks in the catalog.

Here, he shares some of the stories – and the electric guitars – behind classic hits Wheel in the Sky and Don’t Stop Believin’ , but also those behind four of the tracks from Freedom – an album that reminds us that Schon’s ear for a hook remains undiminished after all these years. It is just something that’s in him.

As a wise man once said, “Either you go it or you ain’t.” Neal Schon has got it. He has always had it.

The Way We Used to Be – Freedom (2022)

“This was the first song I wrote during the pandemic. I wrote it on keyboards then sent my keyboard loop to [Journey keyboardist] Jonathan [Cain]. I didn’t think it sounded like your typical Journey song, but it was something to do for myself; I had to get things rolling in some kind of way to get my brain going.”

Guitar-wise, I kind of left this one sparse; I love hearing the air and the holes in it

“When I listened back, I thought, “I don’t know if this is a Journey track, but it sounds funky, bluesy and kind of edgy.” I thought it sounded like a modern Stones kind of vibe – or the Faces. I was really surprised when Jonathan sent me back his demo. He had written all the melodies and the lyrics, and I went, “That sounds really good.” That was the beginning of the writing for this new album.

“Guitar-wise, I kind of left this one sparse; I love hearing the air and the holes in it. Great-sounding Strat , though! It was a relic black Strat from the Fender Custom Shop that has some type of noiseless pickups , [but] not the newer ones they’re making now. I used it on quite a bit of songs on the record.”

Don’t Give Up on Us – Freedom (2022)

“When Narada [Michael-Walden] and I started laying down tracks, it was mainly him and me in the studio because we live close together in Marin County [California]. While the lockdown was happening, I’d go to his studio and at least work with drums and guitar. Then I’d put some bass and scratch vocals on it. He’d sing a bit, I’d sing a bit – but that’s how that song came about.

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“I just started chunking away on the guitar with what I thought sounded like some Motown chords, then I sang some melodies on it. I sent Jonathan the song after it was arranged and after we had overdubbed on it, so it sounded pretty complete.

“He came up with the melodies; after he sent it back, we continued to do vocal demos on it and background vocals. It’s wild how this was definitely a lockdown album where everybody was in different locations – except for Narada and me.”

You Got the Best of Me – Freedom (2022)

“I was looking for more up-tempo songs for our set. Even though the shows are going great and nobody’s complaining, I’m always leaning toward having a little more adrenaline. I knocked that one out, arrangement-wise, before I came into the studio with Narada.

“We laid it down, and then the chorus just kind of flew out of my mouth like Any Way You Want It and Wheel in the Sky where I kind of came up with the hook and the chorus, lyrically and melody- wise.

“Then I had the melodies; I sang my melody ideas and sent it to Jonathan, who finished the song lyrically. Then we just continued to tighten up the pieces; I sent it to [bassist] Randy [Jackson], to [vocalist] Arnel [Pineda]...”

Let It Rain – Freedom (2022)

“This was a cool idea that was bouncing around in my head for years. I always loved the Chaka Khan song [ Clouds ], and I love that Hendrix-y type, Prince funk vibe. It reminded me of a lot of the early stuff before I started Journey – things I was working on with Greg Orrico and Larry Graham.

We have about five generations of fans coming to our shows now. This is definitely for some of our younger fans who never got to see the late-Sixties, early Seventies vibe

“It brought me to that time and space where I was remembering that slow, sexy groove that was in my head and always had it on kind of a Whammy pedal. So I brought one into the studio and I started jamming with Narada – and it ended up being the song that it is now, without changing anything.

“We have about five generations of fans coming to our shows now, which is pretty amazing. I felt like this is definitely for some of our younger fans who never got to see the late-Sixties, early Seventies vibe of everything that was coming out of England – a Hendrix , Zeppelin kind of a mixture of Jimmy Page , Prince and all the influences I grew up with.”

Wheel in the Sky – Infinity (1978)

“We had completed our first three records. We hadn’t changed our lineup at that point, and we were all traveling in two station wagons – all crammed in. We had eight, nine guys in one car.

“There were long road trips with [former Journey drummer] Aynsley Dunbar at the steering wheel with his fuzz buster. Everybody had to take a break and pull over to the roadside to take a leak.

We pulled over at this gas station. I pulled out an acoustic and sat on the hood of the car and started banging out the chords... it came out within minutes

“Our road manager happened to be driving that day, Pat Morrow, and he was just fatigued. Our old manager, Herbie Herbert, who is resting in heaven, was yelling at him over the phone, ‘Pat, you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that.’ Pat said, ‘I’ve got to pull over. I need a break. I need a candy bar.’

So we pulled over at this gas station. I pulled out an acoustic and sat on the hood of the car and started banging out the chords. I came up with all the verse and B sections, then the chorus came out within minutes.

At that point, our then-bass player, Ross Valory, and his then-wife, Diane... she had handed me some poetry she had written; I remembered a line that said, ‘Wheels are turning on my mind.’ I don’t know where it came from, but I was banging out D minor chords in the chorus and I said, ‘ Wheel in the sky keeps on turning. Don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow .’

CBS at that time came to us and said, ‘You need a front man, otherwise we’re going to drop you.’ So I started writing with Robert Fleischman – and that was the first song we wrote together.”

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Escape (1981)

“For the first time, you’re hearing a chorus on the outro, which was completely against all rules of nature in that time period – and now – if you’re going to try to get a song on the radio. The saying was, ‘Don’t bore me. Get to the chorus.’

They released it as a single, and it wasn’t so massive – but then it ended up being massive. It just took a long time for everybody to catch up!

“In this case, the chorus didn’t happen until the end of the song. Actually, I had a short guitar solo before the chorus; so the obvious thing for me to do was to play the melody of Don’t Stop Believin’ – the melody people are going to hear right after I play it. Steve turned to me and said, ‘What? You’re going to play the melody that I’m going to sing?’ I go, ‘Why not? It’s a good one.’

“When the song was done and the mix was almost finalized, I turned to everybody in the room and said, ‘I think this song is going to be massive.’ They released it as a single, and it wasn’t so massive – but then it ended up being massive. It just took a long time for everybody to catch up!

“Jonathan wrote the lyrics, ‘ don’t stop believin’ ’ with Steve, but it was a phrase his father had given him when he was trying to make it in the music industry and not having much luck, I guess. His dad said, ‘Don’t give up, son.’ It just kind of came out of that.”

Any Way You Want It – Departure (1980)

“That one came about during sound check; I believe we were on tour or just had toured with Thin Lizzy . I was a big fan, so it was a classic case of being inspired by some of the cool-sounding riffs they had.

“I came up with the simple riff that goes all the way through the song – another song where there’s three chords to it and that’s it. It came together in a very short period of time – I’d say an hour. It continues to be our second most-downloaded song. Crazy.”

Patiently – Infinity (1978)

“The first song I wrote with Steve [Perry]. I believe we were on tour with Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I had an acoustic in my room, and I had these chords, the verse chords, and our manager at the time, Herbie Herbert, wanted Steve and me to get together to see if there was any chemistry before he joined the band.

“I recall sitting in the room; I was playing him the core changes, and he just started singing to it. I guess he had some lyrics that... just kind of fit the song. I think we knocked it out in about half an hour. I was like, ‘I guess we have writing chemistry!’”

Freedom is out now via BMG.

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Josh is a freelance journalist who has spent the past dozen or so years interviewing musicians for a variety of publications, including Guitar World , GRAMMY.com, SPIN , Chicago Sun-Times , MTV News, Rolling Stone and American Songwriter . He credits his father for getting him into music. He's been interested in discovering new bands ever since his father gave him a list of artists to look into. A favorite story his father told him is when he skipped a high school track meet to see Jimi Hendrix in concert. For his part, seeing one of his favorite guitarists – Mike Campbell – feet away from him during a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert is a special moment he’ll always cherish.

“After one of the shows, Ginger said, ‘You are a great bass player after all.’ I couldn’t believe it – he’d never once said that in all the years”: In 2005, Jack Bruce reunited with Cream after 36 years – and realized how much his bass playing had changed

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Happy 70th Birthday Neal Schon: 5 Highlights from the Guitar Great’s Career with Journey

by Matt Friedlander February 26, 2024, 4:42 pm

Founding Journey guitarist Neal Schon celebrates his 70th birthday on Tuesday, February 27. The talented musician launched his career when he joined Santana when he was just 16 years old.

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Schon contributed to the Santana III (1971) and Caravanserai (1972) albums before he and singer/keyboardist Gregg Rolie left the group and co-founded the band that became Journey.

[Buy Journey Concert Tickets]

Journey began as a jazz-flavored prog-rock outfit, but with the addition of Steve Perry as lead singer in 1977, the band began moving in a more commercial rock direction. The group has gone through many lineup changes in its 50-year history, but the one constant has been Schon, whose mix of soaring melodicism and fiery shredding has forged a bridge between prog rock, hard rock, and arena rock.

Here’s a look at just few of Schon’s memorable guitar highlights with Journey.

“Wheel in the Sky” (1978)

A highlight from Journey’s fourth studio album, Infinity (1978), “Wheel in the Sky” was the band’s first single ever to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 57. Schon co-wrote the song with Robert Fleischmann, who was Journey’s frontman for a few months in 1977, and bassist Ross Valory’s then-wife, Diane.

“Wheel in the Sky” is driven by a rambling Schon riff that gives the tune an almost Southern rock vibe, before it reaches the soaring anthem-like chorus sung by Perry. Schon’s melodic blues-infused solo continues the roots-rock feel, while building to an intense aural climax.

“Any Way You Want It” (1980)

Journey’s joyous and rocking hit appeared on the 1980 studio effort Departure , the group’s first album to break into the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. The song, which peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, was co-written by Schon and Perry.

The track features two solos by Schon that both are heard during the latter half of the tune. Schon’s second solo leads in to the song’s finale and builds in intensity as he plays over Perry’s vocal outro.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” (1981)

No list of Schon highlights would be complete without “Don’t Stop Believin’,” arguably one of the greatest arena-rock anthems of all time. The track, which was co-written by Schon, Perry and keyboardist Jonathan Cain, appears on Journey’s Diamond-certified 1981 album Escape . While Perry’s vocals and the tune’s inspirational lyrics certainly are a major reason for the song’s enduring popularity, Schon’s soaring melodic solo certainly lift the track into another stratosphere.

Schon first grabs the listener’s attention with a repetitious arpeggiated riff that gets faster and faster as it leads into the second verse. Interestingly, Schon’s soaring solo, which features the melody of the song’s chorus, is played before Perry sings the actual chorus, and that only appears at the end of the tune.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, but the track has gone on to be certified 18-times platinum by the RIAA.

“Who’s Crying Now”

“Who’s Crying Now” also was featured on Escape . The song, which was co-written by Perry and Cain, was a No. 4 hit on the Hot 100. Although Schon isn’t credited as a songwriter, his tasteful solo perfectly captures the mournful mood of the tune’s relationship-gone-bad theme.

“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” (1983)

“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” appeared on Journey’s 1983 album Frontiers, and peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100. Co-written by Perry and Cain, the track kicks off with Schon’s staccato power chords.

Later in the song, Schon delivers a solo that starts with a simple melody, then explodes into a machine-gun barrage of notes.

Journey’s 2024 Tour Plans

Schon’s and Journey’s current lineup kicked off a 50th anniversary tour on February 9 in Biloxi, Mississippi. The North American outing, which features opening act Toto, is mapped out through an April 29 show in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Later in the year, Journey will be teaming up with Def Leppard for The Summer Stadium Tour. The expansive North American trek will run from a July 6 concert in St. Louis through a September 8 performance in Denver. Cheap Trick, the Steve Miller Band, and Heart also will perform on select dates.

Tickets to Journey’s 2024 concerts are available now via various outlets, including StubHub .

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Blake Shelton Is Plotting a Music Competition Show to Dethrone ‘The Voice’: Report

Born February 27 , 1954 · Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA
Birth name Neal Joseph Schon
Height 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
Neal Schon was born in Midwest City, Oklahoma on February 27th, 1954 to Matthew and Barbara Schon. Neal dropped out of school when he was 15 to join Carlos Santana 's rock group Santana. Four years later Carlos Santana and his band split up, so Neal and Gregg Rolie formed Journey . Journey released its self-titled debut album in 1975. Journey then released "Look Into the Future" (1976) and "Next" in (1977). Records weren't selling well and the band was told to get a lead singer so they brought in Steve Perry . With Steve they released the album "Infinity" in 1978. Infinity was followed up by "Evolution" (1979) and "Departure" (1980). Also released in 1980 was a compilation album of earlier works called "In the Beginning". Also in 1980 the band went to Japan to record a soundtrack for the movie, "Dream After Dream". In 1981 the live album "Captured" was released. Greg Rolie left after the release of the album "Departure" so keyboardist Jonathan Cain was brought in for the 1981 release of "Escape". "Escape" was Journey 's biggest record and the single "Open Arms" went to #2 on the charts. Also in 1981 Neal teamed up with Jan Hammer for the album "Untold Passion". Again in 1982 Neal teamed up with Jan Hammer for an album called "Here To Stay". In 1983 "Frontiers" was released and Journey was named the most popular rock group in America. After "Frontiers" the band split for a while. Neal formed HSAS with Sammy Hagar and in 1984 they released an album called "Through the Fire". In 1986 Journey , without bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith , and released the album "Raised on Radio". In 1988 Neal helped form the group Bad English. Bad English released their self-titled debut album in 1989. Neal also released his album "Late Nite" in 1989. In 1991 Bad English released their second album, "Backlash". In 1992 Neal joined Hardline for the album "Double Eclipse". Neal released seven solo albums, "Late Night", "Beyond the Thunder", "Electric World", "Piranha Blues", "Voice","i on u", and "The Calling" (2012). A Journey reunion of band members Schon, Jonathan Cain , Steve Perry , Ross Valory , and Steve Smith happened for the 1996 album "Trial By Fire". In 1997 Neal released his album "Electric World." In 1998 Steve Perry was replaced with Steve Augeri as Journey 's new lead singer after the band waited almost two years for him to fix his hip. Steve Perry and Journey debuted together on the _Armageddon (1998)_ soundtrack with the song "Remember Me". 2001 saw the release of the Journey record "Arrival". Neal discovered Journey's current lead vocalist, Arnel Pineda , on YouTube, in 2007. Neal released his fifth solo album, "The Calling", in 2012 and will release "So You" in 2014. Neal has five children: Miles, Lizzy, Sarah, Aja and Sophia. He became engaged to Michaele Salahi on October 14, 2012, and they were married on December 15,2013 in San Francisco, California. - IMDb Mini Biography By: L. Gary
Spouses Michaele Salahi (December 15, 2013 - present) Amber Kozan (April 29, 2001 - 2007) (divorced, 2 children) Dina Gioeli (1993 - 1998) (divorced, 1 child) Beth Buckley (September 20, 1987 - ?) (divorced, 2 children) Tena Austin (December 29, 1976 - 1977) (divorced)
Gibson Les Paul
PRS Signature Line Guitars
Was invited by Eric Clapton to join Derek and the Dominoes. However, he was advised against it by Carlos Santana when rumors of Clapton's heroin abuse surfaced.
Guitarist for the rock band Shelby Daugherty
He was a guitarist in Carlos Santana 's band Santana during 1971 and 1972, and played on the hits "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va".
Shelby Daugherty was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6750 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
Neal Schon was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
With radio being in the state it is, I don't really feel the need to make a whole record just for that, and be looking at my watch saying, Okay, this guitar solo has been playing for ten seconds, that's enough. (In 2011)
A lot of the stuff we've done since the eighties was slower, and with Faithfully or Open Arms or whatever, those songs are embedded in stone and people expect to hear them live... if they don't, they're gonna be pissed and throw shit at you. With this album, I wanted to write grooves that we don't have in our show, and not just make a new Separate Ways or Stone In Love. Once you've written it once, it's easy to repeat it - just move the chords around. It's really simple to do that, but at this point, I don't see the purpose of it. (On the "Eclipse" album)
I think that song is so popular because it's a positive message. We play aggressively, but lyrically it never got angry or pissed, and it was never 'I hate you'. The whole arrangement of Don't Stop Believin' is really odd. We had this breakdown and I started playing that little guitar solo [at 0.54], which is in the oddest place ever for an AM radio song. People would say that it didn't make sense and I'd say, Well, so what? It sounds good! It fell together fast, and when I listened back in the studio, I remember saying, That song's gonna be big. At the time, when Escape was released, it wasn't the biggest song on the record. Now it is.
We're a very musical band and we've never really had anybody come in and re-arrange our stuff with Pro Tools. We were always well-rehearsed, we'd walk in the studio, play live, and I'd always play live solos.

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Journey co-founder George Tickner dies: 'Fly free above the stars'

George Tickner, the co-founder of Journey , has died. He was 76.

"Journey Junkies, I have some very sad news. GEORGE TICKNER, Journey's original rhythm guitarist and songwriter contributor on their first three albums, has passed away. He was 76 years old" Neal Schon , Journey co-founder, wrote on Facebook Wednesday.

"Rest peacefully. Dr. George Tickner ... you will be missed immensely!" Schon wrote. "Thank you for your incomparable contributions to Journey's early years."

Tickner's career with the band known for hits including "Don't Stop Believin'," "Faithfully" and "Separate Ways," was short-lived. His work with the group spawned more of a jazz-prog-rock vibe on their eponymous 1975 album rather than the signature anthemic rock sound Journey would become known for after Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry joined a few years later.

"The reason he left Journey was to attend Stanford University on full scholarship, earning his PhD. Fly free above the stars, Sir," Schon wrote.

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"Dear George, 'Of a Lifetime' is still one of my favorite songs ever," Schon captioned his post. "RIP brother God Speed."

Journey's Neal Schon: Says he and Steve Perry are 'in a good place' before band's 50th anniversary

USA TODAY has reached out to a representative for Schon for additional comment.

Although Tickner left the group, in its early days, he didn't leave the music industry entirely.

He also co-founded a recording studio with Journey bassist Ross Valory called the Hive and was in the band VTR with Valory and Stevie "Keys" Roseman (who also had a stint with Journey) as well, according to Ultimate Classic Rock .

Tickner joined Journey during a 2005 reunion for its Hollywood Walk of Fame induction, per Ultimate Classic Rock.

Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri

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The Most Joyous and Romantic of Journey, According to Neal Schon

The shadow of “ Don’t Stop Believin ’” looms large, quite literally, over the “funky little office” in Neal Schon’s home. We’re just starting our video call in the lead-up to Freedom, Journey ’s newest album in more than a decade , but there are two pieces of wall paraphernalia that require further explanation (for this writer’s fuzzy eyes, anyway): There’s a framed Escape record to commemorate its diamond status and … is that a floating green orb? Spotify’s logo? Ah, yes, it’s a poster for the billion streams “Don’t Stop Believin’” has commanded over the years, and it looks mighty fantastic floating over Schon’s head. “I usually don’t put anything up on my walls in the house that represent my accomplishments because I look at my career like you’re only as good as your last day, so that way you can keep moving forward and not rest on your laurels,” he explains. “But this is my office, and I realized it was kind of bland, so I put those behind me.”

Freedom, out July 8, encapsulates the scorching spirit that listeners have always loved about Journey, whose wheels keep churning out stadium-ready anthems and ballads after nearly five decades together. Sure, there might be a sonic Ship of Theseus comparison to make — Schon, on lead guitar, is the sole member who has remained since the band’s formation in 1973 — but we got the likes of “Any Way You Want It,” “Faithfully,” “Separate Ways,” and the song about streetlights, peopleeeEEEeeeeEEEE, over that time period, so let’s call it even. Steve Perry’s vocal range should probably be studied for scientific reasons; so should Jonathan Cain’s fingers, for how nimbly they go between keyboards and rhythm guitar. (To give you a sense of the ship’s size, that trio, as well as bassist Ross Valery, drummer Aynsley Dunbar, vocalist Gregg Rolie, and drummer Steve Smith were all inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame for their Journey tenures. Yeah, two drummers!)

Despite Schon’s forward-looking mentality, he was happy to be our latest Superlatives subject; we talked for well over an hour about Journey’s evolution, melodies, and the cringeworthy spectacle of one music video.

That’s a tough question. I’d probably go with a song that has more of a sentimental feel to me because I wrote it with my father. “Mother, Father” is very orchestral and very musical compared to our more pop-oriented rock songs. With “Mother, Father,” I had these classical chord changes that I came up with, and I wrote the whole song musically. And then my father, while he was living, wrote really interesting notes for it on the piano. I showed him the chord changes, and he came up with the interlude that the guitar and piano play. It pulled the whole song together. I like the sentiment of what Steve and Jonathan wrote lyrically about the song. I usually don’t come from that area. There’s a few songs that I’ve written choruses on, but I don’t really consider myself a lyricist. So I felt that, where they came from — about family in general, disjointed families, and how they fight to stay together — it’s something real that everybody deals with. I thought it fit perfectly for the music. I also like our deeper musical cuts that are a bit more involved musically. I tend to like the more orchestral songs like “Still They Ride,” “Mother, Father,” or “Winds of March.”

Heaviest song

“You’re on Your Own.” That’s heavy. Or songs like “Of a Lifetime” and “Kohoutek.” That early material was very much more progressive and heavier, in a sense. I feel people are misled by our albums a lot — like, they haven’t seen us live. Our band tends to be heavier live than the albums are. So “Separate Ways” is heavy in another way. It sounds like Motown or like it could be a Four Tops song, for Christ’s sake. But then you put the electricity of the guitar and the blues mixed with the melody, and it becomes a lot heavier. I don’t think we have anything that’s heavy, heavy, like metal. We’ve never tapped into that type of music.

When Jonathan came into the band, there was immediately a push to go bigger in an organic way. This goes back to my point of people maybe not being familiar with us live or the heavier side of the band: If you only listen to AM radio, you’re going to consider us soft rock. I don’t consider us soft rock. We have a broad spectrum. We show our dexterity and diversity on all of our albums. We’ve traveled the spectrum musically from A to Z . There’s still a lot of territory we can go in, but I think we made a very good album with Freedom, which helps keep us relevant and up to speed, yet also influencing the younger audience to come with us.

There are kids that come to see us who look like 16 or 17 at most. They know all the songs and are completely open-minded to the most outside things we’re going to lay on them. It reminds me of when I would go see my favorite bands as a kid. I would go and see Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Who, or Jeff Beck with Rod Stewart. They were all up the wall compared to what was on the radio. The entire audience loved all that music, but they would sit down at concerts in that era! So I would sit on the floor and observe and listen. Then at the end of the night, we would all get up and go nuts. I believe that the musical statement you make, people don’t have to go nuts after every song per se. It’s an overall experience and how you take people on it. I think the more you lay on them, the better.

Song you experience the most joy performing live

It wasn’t something that was a huge single: “Lights.” A simple, bluesy stroll song. The second song I ever wrote with Steve Perry was “Lights.” It’s become a freakin’ anthem. More people in the audience light up and sing that song louder than anything else. It used to be lighters, but now it’s cell phones. It wasn’t pushed out there by the label; it just happened in an organic way. It had a different feel to it when Steve first showed it to me. It was more old-school blues, but when I put that rolling rhythm around it — a Curtis Mayfield– or Jimi Hendrix–type thing — it took on a whole different perspective than what Steve started with. He had the melody; he had the bass. I was like, “What if we did this?” Then I wrote the bridge. A lot of nights, I can’t even hear the band onstage because of the audience.

Song that’s always evolving, even in 2022

A song that we continually jam on, open up, and switch up a bit is “Wheel in the Sky.” It’s an early song that I wrote with Robert Fleischman. The lyrical content came from a poem that Ross Valory’s ex-wife wrote and handed me on a napkin years ago. She had written down, “Wheels are turning on my mind.” In one of our long station-wagon hikes we did when we were traveling as a band — like nine guys in a station wagon in those days — at one point, everybody had to take a restroom break, and the driver needed a candy bar to wake up. I pulled out the acoustic guitar, sat on the hood of the car, and I banged out that song. I came up with the chorus. Her napkin poem sat in my mind and I came up with “Wheel in the sky keeps on turning, I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow.” I’ve since ripped that song apart and put it back together. I keep reinventing “Wheels,” and it ends up being a big and powerful highlight in our shows. That’s another song that wasn’t a huge hit single but has since become an organic hit within our Journey audience.

Most romantic ballad

It depends on what era you want to go in. There’s a lot of romance. It depends on what type of romance you’re talking about. I think the ones that are obvious picks are “Faithfully” and “Open Arms.” They probably get played more at weddings than any song ever. “Send Her My Love” is very romantic in a different way. I love that song. It has such a great melody and I love that it’s not too radio-friendly. It’s coming from a deeper place. “Faithfully,” though, is a beautiful song. Jonathan hit it out of the park with that one. We were in the studio and Mike Stone, our producer at the time, said, “I think you guys are missing a really big power ballad.” We were doing a lot of experimenting for that album — trying to get a bit heavier and do some things that we hadn’t done before.

With “Faithfully,” it started off more off the wall. It was like a Police song twisted up sideways. It had an interesting drum beat. Jonathan came in the next day and he played this song for us and it didn’t sound anything like what we made it sound like. It sounded like a beautiful country ballad. I couldn’t quite imagine what it would sound like with us playing it. I couldn’t imagine “Open Arms,” either. I fought hard on “Open Arms.” At the time I was not getting it and didn’t want to get it. Now I enjoy it. [ Laughs .] But when he showed us “Faithfully,” I wrote out a little chart because I don’t really read music. We ran through the song once, and I just free-formed my way through it. Steve was not singing. At the time, there was no singing and we were just trying to get the basic track done. In those days, I pretty much would play off the cuff — the first thing I’m hearing in my head, this is what I’m hearing, whether it’s wrong or right. I played one guitar through the whole song, that’s it. What you hear on that track is the second take we did.

I came up with a line that sounds like a French horn. It’s like me singing the Who with John Entwistle playing the French horn. I like the sound of that instrument. I had attuned my ear to symphonic music and classical music when I was younger. I played oboe in school. It was a great way to pass the time because I was not into school at all. I liked music and I liked art. I was always in the art room or playing something. So that kind of came out and I improvised my “Faithfully” parts through the end, not knowing what the vocals were going to do. I couldn’t decipher how someone like Steve would interpret it. So it was interesting how it came about when we cut the song. We all did it together. No fixing. What I do recall is that Steve wanted everybody to leave the studio — he wanted to have his time with the song to experiment with it and put himself in it. Jonathan wanted to be in the studio and Steve refused. He said, “No, you got to leave.” So coming back into the studio and hearing what Steve did, I was like, “Oh my God! Amazing.”

Guitar work that’s your melodic masterpiece

I try to make most of my solos, especially with the more radio-oriented songs. They’re extensions of the vocals. If there’s a guitar solo, it needs to convey a strong melody. You learned to love melody. I mean, the Beatles taught us all about that a long time ago. I still hear the sound that Roy Thomas Baker got when he mic’d up my old Marshall with a Fender Stratocaster on “Lights.” He had me set up in a closet and the amp was cranked to ten, and the mic was sitting in the back of the very echoey room. So “Lights” would be a masterpiece. “Who’s Crying Now,” probably another.

Funny enough, I absolutely hated my “Who’s Crying Now” guitar work when I did it at first. It was true frustration with that song because it didn’t come out immediately. It was another new type of song that Jonathan had brought in and I didn’t know what to do with it. I was trying to be more demanding with myself. We’d get off to a good start, and then I’d have nowhere to go. It was just kind of plotting along and doing this pop thing. So the producers and the whole band were getting frustrated with me because I wasn’t giving up. I probably did about, I don’t know, 15 takes, and it was going nowhere slow. Usually the best stuff comes out of me on the first or second take and then it goes downhill. When I’m not thinking, it comes out. When I start thinking, it never comes out. So out of pure frustration, I played the simplest thing, just kind of being like a smart-ass. I was in the studio and I thought, Oh, this will shut them up . And I played it, and I went, “There you go. That’s what you want.” And they go, “It’s fucking perfect.” [ Laughs .] Now, the audience loves singing it.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” is also important to me. The chorus is such a crazy arrangement when you think about it. The fact that it’s become this massive hit, this many years later, nobody in the band ever pictured that happening. It didn’t soar that high on the radio when we released it. I remember when I heard it during the final mixes, I told the guys, “I think this song is going to be massive.” The way it’s structured is unusual — it’s not your usual verse, chorus, verse, chorus. It really is so cliché, what they considered a format for radio. The song never got to the fucking chorus until the end! I came up with the “strangers waiting” lyrics and how the arrangement went back to another verse, except the verse doesn’t happen. It does a little symphonic instead. It sounded to me like something that would happen in an orchestra. I sped up the arpeggio and started playing around and realized, Oh, that’s cool. We’re going to leave that and write lyrics around that. That’s how they came up with “She took the midnight train going anywhere.” Because it actually sounded like a train! So it came together like that, and then it came time for a little guitar solo. Nobody had heard the chorus yet, so the obvious thing to do was to play the melody in the chorus. I was going to implant it in their heads before it was even sung.

Guitar solo that doubles as the greatest endurance test

I have no signs of tendinitis. [ Laughs .] I play almost every day, even when I’m at home. I play because that’s how things don’t freeze up on you. It’s a muscle; you have to use it. I really don’t practice scales. I don’t know scales; I never wanted to. I play all by ear. What I practice at home is just following the flow of whatever vibe I’m in. There’s a lot of guitar players who watch my social-media videos and they like the fact that they have nothing to do with a song — it’s off the cuff every day. And then you have guitarists who are kind of jazz bros. I love jazz. Some jazz cats can be really snooty though. Someone will be like, “Dude, what are you doing? You’re playing the same chord in every song. Every day you sound the same.” And I go, “B.B. King did the same, ever heard of him?

I fell into that a long time ago. My former manager said to me, “Why are you worried about sounding different on every song and pressing yourself so hard to sound like somebody different? You’re just going to confuse people. People know what you sound like, don’t be afraid of sounding the same every time.” Now I have this style that’s stuck with me, and he was correct. That’s a hard thing to do and I don’t see a lot of younger guitarists doing it. I don’t see a lot of personality. I had B.B., Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Albert King, and Michael Bloomfield to look up to. Then I had all of the electric guitars from overseas, like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton. I listened. You don’t see that kind of voice coming out of people anymore.

That’s where I come from — it’s a natural place and more of an organic blues background. While we were down in this pandemic, I spent time experimenting a lot as a guitarist. I consider myself a real musician. I’m always going to strive to get better and learn more because you never learn everything about any instrument. You never reach the peak, and when you reach the peak, it’s over, man, you’re done. You might as well just go and never try to create any new stuff. I know I can emulate myself. I can play exactly what I did back in 1973. I won in that regard. It’s just embedded in me. So I strive to move to new places all the time because that’s what motivates me with music.

Most endearing Steve Perry memory

We were very, very tight. We’re talking and getting to know each other again — though not trying to get together musically again, but he’s learning who I am now, through a portion of our business that I’m kind of controlling now. I’m talking about a Journey trademark that I’ve obtained, as we’ve never owned our own trademark. All these years, many people lied to us. My wife and I finally got to the bottom of it after investigating for years. We were fought hard by everybody, but we managed to obtain the trademark. So we’re talking about that and figuring out the future of that, but we’re talking.

I have great memories of when Steve and I first met. We hung out all the time, man. We were like brothers. We were crazy. We spent a lot of nights out way too late doing things we shouldn’t be doing. Drinking and whatnot. We overindulged in a lot of stuff. But bottom line, we had a really good time for many, many years. Lots of enduring moments onstage and offstage. He was a really funny guy. I saw a fraction of a moment of it when we got together before the Rock Hall of Fame induction . I managed to get into his room, which was locked down like Fort Knox. We had a good hang in there. I felt like I still knew this guy and we were still really great friends.

I felt good about what was going to partake on the stage. He was always invited to come and perform at the ceremony, but he declined to do anything besides a speech. I understood why. During that induction, when certain individuals went up and took a really long time with their speeches, there are a few pictures that you can find where I’m talking into Steve’s ears and he’s laughing like hell. Some people like to feel like they’re more important because they have to talk longer. Or they feel like they don’t get the attention they need so they want to talk longer. So, that’s my long way of saying that I hope that we can become even better friends in the future.

Rating the “Separate Ways” video from 1 to 10 on the cringe scale

Oh my God! You know what a lot of people don’t understand? This was the very beginning of MTV. Nobody was making $200,000 videos or $500,000 videos or $3 million videos. Some people were paying a million and a half for a music video because they had a movie producer backing them financially. What a freakin’ rip-off. I mean, that’s what it became. But back when we did this, our manager came to us and said, “Look, we need to get a music video. Who should we use?” I suggested the director Wayne Isham. He came in and put together the storyboard. It was going to be in New Orleans, on a pier. Is it terrible? The air guitar and keyboards are cheesy as hell. I give it a 10 on the cringe scale. It’s so silly, man. Journey was not a band that did well with videos that had story lines. “ After the Fall ” was terrible. “ Chain Reaction ” was a little more fun. Steve and I were pushing each other around for that one, and I’m in his face. I think the only videos that really worked for Journey were when live concert footage was used. It was like a live performance — showing the audience, showing us onstage.

How The Sopranos ’ use of “Don’t Stop Believin’” changed the meaning of the song for you

Well, I don’t think it changed the meaning of what the song is about, which is just to have faith in yourself. That’s the message it’s conveying — it’s an uplifter for people who may be second-guessing themselves in their lives. I absolutely watched The Sopranos during its run. I loved it. I remember getting an email about using the song about six or so months before it aired. They were thinking about using it but didn’t give any context. I honestly didn’t think anything of it. I went, “Oh, that’s nice, whatever. If they use it, great.” I could have never imagined it was going to be the blackout scene in the last episode. It just rocketed the tune to a whole different spectrum. I mean, how could you ever even imagine that? I thought the final scene was amazing. I received a lot of phone calls that week, that’s for sure.

You know what? I kind of interpreted the ending … weirdly, it goes back a long way to a memory I have of Steve and I sitting in a pizza parlor. We were on tour and hadn’t had a song on the radio yet. I remember Steve went back and looked through the jukebox and I’m sitting at the table waiting for a Coke and pizza. He went back and dropped a couple quarters in there and played a couple tunes, and on came “Wheel in the Sky.” We looked at each other and laughed like hell. I remember saying, “I can’t believe this.” We were both jumping up and down. So I looked at that Sopranos scene with that memory in mind because they were sitting at a diner table and had the little diner jukebox there, and Tony Soprano presses it, and the song comes on. I don’t know if Steve had talked to the show’s team about that experience we shared together, but it was very similar to what actually happened with him and me. How beautiful is that?

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Lead Guitar, Songwriting

Three time Hall of Fame and Grammy Award Winning artist Neal Schon is one of the most accomplished and recognized guitarists and songwriters worldwide. Admired as a trailblazer and inspiration to millions, the Journey founder has long established his position as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, with some of the top all time best selling singles and albums, including multiple Gold and Platinum as well as two Diamond certifications, over 100 million records sold, and over a billion Spotify streams.

Neal Schon founded Journey in 1972 and has been the only consistent member, having participated in every album and tour to date. Schon is a Grammy Award winning guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who is not only the founding member of Journey, but was a member of Santana at the age of 15 and has performed with a variety of other acts including Bad English , Jan Hammer , HSAS , and has released 11 solo albums, including his latest, Universe .

Neal Schon's guitar style has been described as soulful, melodic, and is infamously admired by such fellow legends as Eric Clapton and Prince .

In 2005, Neal Schon and Journey received a Star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame and were further recognized by Billboard Magazine with the Legend Of Live Award at the 2011 Billboard Touring Conference .

Neal Schon was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of Journey as well as the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame . Tulsa, Oklahoma Mayor G.T. Bynum honored Neal with the announcement of June 5th to be Neal Schon Day in Oklahoma. The announcement was at the Woody Guthrie Center Museum , and Neal also made an archival contribution to the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture (OKPOP) in July.

Schon has also received honors for his philanthropic work including John Hopkins , Rainforest Fund , California Fire Relief , and numerous additional charitable foundations. He has also organized numerous fundraisers for military services and first responders.

In 2019, Neal was voted Guitar Connoisseur Fan Favorite Guitarist in a social media poll over the course of 15 rounds, consistently topping the list among his fellow legends.

In 2021, on the 40th anniversary of its release, Journey’s seventh studio album, Escape, was certified diamond by the RIAA , which denotes the album has sold over 10 million equivalent units. 1981’s Escape spawned the hits "Open Arms", "Who's Crying Now", "Stone In Love", and "Don't Stop Believin'", which has over a billion streams on Spotify alone . The band rounded out the summer with epic performances, headlining at both the iconic Lallapalooza and iHeartRadio Music Festival and Schon invited to perform “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Las Vegas Raiders Vs. Chicago Bears game on October 10, 2021 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas , NV.

JOURNEY's 1988 released, 15 time Platinum certified Greatest Hits was certified diamond in April of 2008, has logged 1,328 weeks on Billboard's Catalog Albums chart as of October 2021, and is one of the most popular 'best of' packages, at times selling close to 500,000 copies globally per year.

Journey’s worldwide sales have reached over 100 million records, making them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, with a wide selection of chart-topping hits like "Don’t Stop Believin'", the most downloaded song of the last century. The band's album sales have resulted in twenty five gold and platinum albums and nineteen Top 40 singles in the US.

Jonathan Cain

Keys, Songwriting

In 1976 Jonathan Cain released his first solo record, Windy City Breakdown. In 1979 he joined the band, The Babys, and in 1980 joined the rock band, Journey, rounding out the songwriting genius behind the defining album, Escape, which was RIAA certified Diamond this year. Cain's signature piano, synth playing and songwriting contributions with Journey, The Babys and Bad English have earned him many Billboard hits, multiple Gold, Platinum and Diamond-selling records, a Star on the Hollywood walk of fame, a GRAMMY nomination and the best-selling catalog rock song in iTunes’ history (“Don't Stop Believin'”).

Journey was named as the fifth best band in rock history in a 2005 USA Today opinion poll, was inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and continues today, selling out major venues worldwide. Cain’s solo albums that released amidst acclaim in recent years include: What God Wants To Hear (2016), Unsung Noel (2017), The Songs You Leave Behind (2018), More Like Jesus (2019) and Piano Worship (2020). Later this month (Oct. 2021), Cain will release his Oh Lord Lead Us EP featuring the title track single that became his biggest Spotify solo hit to date.

Arnel Pineda

lead vocals

After searching far and wide, watching thousands of singers on YouTube, Neal Schon was about to abandon his hunt for Journey’s next lead singer. Instead, he clicked one last link and something caught his attention. Arnel Pineda was singing with the band The Zoo, and he wasn’t even singing a Journey song. Neal continued his research on Arnel, watching all 40 videos that were posted. This unearthed Neal’s realization that Arnel is a chameleon who can sing on anything.

Neal knew Arnel was the one. He called Jonathan Cain to tell him he found the guy. After learning Arnel was located in the Philippines, Jon chuckled and said, “Jesus, can he even speak English?” Neal responded with, “Who cares! He’s singing in English, and very well.” Neal called management next, and they told him he was crazy, but they did their job and got him to the US from The Philippines in three months.

It took a few days in rehearsal, but by day three everyone clicked, and Arnel sounded amazing. Once the jet lag wore off, Neal, Jon, and Arnel hit the studio in Novato, CA to get on a couple tracks. Neal played back the audio and said, “There’s the guy.” Jon agreed.

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Neal Schon on Journey’s New LP ‘Freedom,’ Ambitious 50th Anniversary Plans

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

It’s been 11 years since Journey released their last studio record, and for a while it was looking like they’d never get around to making one. “Nobody was really interested in making new music,” Journey founder and guitarist and Neal Schon tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from his California home. “It’s very difficult to get new material played and to get people familiar with it before you go out and play live. Everybody in the band was like, ‘I don’t want to do it.'”

The band’s heavy tour schedule also made it difficult for the band to create a new record, but when the pandemic forced the band to cancel their 2020 summer tour with the Pretenders, Schon suddenly had a lot of time on his hands. He filled it by heading into the studio with longtime friend Narada Michael Walden, who joined Journey as their new drummer right around this time, and began writing new tunes that were fleshed out by his bandmates at their home studios, including singer Arnel Pineda from his house in the Philippines.

The result is Freedom , which arrives in stores July 8. It’s a mixture of classic Journey ballads, heavy rockers, and funky numbers they were able to create thanks to the addition of Walden and bassist Randy Jackson into the fold. We spoke to Schon about the creation of Freedom , Journey’s plans for their upcoming 50th anniversary (which may include Santana), why Jackson and Walden didn’t tour with the band this year, and his feelings about Andy Cohen labeling them “Fake Journey” on CNN after their New Year’s Eve performance.

How did the tour go earlier this year? Killer, man. Couldn’t have asked for better shows. We were back in arenas, selling them out. It felt great. Things are moving straight up.

The combination of you and Toto really worked.  Yeah. I’m glad I thought of it. When Billy Idol was originally going to only play the first 28 shows, I suggested Toto for the second half of the tour. Luke [Steve Lukather] and I have been friends for many years. When Billy got sick and had to pull out, I said, “Let’s just put them on for the whole thing.” And it worked out great. The music really fits together. They were getting ready to do a theater tour, so we helped to elevate them in the United States, where they deserve to be.

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Next year, it looks like we’re going to go out and do the same thing. We’ll play secondary markets and some of the main markets we missed the first time around with Toto. We have 40 dates already booked. And then we’re planning on going aboard with them.

It was interesting to hear “Don’t Stop Believin'” as the third song of the set. It sort of changed the gravity of the night since it’s usually the closer. I think we fumbled on that a bit. We wanted to recreate the Greatest Hits [record] the last time we played Vegas at Virgin [Hotels]. We were recreating the Greatest Hits album exactly as it was on the album. That’s where the song came in. We tried it and I ended up liking it. That’s obviously a huge song, but to me, it was never a closer. It’s an up-tempo power ballad. To me, no matter how big the song is, it’s not the closing song of the show. I thought it worked out great.

Tell me how you made this new album Freedom during the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, everybody was at home, obviously. We couldn’t work. I started experimenting a lot and looping a lot from our house. At this time, we had gone through the lawsuit [against former drummer Steve Smith and former basset Ross Valory] and were able to move on. I wanted to work with Narada Michael Walden and Randy Jackson. Narada lives in San Rafael in Marin County. And even though it was a lockdown, he and I were able to get together and start working on ideas.

I spoke to Arnel about a year ago. He was in Manila, but he had a whole home studio setup so he could work on the new songs with you. Tell me about the process of working with a vocalist on the other side of the planet. It was really amazing to watch. I wasn’t aware completely of the new technology that allows you to record anywhere in the world and be exactly in time without any delay. I figured if you were all the way in Manila, it couldn’t work. I thought there would be glitches and delays. But Narada and our engineer, Jim Reitzel, were explaining to me that there’s this new technology out there and it could be exactly in time. Arnel would not have to engineer himself. Jim could actually engineer from Narada’s studio. All Arnel had to do was sing.

Narada told me funny stories about producing his vocals. He’d be singing, and since he wasn’t in a real studio, it would start pouring rain or hailing. They had to stop the session since they’d hear it pounding on the roof.

His voice sounds really strong, like what he sounded like in 2008. All of the wear-and-tear on his voice was gone. It’s so crazy. We brought out a vocal specialist that Randy Jackson had suggested we use. We tried to figure out what was going on with him since he had been struggling for many years. He was always complaining that he couldn’t hear himself. We thought, “Why not invest and have someone come out and assess it?” The guy came out and said, “Wow. With this mix, I don’t understand how he’s hearing anything. You guys have a real problem here. It’s too loud.”

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Our monitor mixer Josh said he knew a guy with fresh years that could come in and help us overhaul our setup. We got him out. It was like, “Snap!” It was that fast. All of a sudden, it started sounding like a record in front of me. I was going to the guys and saying, “Wow! It’s sounding like it’s pre-mixed. And with Arnel sounding so perfect in the mix, we can do what the Grateful Dead have been doing for years. We need to build up our website more, put some money into that, and start giving people live streams.” As long as we mix up the shows, I see us going in that direction.

This is Randy’s first time on a Journey record since Raised on Radio in 1986. What was it like having him back? What did he bring to the table? It’s Randy and Narada. What they bring to the table is their personalities. It’s always a pleasure to be around them, beyond the fact they are both amazing musicians and great people to be around. I knew what I was going to get musicianship-wise, and both brought it. The way we started this album was all drums and guitar. It was really fun for me to not work with a computer from the get-go.

I was in the studio playing live guitar with Narada on all the tracks that we cut. A song like “Let It Rain” was just a jam. I came in one day and went, “I got this riff.” He goes, “Let’s go jam on it.” We went out and jammed on it. It was one take like it was on the record. I went down and arranged it. I didn’t know where it was going. It wasn’t even really a song. I just kept jamming through it.

In a sense, it was like what a lot of people did in the Sixties, like Jimi [Hendrix] if he was working on something and he had [drummer] Mitch Mitchell to work with. He’d just jam through a thing and then throw bass on it afterwards. That’s what we did with that. I threw some bass on it right afterwards. I did my best Jack Bruce impersonation. I sent it down to Randy, and Randy totally got it. He just took what I did and played it better.

I was really pleasantly surprised to hear the rhythm section on this whole album. We have a whole new strut about the album, whether it’s a ballad, a power rocker, or the funk rock, the heavier stuff we have on this album is kind of a new chapter for us.

I really like “Beautiful As You Are.” That’s a suite. It’s one of the longest Journey songs. I think it encompasses everything from Infinity and before that to “Don’t Stop Believin'” and beyond.

It’s the longest Journey song since “Look Into The Future” in 1976. I hated the days when people were looking at their stopwatch and everyone got into that vibe of, “Don’t bore me, get to the chorus.” Why? If they want to get it on the radio, whatever radio is left out there, they’re going to edit it anyway, so why chop the baby’s legs off?

I also really liked “Holding On.” That’s interesting. It’s one of my favorite songs. It’s one of the first songs I recorded with Narada after the first single. It’s just a riff that I had in my head. I laid it down to a drum machine at home and threw a bass on it. I came in with it and went, “I think this is really cool and aggressive; a funky, rock riff that I would love to hear you play on.” I knew he’d fuck it up in a good way, in a funny way, and wouldn’t play it completely straight, like heavy rock. And so he did. He put the syncopated funk on it with the rock, which brought it to a Wired kind of groove, things he did with Jeff Beck years ago.

I think the track is very strong. I shared it with a few musician friends, one being Sammy Hagar. He came back exactly like I knew he would. He went, “Man, I don’t know what you’re doing. You got all these slow songs at the beginning. I can barely get through it. I would have opened up with ‘Holding On.’”

Tell me about picking drummer Deen Castronovo to sing lead on “After Glow.” Well, we got through playing our first shows [in 2021], which started with Lollapalooza and the [Aragon Ballroom] in Chicago. I really wanted to try the two-drummer thing. For some reason, we were putting together a very long show for the [Aragon] in Chicago. We were doing a three-and-a-half hour show with an intermission in the middle. It became a lot for Narada to remember all the material. I suggested bringing Deen back to help out. [Editor’s note: Castronovo played drums in Journey from 1998 to 2015.]

Deen is such a sponge. He remembers stuff I wrote better than I do. I’ll go, “What did I do there?” He’ll be like, “Bro, go back here. Do this, do this …You’re going there too soon.” He has a photographic memory on all Journey material. He knows every lyric, every vocal part, every guitar part. He’s just a wealth of information when you can’t remember your own stuff. He’s also an amazing drummer and an amazing singer.

He came in to help us out and it worked out really great. We got through all the East Coast dates. And then Narada had a mild heart attack. We got him home safely, and Deen continued to stay out with us, God bless him.

At that point, Deen was out with us and continuing to play our shows. We were finishing up the album. And the music to “After Glow” came to me. It’s the last song I wrote on the album. I was playing electric guitar at home and singing the chords and the melody into my iPhone. I went, “Well, Arnel can sing this. Deen can sing it too. But since Deen isn’t drumming on this record and he’s pretty much back in the band, we might as well have him featured as a vocalist, at least on one track.”

Will Narada rejoin you on the road at some point, or it’s just going to be Deen from now on? I think it is Deen. Deen is really doing amazing out on tour with us. He’s gotten past a lot of obstacles, and clearly shown that he’s on the right path. He’s playing amazing. He’s singing amazing. He’s a great band member. We know he can withstand the road. It’s not as easy as it looks.

Is Narada still a member of Journey? To me, he’s a musical member. Always. I love working with him. I certainly will write more with him in the future. Randy is not out there either. He’s a musical member too.

Why didn’t Randy join you guys on the road? Randy had back surgery. He’s still recovering. As you know, we started with Marco Mendoza. He played some dates with us and we did the iHeartRadio Festival in Vegas. I was mixing it one day with our long-time mixer, Dave Kalmusky, in Nashville. I was noticing that the bass parts — Marco is an excellent bass player, excellent singer, excellent guy — but it just wasn’t gelling. Him and Deen weren’t gelling correctly for Journey. I felt like the bass was in front of the drums. You try to put a guitar in the middle of that and it’s all squeezed. It just wasn’t feeling right.

The bass has to sit behind the drums with us and do that Motown thing. I talked to Marco about it. He goes, “I’ll keep that in mind.” I thought, [incredulously] “Keep that in mind?” I talked to Deen and the rest of the guys about it and we all agreed that it wasn’t quite gelling. I suggested Todd Jensen at that point. I had played with him and Deen. We had gone on tour with Paul Rodgers [in 1993] and done the Hardline thing. He’s very soulful and coming from that Motown place.

When I played with Paul Rodgers at the Hollywood Bowl years ago with Todd, Steve Perry was there at the soundcheck. He came up onstage and goes, “You guys sound killer. You sound better than ever.” Shortly after that, Todd was in his solo band when he went out. He just seemed like an obvious choice.

Might Randy join the band on the road at some point, or it’s just Todd going forward? I really can’t predict the future. I see Todd as being very solid as being a permanent member. He’s got the right personality and the right type of bass-playing. He’s a no-drama person. He’s an awesome guy, easy to get along with. Very talented, sings well. Seeing that it’s our 50th anniversary coming up — my 50th, the only founding guy now — who knows what’s going to happen?

What are your plans for the 50th? What I’d like to see happen is not going to happen completely on our 50th, but eventually will, is An Evening With. I see us going back into these arenas and doing pretty much what Rush was doing, playing long shows and incorporating everything we’ve ever done, and using little segments of our early, early material as segues into other songs. It won’t be a cheesy medley, but we’ll get musical with it. I’ve also appreciated bands like Zeppelin and Hendrix and the Who that weren’t locked down to anything from night to night. They were ready to allow things to flow in a very natural way. I’d like to do that and incorporate anything.

A dream show for many fans is Santana, Journey, and then an OG Santana encore portion with you, and Greg Rolie, Michael Shrieve, and all those guys. I see that completely. That would make total sense for a 50th anniversary. I’ve been talking to Carlos. I’ve been talking to our agent, and also AEG has been amazing to work with. I love working with them. I think it’s on the horizon. I’ve been talking to Carlos’ manager. Carlos and I were talking about getting together. I’m actually pushing for the end of 2023, if we’re in Europe or we come back here, nothing is in cemented, but we’re talking about going over to Europe, playing some large arenas with Toto, since they are very big over there. And then I said, “Why don’t we add Santana to that bill?”

I recently saw an old poster from Bill Graham days for Day on the Green [in 1982] on Facebook. It was Journey/Santana/Toto. That would be a great stadium tour too.

I saw the Santana reunion show at the House of Blues in Las Vegas back in 2016. A lot of fans were hoping to see that band tour, but it didn’t happen. It wasn’t my wish, but it just didn’t. Politics were involved. Some people were not happy about me doing both gigs. It wasn’t me. I’m happy to play six hours a night. [ Laughs ] I don’t have any tendonitis or anything going on. I’m ready to go.

Are there any talks about more Journey shows with Def Leppard? That’s always a possibility. I’m probably not supposed to mention anything since they’re out there now doing what they’re doing, but we always consider Def Leppard. It’s obviously a great bill. I think we’re strong enough to sell out stadiums without anyone else…In all honesty, we were playing the same places, along with old management, Live Nation, for two decades.

You’re right. The band played too many summers in those same amphitheaters. The show works better in arenas. I think we could have done that years earlier, but Live Nation didn’t have those arenas. They don’t own them. They share them once in a while with AEG, but AEG has a lot of those arenas. They want you to play where they own. The amphitheaters, if there are 5,000 seats that are accountable, the other massive amount of open air space [on the lawn] that people fill, you have no idea how many people are there every night. I had to start going to parking lot attendants because I suspected there was a lot of foul play.

Their main goal is to make money from the parking and beer sales. Exactly. That is the main money, honestly. They don’t care about who is playing there. They care that it’s booked out 24/7. It doesn’t matter if it’s Journey, Santana, or whoever. They care about the parking. The parking is the main money, and the concession stand.

As big as the band has gotten, there’s still a vocal element that refuses to give it a chance without Steve Perry. That’s what Andy Cohen was saying on New Year’s Eve on CNN. He called you guys “Fake Journey.” Are there certain people you simply can’t win over? [ Laughs ] I think Andy Cohen is never going to say that again. He was like a hop, skip, and a jump away from where we were on New Year’s Eve that night. He wanted my wife and I to go over there, and we didn’t do it. He was pissed off. He was also drunk. I think that was a setup anyway.

But when I got the real numbers of what networks had the highest ratings, from the second we went onstage that night on ABC, to when the ball dropped, we totally annihilated all networks put together. That night they had the smallest ratings ever [at CNN]. I plastered that all over the place, and did that with a chuckle. “Here you go, Andy. Thanks a lot, man. You actually elevated it.” As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad PR.

I’ll wrap in a second here, but what’s the status of the Arnel biopic? Are wheels moving on that? I hear all kinds of different things. I think inevitably there will be, but I don’t know if it’s going to be exactly like it was planned out to be. I got word from one of the producers that a lot of people that were involved with the initial movie deal aren’t around anymore. People are getting re-situated at companies. When that happens and new bigwigs come in, you never know what’s going to happen. But I think it’s inevitable there’s going to be a Journey flick, much like the Queen flick.

If done right, that could bring out even more fans to see you guys when you tour. Yeah. It’s really kicking butt now though. There’s going to be a small number of people that are resistant. But I went on social media after we got the new mixer and we started sounding like a mixed record every night, they all went away. We silenced everyone. The real truth of the matter is our biggest fans were saying, “I’ve seen you every decade, from the very beginning, prior to Perry, and going through everything and seeing every different decade, and you’ve never sounded this good.” People are comparing it with the highest levels of what we did in the Eighties.

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Neal Schon: Santana guitarist, Journey legend

Latin-Rock Video

Check out the new video for this guitar and percussion-driven song by the leading Santana Tribute and Latin-rock band.

A natural guitarist is born

Besides schooling him in more traditional forms of music, Neal’s father introduced him to The Beatles, whose songs he considered well-written. He then bought Neal a guitar; that was the turning point.

At 10 years old, Neal showed a dedication to practicing that few kids his age could match. In addition, he was blessed with a natural ear that enabled him to copy guitar parts off records by Cream, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, and other artists.

Carlos’ Gear

What he uses currently, as well as the history of the amps, guitars, effects, and more that he has been using throughout his career.

Young Neal Schon: wanted man

While Schon was jamming in the studio with Santana, Eric Clapton walked in — and liked what he heard. He asked Neal to jam with him in an adjacent studio, then invited him up on stage at a show. This led to an offer to join Derek and the Dominos on tour, but when Carlos heard about it, he countered with his own proposal: for Schon to join Santana.

Next: Schon joins Santana

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Journey Through Time

Walks Like a Lady

Neal Schon Plays Guitar against a Turqiouse Backdrop Variety of Images

Schon Productions

Neal Schon's live celebration of Journey: supremely musicianly and surprisingly rough-and-ready

A live recording from the journey alumni show to raise money for victims of the fires that ravaged the north bay area of san francisco in 2017.

Neal Schon: Journey Through Time cover art

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

All hail the return of The Fabulous Baker Boys (AOR division): Neal Scone and Bread Rolie, otherwise known as Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie, founding members of Journey way back in 1973.

This epic three-CD set immortalises a February 2018 benefit show that raised funds for the city’s North Bay area that had been ravaged by wildfires. Guitarist Schon assembled a one-off troupe of Journey alumni for the show (including keyboard player/vocalist Rolie, natch), and the results are both supremely musicianly and surprisingly rough-and-ready.

With Schon in full-on guitar-hero mode and an eclectic setlist (including Kohoutek , an instrumental throwback to Journey’s jazz-rock roots), this is about as glossy as a piece of scuffed carpet – and all the better for it.

No Jonathan Cain, who was down the cake shop at the time.

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How Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain Finally Mended Fences

Journey continues to celebrate their 50th anniversary during ongoing dates with Toto , followed by a mammoth summer stadium tour featuring Def Leppard and Steve Miller Band . They're doing so with a renewed brotherly bond between co-founding guitarist Neal Schon and longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain .

As drummer Deen Castronovo tells UCR, Journey's main songwriters found a way to "mend the fences" thanks to "communication" which allowed the pair to sort out festering differences for the greater good of the band and their continuing legacy.

Castronovo spoke about this turn of events during a Zoom conversation from Philadelphia on an off-day. He also discussed the upcoming shows with Def Leppard and the recent release of Against the Winds , the newest album from his band Revolution Saints .

The current Journey tour with Toto seems like it's been really fun. Oh dude, of course they’ve been incredible. Neal told me yesterday that out of all of the shows, there’s only three that aren’t full sellouts, there are like maybe 30 or 40 tickets left in those three arenas. So we’re doing great, man. The tour’s going great, Toto is amazing. It’s just been incredible. We’re sounding great and the band’s getting along amazing again. We’re having a good time. You can see it on stage. We’re having a blast.

That's really great to hear. I don't know what turned the tide, but it's good that things have changed. You know, Jon and Neal, I think it was all about just communication. Having those guys sit down. You know, with Michaele [Schon] and Paula [White-Cain], actually the wives helped a lot. It was bringing them in and just going, “Guys, talk this out.” This is too big, too beautiful and too great to see it flushed down the toilet. Mend the fences. Now, we’ve got Michaele – and Paula, Jon’s wife, it’s all four of them, co-managing this band and it’s working. They’re getting along and they’re working together. It’s one jet again instead of two. They’re running it like a business. That’s what it should have been. There was a lot of turmoil in both camps and nobody was talking. That was the problem. Now, they’re all talking and communicating and it’s working great. You know, Paula’s a great businesswoman. She’s smart. Smart with money. Michaele is a people person and she’s got the gift of gab. We just do our jobs. We go out and play and it works! Man, it’s great. I’ve got to give all four of them credit.

READ MORE: How Did Journey Survive Their 50th Anniversary Tour?

Journey has done a good amount of shows with Toto at this point. It seems like there's a good bond there. Musically, the package fits. The musicianship in both bands is stellar. Watching Luke [ Steve Lukather ] every night, it’s unbelievable. Then, I get to play with Neal, another unbelievable player. You know, it’s the greatest players in the [same] area. It’s a dream come true. It’s a really great package and there’s not a lot of them out there. So it’s pretty cool to see two bands that have that pedigree and resume going out and doing what we’re doing together. It’s been great.

I've always been impressed with how you honor the different drumming eras of Journey with your playing. I knew Aynsley [Dunbar] 's stuff from the earlier records, but I didn’t get into him until later on, really. Infinity is when I heard him play, but I didn’t know the stuff before. Once I heard Infinity , I went back and got the three earlier records with Aynsley really tearing it up. It’s just amazing. He’s a British drummer and he’s got that British feel. Great backbeat and an amazing player. Then, of course [Steve] Smith , he’s a god to me. I knew him on the records, but then I heard Captured and went, “Oh-oh-oh- ohhhh !” This is all new information that I’d never heard before! I just picked right up on that, because I was a Neil Peart and Peter Criss fan. So I heard Smith, then I heard [Terry] Bozzio. I was seeing where those guys all got their stuff and that changed my whole drumming perspective. Even Mike Baird, when he played with them for [the] Raised on Radio [tour], it was just the biggest, widest pocket on the planet. He’d lay it down. Him and Randy Jackson? Unbelievable. What a great duo those guys were.

Listen to Journey's 'La Do Da' From 'Captured'

What songs were challenging initially when you first joined the band in the '90s? It’s funny, it was “Don’t Stop Believin’.” I thought Smith was playing it like this [Castronovo demonstrates the drumming technique]. I had no idea about anything open-handed! I said, “Well, I need to know ‘Don’t Stop Believin’” and he starts giggling. He’s like, “It’s open-handed. The high hat’s here and you’re doing all of this stuff here.” It took me a little while. There’s three different parts to that. It’s not just the same thing. The first part is just the toms, then the tom with the ride cymbal and then the tom with a different ride cymbal pattern on the toms. I had to learn it. It was great because I knew most of the other stuff, but it was his feel and just his emotion when he plays. He’s got such a swing to his playing. For me, you know, I was a rock guy. I was like, “Okay, I swing like a brick!” [Laughs] So I had to learn that feel and I learned all of that from Smith, just listening to Steve.

READ MORE: Why Journey Never Accepted the 'Corporate Rock' Tag

I sat there for maybe an hour, working on two or three songs and then we were trading fours and he was just wiping the floor up with me. It was unbelievable. I’m like, “What are you doing there with that cymbal thing?” He took some lessons from a guy named Freddie Gruber. Neil Peart took lessons from him as well. It’s all about motion and not playing through a drum, but instead, bringing the sound out of a drum. You know, pulling it out instead of pushing it in. So I learned a lot. But he was doing this stuff and he’s like, “Well, can you do that? Let me go slow.” He’d show it to me and I’d be like, “I can’t do that.” [Laughs] I guess if I took enough time and really studied it – like, sat down with Smith for six months every day, for six hours a day, I could play that kind of stuff. But he’s just so amazing, man. He’s still my all-time favorite drummer. There’s nobody that touches him in my book. There really isn’t.

These current shows with Toto will be good fuel for the summer stadium tour with Def Leppard. Oh dude, it’s gonna be great. For me, this is my first stadium tour with Journey. We’ve done stadiums before, but not an entire tour. The last time I did an entire tour of stadiums was with Vasco Rossi in Italy, doing venues like San Siro – sold out three nights in a row, 100,000 seats a night. That was the last time and that was ’96, ’97. So this is going to be really cool. And I haven’t been with the Def Leppard guys since 2006, that’s when I toured with them – and that was great as well. You know, they’re great guys and they’re funny. Joe Elliott is a kick in the pants, man. He’s hilarious. Very dry British humor and you’ve got to have thick skin! [Laughs] But he’s hilarious – totally awesome. Then, you’ve got Rick Allen, who I really respect and admire as a person. Not just as a player, but as a person. He’s a really spiritually sound guy. I love the man. Good person.

READ MORE: When Journey Stopped Making Videos

I haven't spoken with you about Revolution Saints since you got Jeff Pilson and Joel Hoekstra into the band . Now you're two albums in and on the way to three with those guys. You know, I was nervous, obviously, eecause Doug [Aldrich] , Jack [Blades] and I had a wonderful chemistry [for the first three albums]. Jack was our fearless leader and it felt great. The camaraderie was so beautiful. So when they left, I’m like, “Okay, who are we going to get with that camaraderie, that feel and that chemistry? That’s going to be tough.” You can get the greatest players in the world, but if there’s no chemistry, it’s kind of pointless. But I’ve known Jeff from our tours with Foreigner and Journey. I knew Joel from the tours with Night Ranger and Journey. So we had that friendship. It was like, “Great, I know these guys are wonderful people.”

Their playing speaks for itself. They’re great players. I mean, they throw down. Doug has a raw, John Sykes kind of vibe. Joel is a little more smooth, but he’s still got that vibe. He throws down. It’s two different guitarists, but they’re very similar. Joel fits really well. Jeff, of course, he’s so prolific – great songwriter, great vocalist. He’s got that thing. We lock in really well. We haven’t played any shows live and I’m really curious to see what that’s going to be like, because I want to, but it’s the schedules, man. You know how that is. I’m with Journey. We’re gone until November. Chances are, we’ll be back out again in January, like we usually do. This is how we keep food on the table. I’m hoping that there will be some time for Revolution Saints to play live. But again, Jeff’s out with Foreigner and Joel’s got his projects – Whitesnake and all of that stuff. It’s going to be tough, but I’m sure someday, it’s going to happen. It can’t not, because I’m going to make it happen.

Listen to Revolution Saints' 'Fall on My Knees'

The Best Song From Every Journey Album

Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso

You Think You Know Journey?

10 Best Journey Songs of All Time

List of the top 10 best journey songs of all time.

Journey is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1973. They are known for their melodic rock sound, soaring vocals, and memorable guitar solos. Journey rose to fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s with a string of hit albums and singles.

The band’s classic lineup consisted of lead vocalist Steve Perry, guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, bassist Ross Valory, and drummer Steve Smith. Together, they created some of Journey’s most iconic songs, including “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Wheel in the Sky,” and “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).”

Journey’s music is characterized by its anthemic choruses, catchy hooks, and uplifting lyrics, making them a favorite among fans of arena rock and classic rock alike. Their albums “Escape” (1981) and “Frontiers” (1983) are among the best-selling albums of the 1980s and cemented their status as one of the biggest bands of the era.

Despite numerous lineup changes over the years, Journey has continued to tour and record new music, with various lead singers stepping in to replace Steve Perry. The band’s enduring popularity is a testament to the timeless appeal of their music and their ability to connect with audiences around the world. Journey remains a beloved and influential band in the history of rock music.

Table of Contents

1. Don’t Stop Believin’

“Don’t Stop Believin'” is a song by Journey, released in 1981 on their album “Escape.” It was written by Journey members Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon.

“Don’t Stop Believin'” is one of Journey’s most iconic and enduring songs, known for its uplifting lyrics, catchy melody, and memorable piano intro. The song’s anthemic chorus and positive message have made it a favorite at sporting events, graduations, and other celebratory occasions.

The track features Steve Perry’s powerful vocals, Neal Schon’s melodic guitar work, and Jonathan Cain’s driving keyboard lines. Lyrically, “Don’t Stop Believin'” tells the story of a small-town girl and a city boy who meet on a midnight train journey, with the song encouraging listeners to hold onto their dreams and never give up hope.

“Don’t Stop Believin'” was a commercial success upon its release and has since become one of the best-selling digital singles of all time. It has been covered by numerous artists and featured in various TV shows, movies, and commercials, solidifying its status as a timeless classic and one of the most beloved songs in rock music history.

2. Faithfully

“Faithfully” is a song by Journey, released in 1983 on their album “Frontiers.” It was written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain.

“Faithfully” is a power ballad known for its heartfelt lyrics, soaring melodies, and emotional delivery. The song features Jonathan Cain’s iconic keyboard intro and Steve Perry’s powerful vocals, which convey the longing and devotion expressed in the lyrics.

The lyrics of “Faithfully” speak about the challenges of life on the road for a touring musician and the sacrifices made to maintain a relationship. Despite the distance and hardships, the narrator pledges to remain faithful and true to their partner.

“Faithfully” became one of Journey’s most enduring hits and a staple of their live performances. It reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remains a favorite among fans of the band and the power ballad genre.

The song’s emotional resonance and timeless appeal have solidified its status as one of Journey’s signature songs and a classic in the rock ballad canon.

3. Any Way You Want It

“Any Way You Want It” is a song by the American rock band Journey, released in 1980 on their album “Departure.” The song is known for its upbeat tempo, catchy chorus, and energetic performance.

“Any Way You Want It” features a driving rhythm and a melodic guitar riff, with Steve Perry’s distinctive vocals delivering the song’s anthemic lyrics. The lyrics of the song describe a sense of freedom and spontaneity, with the narrator expressing a willingness to adapt to the desires of their partner.

Musically, “Any Way You Want It” is a blend of rock and pop, with a polished production that reflects the sound of early 1980s rock music. The song’s arrangement includes a memorable guitar solo and a dynamic bridge section that builds to a climactic chorus.

“Any Way You Want It” was a commercial success, reaching the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song’s catchy melody and uplifting lyrics have made it a favorite among Journey fans, and it remains one of the band’s most popular songs.

4. Open Arms

“Open Arms” is a song by the American rock band Journey, released in 1982 on their album “Escape.” The song is known for its heartfelt lyrics and powerful vocal performance by Steve Perry.

“Open Arms” features a soft rock ballad style, with a piano-driven melody and lush orchestration. The lyrics of the song describe a longing for love and connection, with the narrator expressing a willingness to open their heart to someone special.

Musically, “Open Arms” is characterized by its emotive vocals and soaring chorus, which showcase Perry’s vocal range and control. The song’s arrangement is simple yet effective, with a focus on the melody and Perry’s vocals.

“Open Arms” was a commercial success, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has since become one of Journey’s most iconic songs and is often regarded as a classic of 1980s rock music.

5. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” is a song by Journey, released in 1983 on their album “Frontiers.” It was written by band members Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon.

“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” is characterized by its driving beat, powerful guitar riffs, and catchy keyboard hook. The song’s energetic instrumentation is complemented by Steve Perry’s soaring vocals and emotive delivery.

Lyrically, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” tells the story of a relationship on the brink of ending, with the narrator expressing frustration and longing for reconciliation. The chorus, with its iconic line “Someday love will find you, break those chains that bind you,” captures the theme of hope amidst heartache.

The song’s music video, featuring the band performing against a backdrop of industrial landscapes and dramatic lighting effects, became iconic and is often cited as one of the most memorable music videos of the 1980s.

“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” was a commercial success, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming one of Journey’s most popular and enduring songs. It remains a staple of classic rock radio and a favorite among fans of the band.

6. Wheel in the Sky

“Wheel in the Sky” is a song by the American rock band Journey, released in 1978 on their album “Infinity.” The song is known for its driving rhythm and catchy chorus, as well as its powerful vocal performance by Steve Perry.

“Wheel in the Sky” features a hard rock sound, with a prominent guitar riff and a driving drum beat. The lyrics of the song describe life on the road and the experiences of being a touring musician, with the “wheel in the sky” symbolizing the constant motion and unpredictability of life on tour.

Musically, “Wheel in the Sky” is characterized by its energetic performance and memorable guitar solo. The song’s arrangement is dynamic, with a building intensity that culminates in a climactic chorus.

“Wheel in the Sky” was a commercial success, reaching the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has since become one of Journey’s most enduring hits and is often included in their live performances.

7. Who’s Crying Now

“Who’s Crying Now” is a song by Journey, released in 1981 on their album “Escape.” It was written by band members Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain.

“Who’s Crying Now” is a power ballad characterized by its memorable melody, soulful vocals, and emotive lyrics. The song features a dynamic arrangement, with soft verses building into powerful choruses, showcasing the band’s ability to blend rock and pop sensibilities.

Lyrically, “Who’s Crying Now” explores themes of heartbreak and resilience in the aftermath of a failed relationship. The narrator reflects on the pain of lost love but finds strength in moving forward and letting go of the past.

The song’s chorus, with its anthemic refrain “Who’s crying now?,” became iconic and is often cited as one of Journey’s most memorable hooks. “Who’s Crying Now” was a commercial success, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming one of the band’s signature songs.

The song’s emotional resonance and timeless appeal have solidified its status as a classic in the rock ballad genre and a fan favorite among Journey’s extensive catalog.

8. Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’

“Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” is a song by the American rock band Journey, released in 1979 on their album “Evolution.” The song is known for its catchy chorus and energetic performance.

“Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” features a driving rhythm and a bluesy rock sound, with Steve Perry’s powerful vocals delivering the song’s lyrics. The lyrics describe a tumultuous relationship, with the narrator expressing frustration and confusion over their partner’s behavior.

Musically, “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” is characterized by its catchy guitar riff and infectious groove. The song’s arrangement includes a memorable vocal harmony section and a dynamic guitar solo.

“Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” was a commercial success, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has since become one of Journey’s most popular songs and is often included in their live performances.

“Lights” is a song by Journey, released in 1978 on their album “Infinity.” It was written by band members Steve Perry, Neal Schon, and Gregg Rolie.

“Lights” is a melodic rock song characterized by its upbeat tempo, catchy melody, and reflective lyrics. The song features a prominent piano riff and lush harmonies, creating a nostalgic and uplifting atmosphere.

Lyrically, “Lights” is an ode to the city of San Francisco, where Journey was formed. The song’s lyrics express a sense of longing and nostalgia for the city’s vibrant atmosphere and the memories associated with it. The chorus, with its iconic refrain “When the lights go down in the city, and the sun shines on the bay,” captures the essence of the song’s theme.

“Lights” became one of Journey’s most beloved and enduring songs, achieving commercial success and reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remains a staple of classic rock radio and a fan favorite among Journey fans, often cited as one of the band’s signature tracks.

10. Send Her My Love

“Send Her My Love” is a song by the American rock band Journey, released in 1983 on their album “Frontiers.” The song is a power ballad with a heartfelt melody and emotional lyrics.

“Send Her My Love” features a soft rock sound, with a melodic piano intro and Steve Perry’s soulful vocals delivering the song’s lyrics. The lyrics describe a sense of longing and regret, with the narrator expressing a desire to reach out to a lost love.

Musically, “Send Her My Love” is characterized by its lush orchestration and powerful vocal performance. The song’s arrangement builds to a climactic chorus, with a memorable guitar solo adding to the emotional impact.

“Send Her My Love” was a commercial success, reaching the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song remains a favorite among Journey fans and is often regarded as one of their standout ballads.

Edward Tomlin is a frequent contributor to Singers Room. Since 2005, Singersroom has been the voice of R&B around the world. Connect with us via social media below.

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Neal Schon
Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey.He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a member of the rock band Santana before forming Journey. He was also a member of the group Bad English during Journey's hiatus from 1987 to 1995, as well as ...
Journey (band)
History 1973-1977: Formation, Journey, Look into the Future and Next Neal Schon, the remaining original member of Journey in 2008. The original members of Journey came together in San Francisco in 1973 under the auspices of former Santana manager Herbie Herbert.Originally called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section and intended to serve as a backup group for established Bay Area artists, the band ...
Neal Schon interview on Journey's new album, Steve Perry before 50th
Journey's Neal Schon says he and Steve Perry are 'in a good place' before band's 50th anniversary. On the cusp of turning 50, the band that etched "Don't Stop Believin' " and "Faithfully ...
Neal Schon on Journey's greatest tracks: "After Don't Stop was done I
Neal Schon on Journey's greatest tracks: "After Don't Stop was done I turned to everybody in the room and said, 'I think this song is going to be massive'" ... "Either you go it or you ain't." Neal Schon has got it. He has always had it. The Way We Used to Be - Freedom (2022) ... Pat Morrow, and he was just fatigued. Our old ...
Happy 70th Birthday Neal Schon: 5 Highlights from the Guitar Great's
Founding Journey guitarist Neal Schon celebrates his 70th birthday on Tuesday, February 27. The talented musician launched his career when he joined Santana when he was just 16 years old.
Neal Schon
Neal Schon. Self: Independent Lens. Neal Schon was born in Midwest City, Oklahoma on February 27th, 1954 to Matthew and Barbara Schon. Neal dropped out of school when he was 15 to join Carlos Santana's rock group Santana. Four years later Carlos Santana and his band split up, so Neal and Gregg Rolie formed Journey. Journey released its self-titled debut album in 1975. Journey then released ...
George Tickner, Journey co-founder dies. Neal Schon says goodbye
GEORGE TICKNER, Journey's original rhythm guitarist and songwriter contributor on their first three albums, has passed away. He was 76 years old" Neal Schon , Journey co-founder, wrote on Facebook ...
Interview: Neal Schon on Journey and Steve Perry
Journey's current lead vocalist, Arnel Pineda, performed instead. Schon, Perry, and Cain, as the co-writers for "Don't Stop Believin'," all had to clear the song for Sopranos use.
Schonmusic
JOURNEY'S NEAL SCHON ON 'EMOTIONAL' STEVE PERRY REUNION, ROCK HALL INDUCTION. It was a vision that Journey fans have been fantasizing about for years: Steve Perry and Neal Schon standing side-by-side on an arena stage holding their hands up high in the air together and hugging like old friends. It took the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to make ...
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Neal Schon's guitar style has been described as soulful, melodic, and is infamously admired by such fellow legends as Eric Clapton and Prince. In 2005, Neal Schon and Journey received a Star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame and were further recognized by Billboard Magazine with the Legend Of Live Award at the 2011 Billboard Touring Conference .
Neal Schon on New Journey Lineup, Arnel Pineda Biopic, 'Universe' LP
January 7, 2021. "There's nothing we really can't play," Neal Schon says of Journey's new lineup. Brian Ach/Getty Images. Three years ago, Journey guitarist Neal Schon finished a solo album of ...
Neal Schon
2017 Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee Neal Schon has released his first ever holiday ep that includes NEAL SCHON | JOURNEY NEAL SCHON - Some amazing rock and roll stories about my life, my love, founding the band Journey and much much more.
Neal Schon on Journey's New LP 'Freedom', Big 50th Anniversary Plans
Journey's new album 'Freedom' is arriving this month, and guitarist Neal Schon is already thinking ahead to their 50th anniversary in 2024.
Q&A: Neal Schon On The 'Freedom' Of Journey, His ...
Journey will release 'Freedom," their first album in 11 years, this Friday (July 8). I spoke with guitarist Neal Schon about the new record, dream tours and reclaiming their business dealings.
Neal Schon: Early Santana, Journey Guitarist
Neal Schon: Santana guitarist, Journey legend . Back at the beginning of the '70s, before Santana became a worldwide brand name, he was simply a somewhat shy, albeit talented, guitarist who led a group of the same name. ... At 10 years old, Neal showed a dedication to practicing that few kids his age could match. In addition, he was blessed ...
Neal Schon, 'Journey Through Time': Album Review
A review of Neal Schon's 2023 album, 'Journey Through Time.'
NEAL SCHON
Insider updates on forthcoming productsVery Special Promotions only for subscribersUpdates about live events. SEND FORM. By continiung you agree to our and . 2017 Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee Neal Schon has released his first ever holiday ep that includes.
Neal Schon at age 17- guitarist for Journey/Carlos Santana ...
Neal Schon at age 17 - Guitarist for Journey and Carlos Santana Band featured in an impromptu Jam Session at Don Wehr's Music City (approx. 1971). Musicians ...
Neal Schon Music
@Nealschonmusic Neal Schon - #NEALSCHON #NealSchon #MagicFingers #journeyfounder #Journey #Santana3-4 #HSAS #JourneyThroughTime #rockhall #OklaMusicHall #PRSguitars #gibsoncustom #fendercustom
Neal Schon
From the album JOURNEY THROUGH TIME. Buy or Stream: https://orcd.co/nealschon | Subscribe To Frontiers Music Srl YouTube Channel: http://radi.al/SubscribeFro...
Neal Schon: Journey Through Time album review
With Schon in full-on guitar-hero mode and an eclectic setlist (including Kohoutek, an instrumental throwback to Journey's jazz-rock roots), this is about as glossy as a piece of scuffed carpet - and all the better for it. No Jonathan Cain, who was down the cake shop at the time. Neal Schon: Journey Through Time: Price Comparison. £16.54.
How Journey's Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain Finally Mended Fences
Neal told me yesterday that out of all of the shows, there's only three that aren't full sellouts, there are like maybe 30 or 40 tickets left in those three arenas. So we're doing great, man ...
Review: Neal Schon 'Journey Through Time'
By Mike O'Cull. Founding member of Journey and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Neal Schon takes us back to one incredible night of live music in 2018 on his new live album Journey Through Time.. Set to drop May 19th, 2023 on the Frontiers Music s.r.l. imprint, the new record documents a live show that happened February 9, 2018 at The Independent in San Francisco, California.
Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'' Is Still Hitting ...
Journey, group portrait, New York, June 1979, L-R Neal Schon;Steve Smith;Steve Perry ... Journey scored the hit of a lifetime—maybe the hit of all time—when they released "Don't Stop ...
10 Best Journey Songs of All Time
"Don't Stop Believin'" is a song by Journey, released in 1981 on their album "Escape." It was written by Journey members Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon.

Neal Schon on Journey’s greatest tracks: “After Don‘t Stop was done I turned to everybody in the room and said, ‘I think this song is going to be massive’”

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