steve perry not in journey

The Reason Steve Perry Decided To Leave His Journey Band Members

• Steve Perry left Journey the first time due to feeling burnt out after their final show in 1987.
• Perry left Journey a second (and final) time because of debilitating pain caused by a reported hiking accident.
• Journey continued without Perry though, finding other lead singers before ultimately reuniting and releasing new music.

Throughout the '80s, the band Journey enjoyed plenty of success. The band, which consisted of various members depending on the year and pending lawsuits, welcomed Steve Perry in 1977.

At the time, the other members of Journey included Neal Schon, Ross Valory, George Tickner, Prairie Prince, and Gregg Rolie. Though many band members came and went over the years, Steve Perry always seemed like a staple, one of the central attractions as far as drawing crowds (and rounding out the group's vocals).

But by then, Perry had launched a solo act, and at that point, he and Schon weren't getting along very well, either. That resulted in Steve leaving the band (for the first time).

Journey's Legacy Took A Hit After Steve Perry's Reported Lawsuit Against His Former Band Members

Updated April 2024: Many fans were unaware that Steve Perry left Journey because he was dealing with a debilitating degenerative bone condition . It made it hard to do daily routine activities, let alone tour. But, many fans thought that Perry was kicked out of the band so that he could be replaced by Steve Augeri. A fact that the remaining members of Journey denied. They simply believed the music was "bigger than them" and wanted to continue to tour. These days, Journey is still touring, without Perry, with Arnel Pineda on the lead vocals . Tickets are available for their tour, currently taking place in North America.

Why Steve Perry Left Journey The First Time

Steve perry left journey because he was burnt out.

As iHeartRadio explained, Perry was feeling burnt out. He said that he had "an amazing time in an amazing band," but that his last show in February of 1987 with the band had been a turning point of sorts. Setting out on his own, Perry went on to rediscover himself in a way, while his former bandmates went another direction.

Steve did come back later, however, in the early '90s. The guys reconciled, buried the hatchet, and were working on another album together. The band was even about to start touring again when Perry left the group for good.

Why Steve Perry Left Journey A Second Time

Steve perry was dealing with debilitating pain, leading him to leave journey a second and final time.

So what happened that caused Steve Perry to leave Journey a second time, this time for good? He had a good reason: UCR says Steve got hurt during a hiking accident . Rather than undergo hip surgery so that he could get back on stage (and on tour), Steve opted to quit the band. The way UCR tells it, Steve "refused" the surgery and "dredged up" memories of his leaving the band before.

But the way some fans saw it (and clearly the journalists at UCR as well), the move was a power play akin to the one Perry apparently made back in the '80s. His leaving the band at that point was a way to control Journey's fate, the publication suggested. So the second time around, the band cut ties with Perry rather than letting him drag them down.

Is Steve Perry Still Feuding With The Rest Of Journey?

Perry later related that he was both physically ill and "burnt out," noted iHeartRadio , and that after both an illustrious career as a member of Journey and a successful solo run, he was just finished. For the band's part, they soon replaced Perry with a 'soundalike' who did the job well enough, but never propelled the band to the notoriety or net worth of The Beatles .

Journey Got Back Together Without Steve Perry

Journey got back together with steve augeri and steve perry put out new music.

In 1998, the band officially announced that Steve was no longer part of Journey. After that, it would be decades before Steve got back into music again. As iHeartRadio quoted him a few years ago, "I rediscovered my love for music."

Steve released a new album in 2018, including original songs he'd written over the past 30 years. He even included a "reimagined cover" of a Beatles hit, but it wasn't the one John Lennon hated .

Has Steve Perry's Bad Blood With His Former Journey Bandmates Stopped Them From Speaking?

After Steve Augeri replaced Perry for eight years, he too called it quits with Journey. That has not stopped the band from touring, however. The band is currently doing a North American tour with Arnel Pineda on the lead vocals. Tickets are available for purchase for dates around the US.

Source: iHeart Radio

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Steve Perry Walked Away From Journey. A Promise Finally Ended His Silence.

By Alex Pappademas

• Sept. 5, 2018

MALIBU, Calif. — On the back patio of a Greek restaurant, a white-haired man making his way to the exit paused for a second look at one of his fellow diners, a man with a prominent nose who wore his dark hair in a modest pompadour.

“You look a lot like Steve Perry,” the white-haired man said.

“I used to be Steve Perry,” Steve Perry said.

This is how it goes when you are Steve Perry. Everyone is excited to see you, and no one can quite believe it. Everyone wants to know where you’ve been.

In 1977, an ambitious but middlingly successful San Francisco jazz-rock band called Journey went looking for a new lead singer and found Mr. Perry, then a 28-year-old veteran of many unsigned bands. Mr. Perry and the band’s lead guitarist and co-founder, Neal Schon, began writing concise, uplifting hard rock songs that showcased Mr. Perry’s clean, powerful alto, as operatic an instrument as pop has ever seen. This new incarnation of Journey produced a string of hit singles, released eight multiplatinum albums and toured relentlessly — so relentlessly that in 1987, a road-worn Mr. Perry took a hiatus, effectively dissolving the band he’d helped make famous.

He did not disappear completely — there was a solo album in 1994, followed in 1996 by a Journey reunion album, “Trial by Fire.” But it wasn’t long before Mr. Perry walked away again, from Journey and from the spotlight. With his forthcoming album, “Traces,” due in early October, he’s breaking 20 years of radio silence.

Over the course of a long midafternoon lunch — well-done souvlaki, hold all the starches — Mr. Perry, now 69, explained why he left, and why he’s returned. He spoke of loving, and losing and opening himself to being loved again, including by people he’s never met, who know him only as a voice from the Top 40 past.

And when he detailed the personal tragedy that moved him to make music again, he talked about it in language as earnest and emotional as any Journey song:

“I thought I had a pretty good heart,” he said, “but a heart isn’t really complete until it’s completely broken.”

IN ITS ’80S heyday, Journey was a commercial powerhouse and a critical piñata. With Mr. Perry up front, slinging high notes like Frisbees into the stratosphere, Journey quickly became not just big but huge . When few public figures aside from Pac-Man and Donkey Kong had their own video game, Journey had two. The offices of the group’s management company received 600 pieces of Journey fan mail per day.

The group toured hard for nine years. Gradually, that punishing schedule began to take a toll on Journey’s lead singer.

“I never had any nodules or anything, and I never had polyps,” Mr. Perry said, referring to the state of his vocal cords. He looked around for some wood to knock, then settled for his own skull. The pain, he said, was more spiritual than physical.

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As a vocalist, Mr. Perry explained, “your instrument is you. It’s not just your throat, it’s you . If you’re burnt out, if you’re depressed, if you’re feeling weary and lost and paranoid, you’re a mess.”

“Frankly,” Mr. Schon said in a phone interview, “I don’t know how he lasted as long as he did without feeling burned out. He was so good, doing things that nobody else could do.”

On Feb. 1, 1987, Mr. Perry performed one last show with Journey, in Anchorage. Then he went home.

Mr. Perry was born in Hanford, Calif., in the San Joaquin Valley, about 45 minutes south of Fresno. His parents, who were both Portuguese immigrants, divorced when he was 8, and Mr. Perry and his mother moved in next door to her parents’. “I became invisible, emotionally,” Mr. Perry said. “And there were places I used to hide, to feel comfortable, to protect myself.”

Sometimes he’d crawl into a corner of his grandparents’ garage with a blanket and a flashlight. But he also found refuge in music. “I could get lost in these 45s that I had,” Mr. Perry said. “It turned on a passion for music in me that saved my life.”

As a teen, Mr. Perry moved to Lemoore, Calif., where he enjoyed an archetypally idyllic West Coast adolescence: “A lot of my writing, to this day, is based on my emotional attachment to Lemoore High School.”

There he discovered the Beatles and the Beach Boys, went on parked-car dates by the San Joaquin Valley’s many irrigation canals, and experienced a feeling of “freedom and teenage emotion and contact with the world” that he’s never forgotten. Even a song like “No Erasin’,” the buoyant lead single from his new LP has that down-by-the-old-canal spirit, Mr. Perry said.

And after he left Journey, it was Lemoore that Mr. Perry returned to, hoping to rediscover the person he’d been before subsuming his identity within an internationally famous rock band. In the beginning, he couldn’t even bear to listen to music on the radio: “A little PTSD, I think.”

Eventually, in 1994, he made that solo album, “For the Love of Strange Medicine,” and sported a windblown near-mullet and a dazed expression on the cover. The reviews were respectful, and the album wasn’t a flop. With alternative rock at its cultural peak, Mr. Perry was a man without a context — which suited him just fine.

“I was glad,” he said, “that I was just allowed to step back and go, O.K. — this is a good time to go ride my Harley.”

JOURNEY STAYED REUNITED after Mr. Perry left for the second time in 1997. Since December 2007, its frontman has been Arnel Pineda, a former cover-band vocalist from Manila, Philippines, who Mr. Schon discovered via YouTube . When Journey was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last April, Mr. Pineda sang the 1981 anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’,” not Mr. Perry. “I’m not in the band,” he said flatly, adding, “It’s Arnel’s gig — singers have to stick together.”

Around the time Mr. Pineda joined the band, something strange had happened — after being radioactively unhip for decades, Journey had crept back into the zeitgeist. David Chase used “Don’t Stop Believin’” to nerve-racking effect in the last scene of the 2007 series finale of “The Sopranos” ; when Mr. Perry refused to sign off on the show’s use of the song until he was told how it would be used, he briefly became one of the few people in America who knew in advance how the show ended.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” became a kind of pop standard, covered by everyone from the cast of “Glee” to the avant-shred guitarist Marnie Stern . Decades after they’d gone their separate ways, Journey and Mr. Perry found themselves discovering fans they never knew they had.

Mark Oliver Everett, the Los Angeles singer-songwriter who performs with his band Eels under the stage name E, was not one of them, at first.

“When I was young, living in Virginia,” Mr. Everett said, “Journey was always on the radio, and I wasn’t into it.”

So although Mr. Perry became a regular at Eels shows beginning around 2003, it took Mr. Everett five years to invite him backstage. He’d become acquainted with Patty Jenkins, the film director, who’d befriended Mr. Perry after contacting him for permission to use “Don’t Stop Believin’” in her 2003 film “Monster.” (“When he literally showed up on the mixing stage the next day and pulled up a chair next to me, saying, ‘Hey I really love your movie. How can I help you?’ it was the beginning of one of the greatest friendships of my life,” Ms. Jenkins wrote in an email.) Over lunch, Ms. Jenkins lobbied Mr. Everett to meet Mr. Perry.

They hit it off immediately. “At that time,” Mr. Everett said, “we had a very serious Eels croquet game in my backyard every Sunday.” He invited Mr. Perry to attend that week. Before long, Mr. Perry began showing up — uninvited and unannounced, but not unwelcome — at Eels rehearsals.

“They’d always bust my chops,” Mr. Perry said. “Like, ‘Well? Is this the year you come on and sing a couple songs with us?’”

At one point, the Eels guitarist Jeff Lyster managed to bait Mr. Perry into singing Journey’s “Lights” at one of these rehearsals, which Mr. Everett remembers as “this great moment — a guy who’s become like Howard Hughes, and just walked away from it all 25 years ago, and he’s finally doing it again.”

Eventually Mr. Perry decided to sing a few numbers at an Eels show, which would be his first public performance in decades. He made this decision known to the band, Mr. Everett said, not via phone or email but by showing up to tour rehearsals one day carrying his own microphone. “He moves in mysterious ways,” Mr. Everett observed.

For mysterious Steve Perry reasons, Mr. Perry chose to make his long-awaited return to the stage at a 2014 Eels show at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn. During a surprise encore, he sang three songs, including one of his favorite Eels tunes, whose profane title is rendered on an edited album as “It’s a Monstertrucker.”

“I walked out with no anticipation and they knew me and they responded, and it was really a thrill,” Mr. Perry said. “I missed it so much. I couldn’t believe it’d been so long.”

“It’s a Monstertrucker” is a spare song about struggling to get through a lonely Sunday in someone’s absence. For Mr. Perry, it was not an out-of-nowhere choice.

In 2011, Ms. Jenkins directed one segment of “Five,” a Lifetime anthology film about women and breast cancer. Mr. Perry visited her one day in the cutting room while she was at work on a scene featuring real cancer patients as extras. A woman named Kellie Nash caught Mr. Perry’s eye. Instantly smitten, he asked Ms. Jenkins if she would introduce them by email.

“And she says ‘O.K., I’ll send the email,’ ” Mr. Perry said, “but there’s one thing I should tell you first. She was in remission, but it came back, and it’s in her bones and her lungs. She’s fighting for her life.”

“My head said, ‘I don’t know,’ ” Mr. Perry remembered, “but my heart said, ‘Send the email.’”

“That was extremely unlike Steve, as he is just not that guy,” Ms. Jenkins said. “I have never seen him hit on, or even show interest in anyone before. He was always so conservative about opening up to anyone.”

A few weeks later, Ms. Nash and Mr. Perry connected by phone and ended up talking for nearly five hours. Their friendship soon blossomed into romance. Mr. Perry described Ms. Nash as the greatest thing that ever happened to him.

“I was loved by a lot of people, but I didn’t really feel it as much as I did when Kellie said it,” he said. “Because she’s got better things to do than waste her time with those words.”

They were together for a year and a half. They made each other laugh and talked each other to sleep at night.

In the fall of 2012, Ms. Nash began experiencing headaches. An MRI revealed that the cancer had spread to her brain. One night not long afterward, Ms. Nash asked Mr. Perry to make her a promise.

“She said, ‘If something were to happen to me, promise me you won’t go back into isolation,’ ” Mr. Perry said, “because that would make this all for naught.”

At this point in the story, Mr. Perry asked for a moment and began to cry.

Ms. Nash died on Dec. 14, 2012, at 40. Two years later, Mr. Perry showed up to Eels rehearsal with his own microphone, ready to make good on a promise.

TIME HAS ADDED a husky edge to Mr. Perry’s angelic voice; on “Traces,” he hits some trembling high notes that bring to mind the otherworldly jazz countertenor “Little” Jimmy Scott. The tone suits the songs, which occasionally rock, but mostly feel close to their origins as solo demos Mr. Perry cut with only loops and click tracks backing him up.

The idea that the album might kick-start a comeback for Mr. Perry is one that its maker inevitably has to hem and haw about.

“I don’t even know if ‘coming back’ is a good word,” he said. “I’m in touch with the honest emotion, the love of the music I’ve just made. And all the neurosis that used to come with it, too. All the fears and joys. I had to put my arms around all of it. And walking back into it has been an experience, of all of the above.”

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25 Years Ago: Why Steve Perry Left Journey for Good

Journey  lost singer Steve Perry  for a second time on May 7, 1998. The first time, back in the '80s, Perry's exit had been voluntary – the result of recent solo success and growing indifference toward the band.

Left to their own devices at the time, former bandmates Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain formed Bad English with singer  John Waite . (Perry had fired founding bassist Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith during the sessions for 1986's Raised on Radio .)

A decade mostly gone from bright arena spotlights paved the way for Journey's triumphant mid-'90s reunion. The resulting Top 20 album, 1996's Trial by Fire , swam against the current of the era's reigning alt-rock. Three charting singles, a Grammy nomination and plans for a successful comeback tour made it seem just like the good old days.

Unfortunately, those touring plans were derailed when Perry suffered a hiking accident and refused to undergo the hip surgery necessary to get him back onstage. This opened the door to renewed ill will and undoubtedly dredged up memories of the singer's late-'80s power grab for Journey's fate.

Instead of bending to Perry's whims this time, the other members of Journey banked on their fan base's renewed support and unquenchable hunger for tour dates by recruiting a Perry soundalike Steve Augeri in order to get on with business.

The band's decision appeared to have been vindicated by a successful decade-plus of touring and recording with Augeri and, later, Arnel Pineda. Perry, for his part, maintained a relatively low profile, seemingly satisfied belting out "Don't Stop Believin'" from the bleachers of his hometown San Francisco Giants' baseball stadium, and occasionally showing up as a guest singer. He's only put out one proper solo album since, 2018's Traces . (Perry released a different version of the same LP in 2020, followed by The Season , an album of Christmas standards, in 2021).

Journey joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 . Before the ceremony, Schon said he hoped Perry would perform with him again. Instead, Perry ended up taking part only in the acceptance speeches, simply commenting : "I am truly grateful that Journey is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

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Why Journey’s Reunion With Steve Perry Was Just A Disaster

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 07: Inductees Steve Perry and Neal Schon of Journey speak onstage during the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The broadcast will air on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on HBO. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

Discussing the band Journey without mentioning frontman Steve Perry is like missing a crucial part of their story. Perry led the band to huge success in the ’80s, took a break, came back in the ’90s, and then left again, opting for a quiet life for nearly two decades. This article dives into Perry’s return to the band and the reasons he left once more.

In the 80s, Journey was a big deal, churning out albums, hits, and even having their own video game. Even though the game wasn’t great, it was a big deal back then.

Perry guided Journey through their peak from 1977 to 1987 and then again from 1995 to 1998. In between, he did his solo thing but kept a low profile, only returning to music a few years ago.

The Audition that Changed Everything

Born in California to Portuguese parents, Perry got into music at 12, inspired by Sam Cooke’s “Cupid.” He joined Journey after their manager heard a tape of Perry’s previous band and liked his voice. Perry replaced Robert Fleishman as the frontman, even though they did a sneaky tour to avoid causing a stir.

Perry’s pop style brought success but also turned away some old fans. His first run with the band ended in 1985 due to personal issues like his mom being sick and a breakup.

After leaving in 1987, Perry worked on a solo album, but he wasn’t feeling it, so he took a break until the mid-90s, making a few stage appearances.

The Reunion Proposal

In 1995, Perry suggested reuniting with Journey, but with new conditions, including a change in management. With a new manager, they got back together and made a successful album, Trial by Fire, but Perry’s health issues in 1998 stopped their tour plans. Perry didn’t promote the album much, citing pain and avoiding surgery.

By 1998, some band members wanted to move on without Perry, looking for a new singer despite his pleas. Steve Augeri, a former rocker turned GAP employee, joined, facing challenges, and was eventually replaced.

In the end, Journey found their current vocalist, Arnel Pineda, after a bumpy ride with various changes and challenges.

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Former Frontman Steve Perry Will Never Reunite With Journey — Here's Why He Left

Aug. 29 2023, Updated 3:51 p.m. ET

The American rock band Journey has cemented their legacy in the world of classic rock music . With power ballad songs such as "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully," the lyrics continue to be sung throughout generations.

Initially formed in the early '70s, Journey reportedly hit its commercial peak between the late 1970s through the late '80s.

In 1987, frontman Steve Perry decided to part ways with Journey. Given the impact the band had, many were shocked when they learned ties had been severed. So, why did Steve leave Journey? Keep reading to find out more.

Why did Steve Perry leave Journey?

According to iHeartRadio , Steve left Journey in 1987 and pursued a solo career, though he never reached commercial success as an individual artist. In the mid-90s, Steve reunited with bandmates and prepped for an upcoming tour. However, those plans changed after Steve found out he had a hip condition that would require surgery. But, he wanted to try alternative treatments.

“They wanted me to make a decision on the surgery,” he told Rolling Stone in a 2018 interview. “But I didn’t feel it was a group decision. Then I was told on the phone that they needed to know when I was gonna do it ’cause they had checked out some new singers.” 

Though he asked his bandmates to reconsider, they did not. “I said to them, ‘Do what you need to do, but don’t call it Journey,’” he said, adding, “If you fracture the stone, I don’t know how I could come back to it.”

The band found a new singer and the group continues to tour today. While the former lead singer was present during Journey's 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, he has not performed with the band since then.

“What they do is none of my business,” the 71-year-old told the outlet. “When I walked away from it, I did not go to any of the shows, nor did I listen to any of it.”

So, what did he do after leaving behind his music career?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Steve Perry (@steveperrymusic)

Rumors surfaced that Journey's Steve Perry was a recluse.

After parting ways with the band, Steve took a step back from the spotlight and music. “I didn’t sing in those years,” he explained to Rolling Stone . “I didn’t write music. I must have gained 50 or 60 pounds. I got a butch haircut. I just said, ‘I’m going to just become a plump kid in my hometown again.’ I’d already lived the dream of dreams and didn’t know how I could come close to being anything like what I was before.”

View this post on Instagram One late night, I was sitting in my room thinking about so many things. This song came into my mind, and it brought me some comfort. I hope it does the same for you. Stay safe, Steve A post shared by Steve Perry (@steveperrymusic) on Apr 17, 2020 at 9:02am PDT

The singer revealed that rumors started to surface of the former frontman being a "recluse with long nails." 

Finally, after several decades, Steve decided to release his third studio solo album "Traces," which was a project five years in the making.

As for fans holding out that Steve will one day reunite with his former bandmates, don't hold your breath. The singer told the outlet, "I left the band 31 f--king years ago, my friend. You can still love someone, but not want to work with them."

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Steve Perry Explains Why He Disappeared After Leaving Journey

By Andrew Magnotta

August 26, 2018

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has been something of a white whale in the world of classic rock for the last 20 or so years.

While Perry hasn't necessarily been avoiding the public eye, he hasn't sought it out either. Since leaving Journey officially in 1996 due to a crippling hip injury that prevented him from touring, Perry has been surprisingly absent from music.

His lack of creative output was a stark change from his time in Journey, a band that was seemingly either on tour or in the studio for the entirety of the 1980s. 

Perry has done few interviews over the last 24 years, but as the singer prepares to revamp his career with, Traces , his first solo album since 1994, he's taken the added step of explaining himself — he was physically unwell and burnt out.

“The truth is, that I thought music had run its course in my heart,” Perry explains in a statement on his website . “I’d had an amazing time in an amazing band, and then the chance to express myself as a solo artist too. But I had to be honest with myself, and in my heart, I knew I just wasn’t feeling it anymore.”

Just hearing music brought back the feelings of exhaustion and lack of control he felt at the end of his tenure in Journey, Perry says. 

"For a long time, I could barely even listen to music," he said. "My last show with Journey was February of 1987. Then one day, it hit me that I couldn't do this anymore. I felt as if I had to jump off this merry-go-round — this big beautiful mothership that we had all worked so hard together to build."

But his love for music has returned as strong as ever. Perry says Traces is the last "30 years into 10 songs," and he began writing with no expectations. 

"I   started writing and recording these songs with the creative freedom that I was the only one who would ever hear them," he says. "Along the way, I rediscovered my love for music. Each track represents traces of my past, but is also a hopeful look into the future. I invite you to listen with an open heart.” 

Nine of the songs on Traces are originals. The tenth track is Perry's reimagined cover of The Beatles ' "I Need You."

The album is due out October 5. Fans can pre-order it   here .

Listen to the lead single, "No Erasin'" below.

The singer has yet to announce a tour or any live performances. But after so many years off the road, you can't blame him for dipping his toes in the water before diving in. 

Photo: Getty Images

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STEVE PERRY Discusses Leaving JOURNEY - "I Could Not Find The Honest Passion For Singing, I Was Stepping Into Some Other Party Behaviours To Augment My Frustrations"; Video

March 6, 2023, a year ago

news classic rock steve perry journey

In the video below from AXS TV, former Journey singer, Steve Perry, talks about what pushed him to leave the band.

Steve Perry is among the artists scheduled to appear on Dolly Parton's new album, entitled Rock Star, and due for release in the fall of 2023.

It was previously announced that Rock Star will include Dolly's take on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven", The Rolling Stones' "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction", Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird", Prince's "Purple Rain", and Journey's "Open Arms".

Speaking about the new record on daytime talk show, The View, Parton revealed that guests on the album will include The Beatles legend Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, John Fogerty, Pink, Brandi Carlisle, Cher, and Perry.

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Former Journey frontman Steve Perry reveals why he left band at its height

Former Journey frontman, Steve Perry, reveals why he left the rock band and how he has rebuilt his life post-rock-and-roll. (CBS)

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry revealed in a new interview why he left the iconic band in the late '90s.

The rock 'n' roll star, who is set to appear Sunday on "CBS This Morning" in an interview with Tracy Smith, said he made the decision to leave the band after he fell out of love with music and wanted to embark on a new life journey.

The singer, who is known as the voice behind one of the band's biggest hits, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” also said that he was nursing a bad hip during the time he was considering leaving the band. Despite his bandmates urging him to fix his hip so they could continue rocking, Perry ultimately realized that it wasn't just his hip in the wrong place.

“It was really your heart, not your hip,” Smith says during the interview.

“It was really my heart,” Perry responds.

After leaving the band, Perry returned home to Hanford, Calif., and started a new life not centered on music.

“I stopped singing,” Perry tells Smith. “Completely, Tracy, I swear.”

And moving forward, the once-rocker found love with psychologist Kellie Nash.

Perry shared that the pair were connected through mutual friends, but at the time, sadly, Nash was battling late-stage breast cancer. Nash died in October 2012 and Perry credits her for inspiring him to make music again.

After mourning her death for two years, the former Journey member returned to the studio.

Though the singer has rediscovered his love for music, don't expect Perry to take a step back and reunite with his former bandmates. The 69-year-old told Smith that he plans to keep moving forward.

“I can only answer that question with the truth: that I love going forward. I love going to the edge of what’s next,” he says.

Perry's new album, “Traces,” is out now.

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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” into lighters-up lore is entering “a cleaned-up chapter of Journey.”

That’s according to Neal Schon, the band’s ace guitarist, lone original constant and de facto CEO.

Despite decades of fluctuating lineups and  snarly lawsuits among band members , Journey endures.

On July 8, the band released “Freedom,” its first new album in 11 years that also presents the return of Randy Jackson (as in "American Idol") on bass. The 15-song collection is steeped with vintage-sounding ballads (“Still Believe in Love,” “Live to Love Again”) and soaring melodic rockers (“United We Stand,” “You Got the Best of Me”).

Journey – including longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain,  peppy singer Arnel Pineda , drummer Deen Castronovo and keyboardist Jason Derlatka, adding bassist Todd Jensen for live shows – will hit Resorts World Las Vegas  this month for shows backed by a symphony orchestra before rolling through more arena dates this summer and in early 2023, the band’s official 50th year.

Journey in pop culture: Quarantined family perfectly re-creates 'Separate Ways' music video at home

Regular road warriors who consistently pack arenas and stadiums – their 27 shows this year grossed $28 million, according to Billboard Boxscore – Journey relies on a solid catalog of mega-hits and a devoted fan base that appreciates the familiarity.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers also received a boost from Netflix’s ’80s-centered “Stranger Things” when the show used “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” in the trailer for the just-ended season, launching the song onto Billboard’s Rock Digital Songs chart. The affable Schon, 68, talked with USA TODAY about the band’s complicated legacy, his relationship with former frontman Steve Perry and plans for Journey's golden anniversary.

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Question: Are you amazed at how the Journey train keeps rolling after almost 50 years?

Neal Schon: It’s quite an accomplishment and I’m very proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve gotten through emotional and personnel changes and survived. It’s pretty mind-boggling but also a lot of hard work.

Q: Does the title “Freedom” refer to anything specifically?

Schon: Our ex-manager Herbie Herbert  wanted to call the (1986) “Raised on Radio” album “Freedom” because he always came up with these one-word titles. Steve (Perry) fought him on that and got his way, so we sat on it for many years. When we got through the lawsuit with the ex-bandmates, we made the new LLC Freedom (JN) and when we were tossing around album titles said, why not just call the whole thing “Freedom?" It's for the times right now.

Q: There’s been a bit of a revolving door in the rhythm section. Deen Castronovo is back for the live shows, but Narada Michael Walden played drums on the album, and Randy Jackson is back in the band, at least on record?

Schon: Deen is singing and playing his butt off. He’s such a musical sponge, this guy. He’s been like my little brother for close to three decades and is such a joy to work with. Randy, he’d been working with me diligently this whole time. He’s so many things beyond being an amazing musician and bass player.

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Q: Will Randy play at any of the upcoming live shows or is Todd Jensen handling those duties?

Schon: Randy is still recovering from some surgery and he stays very busy and Todd fits like a glove. Having said that, I think with our 50th anniversary next year, there’s room for everybody to jump in if they want to participate. We did go through an ugly divorce with (Steve Smith and Ross Valory) with the court proceedings (in 2021, Schon and Cain settled a $10 million trademark lawsuit with the band’s former drummer and bassist). But definitely, if Steve Perry wanted to come on and sing a song, yes. If (original Journey singer) Gregg Rolie wanted to come sing a couple of songs, yes. Randy Jackson (can) come sit in on some of the material – he played on a lot of hits on “Raised on Radio.”

Q: Do you talk much with Steve Perry?

Schon: We are in contact. It’s not about him coming out with us, but we’re speaking on different levels. That’s a start, even if it’s all business. And I’m not having to go through his attorney! We’ve been texting and emailing. He’s a real private guy and he wants to keep it that way. We’re in a good place.

Q: Do you think, after 15 years, that people have accepted Arnel?

Schon: I was diligent in that I wanted to show the massive size of our audience, so I hired photogs to come out every show and shoot the audience and show the size of the crowd to make everybody see, what am I missing? From putting up the different photos every night and the reviews from the fans online, I saw very little of “This is not Journey, man.” I think we just shut everybody up.

The Real Reason Steve Perry Is Getting Paid Not To Sing For Journey

Life is a journey, not a destination. But the band Journey always seemed destined to succeed with Steve Perry at the helm. As Rolling Stone recounts , prior to his joining the group, Journey released three albums that didn't get very far commercially in the 1970s. But Perry had an otherworldly set of pipes that could make listeners turn on the waterworks. His first album with the band , 1978's Infinity , resulted in their first hit, "Wheel in the Sky." From there, the sky seemed like the limit.

Throughout much of the 1980s, life became a highway run into the midnight sun, thanks to schmoopy classics like "Faithfully" and "Open Arms." Rolling Stone writes  that that band "basically invented the power ballad." Naturally, Perry's voice supplied much of the power. Journey sailed on together but drifted apart, and Perry left the group in 1987. His solo career seemed destined for disappointment, and in 1996, he returned to Journey. With the magic rekindled, the group got nominated for a Grammy. Then life took an awful turn.

Journey stopped believin' in Steve Perry

Not long after Steve Perry came back to Journey with open arms, another body part got in the way. While hiking in Hawaii he experienced horrendous pain in his hip. He soon discovered he had a degenerative bone disorder and needed hip replacement surgery. Afraid to have an operation, Perry put it off in favor of ineffective alternative treatments. The band began to get impatient. Speaking with Rolling Stone , Perry recalled , "They wanted me to make a decision on the surgery. But I didn't feel it was a group decision. Then I was told on the phone that they needed to know when I was gonna do it 'cause they had checked out some new singers."

As another goodbye loomed, Perry asked the band not to call itself Journey when they replaced him. But the group kept its name and moved on with "Perry soundalike" Steve Augeri. That marked the end of Steve Perry's journey with Journey but not the end of his profits. Ultimate Classic Rock explains  that when Perry parted ways with the band in 1997, certain stipulations were added to their contract.

Guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain took over the rights to Journey's name, but Perry would receive "50 percent of the net income due Schon or Cain, whichever is higher, from the first two post-Perry Journey albums." For the third album, Perry would receive 25 percent, and for every album after he would get 12.5 percent. Moreover, Journey couldn't claim "less than 20 percent of the total amount earned" as net income. And just to be sure fans knew what they were missing, album labels had to indicate that the band had a new lead singer.

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Neal Schon Says Journey Will Play Stadiums for 50th Anniversary, Doesn’t Rule Out Steve Perry Return

The year 2023 will be a big one for Journey , who will celebrate their 50th anniversary as a band and in a rather significant way — guitarist Neal Schon has suggested the group will play stadiums next year in what is still quite a secretive operation. And he didn't rule out the return of two classic members either.

His comments came in an interview with  Entertainment Tonight , which also touched on Journey's new album Freedom and their Las Vegas residency shows which feature a symphony orchestra. Schon even laughed a bit when he was asked how many times Journey rehearsed with the orchestra before opening night and replied, "One day."

The interview then put the focus on the future and what lies ahead beyond the Vegas gigs as Journey prepare to celebrate 50 years as a band. "We're going back into stadiums with someone I can't really talk about right now," commented Schon, playing things close to the vest while managing to tease what appears to be quite a massive forthcoming announcement.

The guitarist was also asked about the likelihood of singer Steve Perry and keyboardist Gregg Rolie, who split with the group in 1998 and 1980, respectively. "You know, I think that those two guys were a big part of the band and I think if [it] permits - the city permits - the fans would overall love it," says Schon, though it's uncertain exactly what he meant in regards to the city permits — perhaps securing stadium locations and complying with local noise ordinances, but that remains unconfirmed.

Schon didn't rule out the return of either member and those comments follow recent remarks where the guitarist claimed he and Perry are "talking and getting to know each other again" but cautioned that they "are not trying to get together musically again."

Earlier this year, in May, the lone remaining Journey founder told UCR , "We’re going to celebrate the 50th anniversary and then celebrate it again in ‘24,” Schon tells UCR. “It’s my 50th year with Journey and I’m the only original member left there. You know, Jon [Jonathan Cain] is 40 years with us. Deen [Castronovo] has a good two decades and Arnel [Pineda] is now 15 years, the longest run of any singer [with Journey]."

He even has his eyes on sharing the bill with Carlos Santana and revealed in that same conversation, "I talked to Carlos and I talked to his manager about it the other day. He says Carlos definitely wants to do some stuff. I said, what about the latter part of ‘23? We could possibly go from big arenas in Europe to stadiums and finish out ‘23 in the stadiums, in South America and all of that."

Journey Interview With  Entertainment Tonight

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The rock legends of Journey are approaching nearly half a century of hitmaking with a new No. 1 album and a Las Vegas residency, to boot! ET was with the icons in Sin City for an exclusive look at their orchestral show and to get the inside story on their first new music in more than a decade. 

"Hearing it when it was finished it was definitely emotional," lead guitarist Neal Schon tells ET's Denny Directo of their new album, Freedom , which marks their first full-length release in 11 years. "We had recorded this album in a way different way because of COVID." 

The band recorded Freedom entirely separate from one another, laying down their respective parts individually in different parts of the world. 

"You get lemons, you make lemonade," says keyboardist Jonathan Cain, revealing the surprising silver lining they discovered through the process. "We were stuck at home. We were supposed to be on tour with The Pretenders and everything got shut down. So we just thought, 'Why not?' And we also made the record for half the price. ... We spent half the money, so we got a blessing from it." 

"It will never be the same," vocalist Arnel Pineda chimes in with a laugh. "So we'll do the same thing again to save money, right?" 

Creatively, the band drew on both past and present experiences while striving to stay true to the heart of what fans have come to know and love about them. 

"I feel that we encompassed like a lot from Infinity to where we are now in this album," says Schon, referencing Journey's 1978 full-length featuring their first Billboard Hot 100 hit, "Wheel in the Sky." 

"It's very diverse, it's very musical," he continues. "I’m happy with that. I think it really represents that band well."

In 2023, Journey will celebrate 50 years in the biz. To commemorate their golden anniversary, the group has planned a slew of upcoming performances into the years ahead, including stadium shows and -- in their words: "More pyro!" and "Firing bombs onstage right, bro!" 

With more than 100-million records sold, 19 Top 40 singles and 25 Gold and Platinum albums under their belts, Journey remains one of the best-selling bands of all-time.

Pineda has been a part of that success for 15 years after replacing lead singer Steve Perry in 2007. The 54-year-old says his life went "from black to white" when joining the group. "These guys, I owe so much to them," he says. 

As for whether they would bring back former band members Perry and Gregg Rolie for the anniversary shows, Schon is open to the possibility. 

"I think that those two guys were a big part of the band," he says, "and I think that, you know, if the city permits, I think the fans would overall love it."

Just last week, Journey rocked two of four planned performances from July 15-23 at Resorts World Theater in Las Vegas alongside Violution Orchestra. Only ET was with them for the soundcheck. 

"So much came to life with that orchestra," gushes drummer Deen Castronovo. "I mean, they were already beautiful songs and they have such a life of their own. But when you get that orchestra, it's so lush, man. I mean, it's amazing sounding. It really is." 

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Steve Perry Withdraws Lawsuit Against Journey Over Band’s Trademarks

• By Daniel Kreps

Daniel Kreps

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has withdrawn his lawsuit against his ex-bandmates over the trademarks to 20 of the group’s biggest songs.

In Sept. 2022, Perry, who permanently exited the band in 1998, filed legal papers to prevent Freedom JN LLC — a company headed by Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain which holds the Journey trademarks — from using those trademarks on apparel and other merchandise.

Perry claimed that he, Cain and Schon had an agreement that required unanimous consent for any business decision related to the trademarks and that he had not authorized said consent. Perry went on to accuse the duo of “fraud on the trademark office” by what he claims is inaccurate information about the trademark.

So much for JC trying to throw me under the bus as he claimed I was blatantly trying to rip off SP while collecting the checks for the very diligent work my wife and I did to protect our Merch. Time for coffee 👍🏽 pic.twitter.com/xsGQBr0wob — NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) January 7, 2023

Schon — who has been entangled in a lengthy legal battle with Cain, from bickering over the use of the band’s credit card to cease-and-desists — blamed Perry’s filing of the lawsuit on Cain, tweeting Friday, “So much for [Cain] trying to throw me under the bus as he claimed I was blatantly trying to rip off [Perry] while collecting the checks for the very diligent work my wife and I did to protect our Merch.”

Reps for Cain, Schon and Perry did not respond to Rolling Stone ’s request for comment as press time.

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Somehow, despite all the in-fighting between the longtime bandmates, Journey — with Schon and Cain in tow — will put their differences aside when the band embarks on their Freedom Tour starting Jan. 27 in Durant, Oklahoma. When asked by a fan on Twitter how the duo could possibly perform together amid the tumultuous legal situation, Schon responded , “We’ve written great music… Channel the great music. Honor it.” 

Schon also noted that Santana and original Journey keyboardist/lead singer Gregg Rolie would rejoin the band for the first time in 43 years for the upcoming tour; upon Rolie’s exit in 1980, Cain joined the lineup, and has remained a member alongside Schon ever since. (However, as Schon posted on Facebook , even Rolie’s involvement could result in more legal issues.)

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Steve Perry

Who Is Steve Perry?

Steve Perry played in several bands before joining Journey in 1977. The band achieved tremendous pop rock success with its 1981 album Escape , which featured the now-classic "Don't Stop Believin'." As the group's lead singer, Perry became one of the era's most famous singers. He also had some hits on his own, including "Oh Sherrie." Perry left Journey in 1987, and except for a brief reunion, he remains a solo artist.

While attending high school in Lemoore, California, Perry played drums in the marching band. He tried college for a while, performing in the choir, but eventually abandoned school for his musical dreams. Hoping to break into the business, he moved to Los Angeles for a time. There, he worked a number of jobs, including singing on commercials and serving as an engineer in a recording studio. All the while, Perry played with a number of different groups as a vocalist and drummer. He seemed to be on the edge of a breakthrough with the group Alien Project, when it suddenly disbanded — tragically, one of its members was killed in a car crash.

Journey: "Oh Sherrie" and "Don't Stop Believin'"

In 1977, Perry caught his big break, landing a gig as the vocalist for Journey, which began performing as a jazz rock group in the early 1970s, in San Francisco. With Perry on board, the band moved more toward mainstream rock, and began to see some chart success with the first album with Perry, 1978's Infinity . The band's ode to San Francisco, "Lights," became a minor hit as did "Wheel in the Sky" and "Anytime."

Journey broken into the Top 20 with "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" on their next album, Evolution (1979). Buoyed by such hits as "Open Arms," "Who's Crying Now" and "Don't Stop Believin'," Escape (1981) became the band's first No. 1 album, selling more than 7 million copies. While the band was hugely popular with music fans, many critics were less than kind.

By the early 1980s, Journey had emerged as one of rock's top acts. Perry proved that while he may have been short in stature, he possessed one of the era's biggest and most versatile voices. He was equally adept at ballads, such as "Open Arms," and at rock anthems, such as "Any Way You Want It." Behind the scenes, Perry helped write these songs and many of the band's other hits. He penned their most enduring song, "Don't Stop Believin'," with guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain.

Journey continued to be one of the era's top-selling acts, with 1983's Frontiers . The album featured such songs as "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Faithfully." To support the recording, the band undertook an extensive world tour. Around that time, Journey also became the first band to license their music and likenesses for a video game.

With 1986's Raised on Radio , Journey enjoyed another wave of success. However, Perry was ready to part ways with his bandmates. Perry left the band in 1987 after the album tour. In a statement to People magazine, Perry explained: "I had a job burnout after 10 years in Journey. I had to let my feet hit the ground, and I had to find a passion for singing again." Perry was also struggling with some personal issues at the time; his mother had become very sick, and he spent much of his time caring for her before her death.

Perry reunited with Journey in 1996, for the reunion album Trial By Fire , which reached as high as the No. 3 on the album charts. But health problems soon sidelined the famous singer—a hip condition, which led to hip replacement surgery—and his bandmates decided to continue on without him.

Solo Projects

While still with Journey, Perry released his first solo album, Street Talk (1984). The recording sold more than 2 million copies, helped along by the hit single, "Oh Sherrie." Burnt out after splitting with Journey, Perry took some time out before working on his next project.

Nearly a decade later, Perry re-emerged on the pop-rock scene with 1994's For the Love of Strange Medicine . While the album was well-received—one ballad, "You Better Wait," was a Top 10 hit—Perry failed to reach the same level of success that he had previously enjoyed. In 1998, he provided two songs for the soundtrack of Quest for Camelot , an animated film. Perry also released Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased that same year.

Recent Years

While he has largely stayed out of the spotlight, Perry continues to be heard in movies and on television. His songs are often chosen for soundtracks, and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" even played during the closing moments of the hit crime-drama series The Sopranos in 2007. In 2009, a cover version of the song was done for the hit high school musical show Glee , which introduced a new generation to Perry's work.

According to several reports, Perry began working on new material around 2010. He even built a studio in his home, which is located north of San Diego, California. "I'm finishing that room up and I've written a whole bunch of ideas and directions, all over the map, in the last two, three years," Perry told Billboard in 2012.

In 2014, Perry broke from his self-imposed exile from the concert stage. He appeared with the Eels at several of their shows. According to The Hollywood Reporter , Perry explained that "I've done the 20-year hermit thing, and it's overrated." His return to performing "has to do with a lot of changes in my life, including losing my girlfriend a year ago and her wish to hear me sing again" — referring to his romance with Kellie Nash, who died in late 2012 from cancer.

Although Perry and his old bandmates had long since ventured in separate directions, the group did reunite for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2017.

In the meantime, the singer began recording again. On August 15, 2018, he released his first new song in 20 years, the ballad "No Erasin." The track arrived ahead of his new album, Traces , his first full-length studio recording since For the Love of Strange Medicine in 1994.

Regardless of what the future holds, Perry has already earned a place in rock history. Rolling Stone magazine named him one of music's top 100 singers. According to American Idol judge and former Journey bassist, Randy Jackson, Perry's voice is one of kind. "Other than Robert Plant, there's no singer in rock that even came close to Steve Perry," Jackson said. "The power, the range, the tone—he created his own style. He mixed a little Motown, a little Everly Brothers, a little Zeppelin."

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Steve Perry
• Birth Year: 1949
• Birth date: January 22, 1949
• Birth State: California
• Birth City: Hanford
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Steve Perry was the lead singer of pop rock band Journey from 1977 to 1987. He is known for having a wide vocal range, which can be heard on such popular hits as "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Oh Sherrie."
• Astrological Sign: Aquarius

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Steve Perry Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/steve-perry
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: July 23, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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Journey: Infinity - Album Of The Week Club review

It's 1978. journey are going nowhere, but they have a plan. his name is steve perry, and infinity is the result.

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.

1. Lights 2. Feeling That Way 3. Anytime 4. La Do Da 5. Patiently 6. Wheel In The Sky 7. Somethin' To Hide 8. Winds Of March 9. Can Do 10. Opened The Door

Steve Perry was not a unanimous choice as Journey ’s new singer. But when Perry presented the bluesy  Lights  to the band, everyone sensed the possibilities.

Tellingly,  Lights  was chosen as  Infinity ’s opening track – an introduction to the new Journey – and it remains one of the band’s best-loved songs, as does this album’s  Wheel In The Sky .

Under pressure from Columbia Records, who’d done their bit by hiring Queen ’s producer Roy Thomas Baker, the refocused Journey delivered their first set of accessible mainstream rock songs. The payoff was instant.

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Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute. 

Join the group now .

It’s impossible to talk about Journey without the towering presence of their manager Herbie Herbert, a bear of a man with a personality and reputation that, at times, has almost seemed to eclipse (pun intended) the band. 

Think Peter Grant, if he weren’t quite so intimidating and wasn’t surrounded by henchmen with fists at the ready. Herbie loved music and loved Journey. He dedicated his life to their needs and to the advancement of their career. He had a vision and nobody was gonna fuck with it, and recruiting a vocalist to the group was paramount to his plan. 

In Steve Perry, Herbert had found the proverbial needle in the haystack – a vocalist with unlimited range, unique delivery and looks that killed. The consummate frontman, in fact. There is every reason to believe that Perry singlehandedly rescued Journey from interminable underachievement. 

Other albums released in January 1968

• White Hot - Angel
• Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
• City to City - Gerry Rafferty
• White Music - XTC
• Attention Shoppers! - Starz
• Double Live Gonzo! - Ted Nugent
• Endless Wire - Gordon Lightfoot
• I'm Ready - Muddy Waters
• Level Headed - Sweet
• The Modern Dance - Pere Ubu
• Open Fire - Ronnie Montrose

What they said...

"The problem with this album is that the variation was left behind from the previous albums in favour of a more straightforward, crowd-pleasing album. Any jazz-laden roots are being left behind for pop-rock, and somehow the members who have appeared in albums of talent and quality have agreed to change." ( Sputnik Music )

"Dead and buried were the jazz fusion overtones of previous offerings, and with the new songwriting combo of Perry/Neal Schon leading the march, the band set out to completely redefine their sound. Traditional pop arrangements were now adopted, cutting out the unnecessary musical fat, and allowing each band member to play to his strength ( AllMusic )

"There isn't a whole lot of diversity on this album – or the rest of Journey's career for that matter. They would only really know two modes: Fast arena-rockers and melodramatic ballads. For that reason, Journey's discography becomes somewhat tiresome to sit through. But, at least on this album, no matter what mode they're in, they always manage to find a vocal hook or an instrumental texture to engage my ears." ( Don Ignacio )

What you said...

James Doughty: It's difficult to overstate the effect Steve Perry's joining had on Journey. Not just with respect to his singing, but also with the effect the presence of a singer had on the rest of the band. They were admittedly reluctant towards him, and were it not for the insistence of manager Herbie Herbert they would have retained Robert Fleischmann, or recruited someone else. 

But with Infinity Perry proved he was the only choice. His songwriting ability completely redirected the style of the band from fusion noodlers to song stylists. The jump in quality to Infinity from the previous album Next is so pronounced there could have been three in between. 

The band's new direction so suited them that they were playing better than ever. Even Rolie's singing was vastly improved in his efforts to keep up with Perry. The other members of Journey were already virtuosos. Now they had a singer who was as good as they were. Wheel in the Sky became their first legitimate hit, and more than half the tracks on the album remain classic rock radio staples to this day. Journey would experience more creative peaks during Perry's tenure, notably with the Escape album, but Infinity is where they proved they belonged in the big leagues.

Jacob Tannehill: The magic of this album to those who were not familiar with the fact that this was Perry’s first album with them, is that it sounds like a “seasoned” band, and Perry sounds like he’d been in the band longer than this though they hadn’t. 

Once I found out that this was his first album with them I immediately checked out the earlier albums, and needless to say I was disappointed. From this album on, this is the Journey I know and love. Really no clunkers on this at all!

Gary Villapiano: This is one of the finest albums ever made - for myriad reasons. We all fell in love with Steve's voice immediately... and Roy Thomas Baker's production captured all those harmonies perfectly. 

Still, the way Greg and Steve shared lead vocals remains gripping. I must also say this album captured Neil's superb guitar playing (before he got into his manic overplaying that dominates his style now).

I still blast this regularly - because it deserves it. I think it's their best.

Graham Tarry: I had, and loved, their three albums prior to this, but buying it at the time it was like a breath of fresh air. Great songs, superb production; just wonderful stuff, overshadowed by the later AOR success, this is a classic slice of US Rock.

Andrew McCourt: The ending of Feeling That Way connects perfectly with the start of Anytime . So much so that my local rock radio station used to play them back-to-back. And the vocal interplay between Rolie and Perry was a great way to introduce Perry's voice to fans.

Michael Anderson: The make or break album for Journey. Have always loved the combined songs of Feeling That Way and Anytime , and how Perry and Rollie intertwine their vocals. Fun fact: Journey started recording this record with a different lead singer – Robery Fleischman. He's a credited writer of Wheel In The Sky . You can listen to his demo of that song on YouTube. The Steve Perry version turned out much better!

Martin Millar I'm 55 seconds in and I already hate it. EDIT: Now on the second song and I'm bailing out. This is rock music minus the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Emiel Lange: What an amazing album. I first heard Journey on their Escape album. Loved it so much I immediately dove into their back catalogue. This one still stands out. Maybe even better than Escape or Frontiers .

Bill Griffin: Journey had become my favourite band (and a local one too) with the release of Next , the previous album. I managed to see them on the ensuing tour without any of the new singers that were being floated out there at various shows.

As a result, I really was not happy with the new direction and I think Baker's production is terrible (odd because I love his work with Queen) but I couldn't deny the appeal of the new songs, they just weren't Journey as I knew them.

Somethin' To Hide and Winds Of March recall the first three albums and are my favourites from the album. I also hate when a record company forces a change on a band; Columbia knew what they were getting when they signed them. That was another bone of contention; Rush got the same pressure from their label, basically told them to piss off (as politely as possible, being Canadians) and made the record they wanted to make knowing full well it might be their last. Journey caved.

The other thing that made me dislike this direction was for about three years, it seemed as if they were the headliner for every concert I went to. I really got tired of seeing them (though they played Nickle & Dime on the Infinity tour which I don't remember them playing on the Next tour. What an incredible instrumental.)

Pete Mineau: I remember discovering the first three Journey albums after I found out the band was comprised of Santana and Zappa alumni. I liked the jazzy, fusiony jamming of those early albums.

Just out of high school in 1977, I joined the navy. As luck would have it, I got stationed in California. Coming from a desolate part of the Midwest, I was in awe of the L.A. radio stations! In early 1978, Journey's Infinity was being played all over the place out there! It had a different sound and feel than their earlier releases. I found it more in the vein of REO Speedwagon, Styx and/or Foreigner who were also quite popular at the time. I immediately went out and bought the 8-track tape version of it.

I was sad when I found out that Ansley Dunbar was fired later that year after Infinity came out, but I continued to follow Journey through their next few releases. I was disappointed when founding member Gregg Rollie left the band, but happy to find that his replacement was Jonathan Cain, as I was a fan of The Babys.

After 1981's Escape I pretty much gave up on Journey. I found them leaning on ballads too much and I was getting into a lot of New Wave music that was popular at the time.

But back to Infinity, it's a good album that brings back a lot of memories. I always thought La Do Da should have been released as an A-side single rather than the B-side to Anytime . ( Feeling That Way and Anytime should have been released as a double sided single, in my opinion.) The album has a pretty nice flow to it, but I find the last four songs on it forgettable. Over all, I'd give it a 4 out of 5 rating.

John Edgar: Although the first three albums will always represent my favourite version of Journey, this particular album ended up being something special. With this album, Journey truly transformed into a different band. 

The first three albums along with this featured album and Evolution , to me, represent the best of Journey. I was never a big fan of the even more pop-flavoured hit machine that they later became. I have a bootleg of a very early performance with Steve Perry that truly indicates how unsure the band was, in regard to Perry's involvement. 

The first three quarters of the show features only songs from the first three releases, then Perry is introduced and the band performs about three or four songs from the Infinity album. Even the crowd seems a bit unenthused with the songs that involve Perry. This lack of affinity from the audience, for Perry, is a true indicator that Infinity was the first Journey music that had ever been heard by the public at large. I've spoken to many people, over the years, who thought Infinity was the first Journey album

Jochen Scholl: This album is unique in style and Sound. I love the prog elements and the steaming guitar work e.g. in Winds Of March and even in balladesque songs like Patiently or Lights . Wheel in the Sky is among the jewels of the decade . I don't like to compare it with the more successful era after Jonathan Cain joined (it's great in its own right) but in my eyes Infinity is the defining Journey album!

Jonathan Novajosky: Sometimes I think Journey doesn't get enough respect as being a great rock band. Sure, we're all tired of hearing Don't Stop Believin' and Open Arms , but they really have some great deep cuts across many albums. Infinity is a great example; and while it isn't the juggernaut that Escape is or as great start to finish as Evolution , it still stands as one of their best albums. 

The two big songs, Lights and Wheel in the Sky are classics despite being overplayed. The real standouts to me are Feeling That Way and Anytime . I love the perfect contrast of Steve Perry and Gregg Rolie on F eeling That Way , with their different pitched vocals.

Most of the songs are incredibly catchy too, which can be expected from a Journey album. La Do Da is another deep cut that doesn't get much love. Patiently is a solid ballad, but definitely not one of their best (I prefer some of their others like Still They Ride and Faithfully ). A few of the last tracks aren't too special, but are by no means throwaways, making Infinity a mostly solid album throughout. 

Journey would only get better from here, releasing their two best albums in Evolution and Escape . But on its own before those two were released, I'm sure Infinity really blew listeners away every time and Anytime . 8.5/10

Mike Knoop: I bought Infinity as a teen sometime after Journey’s Escape went supernova. This album seemed a pretty safe bet given there were at least four major FM radio hits on it. I remember not liking it all that much back then; too many ballads, still too much a whiff of patchouli and flower power. Time has not changed my opinion all that much: Patiently and Winds Of Change both pick up in the second half, but you have to endure a whole lotta mope first. I tend to reach for the skip button when Can Do or Opened The Door start up.

But when Infinity’s good, it’s really good. Something to Hide is a hidden gem among their bounty of ballads and a dazzling showcase for Steve Perry. He had one of the best singing voices in rock, powerful and malleable, yet at the same time, not the slightest hint of threat to it. Like your big brother who always willingly let you tag along, not like the scary stoner brother. 

La Do Da is one of Journey's harder rockers and really brings all the best elements of the band together. Of the hits, Lights has aged the best, Wheel in the Sky the worst - too much pseudo mystical wordplay. The two songs sung with Gregg Rolie make me feel a little wistful for the way their two voices played off of each other.

Future keyboardist Jonathan Cain was a hit-writing machine, but I always had a soft spot for Rolie. I mean, the guy played with Santana for crying out loud. Same with Schon, who seemed to be everywhere in the 80s and early 90s. Not just Journey, but his supergroups HSAS (Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve) and Bad English, early MTV hit and power chord extravaganza No More Lies from his collaboration with Jan “ Miami Vice ” Hammer (where Schon sings lead!), all the way to the hair band come lately Hardline and Hot Cherie . Any of his projects were always good for at least one solid hit. Drummer Aynsley Dunbar was no slouch either, with a discography longer than a gorilla’s arm.

Of all the commercial rock bands coming out of the 70s and 80s, Journey was perhaps the hardest to hate. And when things clicked – and for about half a decade they really clicked – they were pretty easy to love.

John Davidson: OK. I didn't hate this and I frankly expected to.

The album starts with Lights , which sees Journey sounding like a white – almost barber shop – soul band enhanced with some guitar solos. I almost didn't get past this.

Feeling That Way starts like a second rate Elton John song, but Perry's vocals actually lift this one a little . The transition to Anytime is cheesy, though the song itself is a decent enough mid-paced Joe Walsh/Bob Seger type song . It doesn't really go anywhere but it doesn't offend.

La Do Da picks up the pace and would make an excellent instrumental. Patiently is a power ballad, but without the power. It has a decent instrumental section in the middle but is otherwise pretty forgettable. Wheel in the Sky has a better vibe, slightly scuffed up rather than super slick it has that dusty western vibe (albeit a Hollywood recreation rather than the wide open plains of Wyoming)

Something To Hide has little to offer; another mid paced rocker that sounds like a hundred other songs. Winds Of Change is another ballad with a rockier instrumental section that lifts it out of well deserved obscurity. Can Do is a lightweight party rocker of the kind Boston perfected, though not a dance floor filler .

Opened The Door closes the album. Musically it's pretty decent. The guitar work is interesting and the song structure works pretty well, but the vocals once again do nothing for me.

Neil Schon is undoubtedly a fine guitarist and there are some really good musical sections, but overall the songs lack much in the way of zip – rarely moving away from a mid-paced sway rather than a foot stomping rock. Perry is a large part of the problem. His voice dominates most of the songs, but it just doesn't work for me.

I can't help but wonder what Journey would have sounded like with a throaty Dan McAfferty-type singer who would have counterpointed the slick guitars and soulless songs with some genuine emotional heft. The rest of the band seem pretty average - the drums, bass and keyboards are thoroughly middle of the road. 

In fairness, I didn't hate this album. It isn't quite as slick and soulless as I feared but it skirts pretty close. If I want slick American rock I'd pick Boston.

Shane Reho: Let me begin by saying that I usually am one of the last to recommend anything by Journey that isn't their first album (great album, could've used a better mixing job, though). However, this album has very few weaknesses, which makes me question whether radio overkill has put me off or whether it's just the stuff after Rolie left that I can't touch. 

Luckily, radio hasn't beat this album to death. Sure, Lights and Wheel In The Sky get played a lot, but as much as Don't Stop Believin' or any of those crappy Jonathan Cain power ballads? Thankfully no. Can Do is the only song here I would say stands out for the wrong reasons, it doesn't do much and sounds like it was put on to add a couple minutes to the album. 

That aside, the rest of the album works, and it's easy to see why it made them big. The songs are great, so are the performances, especially the harmonies on Feeling That Way/Anytime and Neal Schon's guitar work on Winds of March . Overall, it isn't perfect, but it's damn good. 9/10.

Darren Burris: Great album! Feeling That Way and Anytime are just incredible! The way Steve and Greggs voices blend together is awesome! Luv all the songs when those two trade off on vocals. 

Carl Black: I've given this three spins this week and one thing still amazes me about this album, and all the other albums of this ilk (Boston, Survivor et Al) is now do they get a crunchy, guitar sound to end up sounding as light as a feather. La Do Da is a classic example. 

The album got better as it went along but apart from the above observation, nothing really leapt out and grabbed me. One improvement from Don't Stop Believing was the drumming. In the aforementioned song I always thought the drumming was overly complicated and bitty. This album has none of that. Different drummer perhaps? Doesn't really. Another very middle of the road for me.

Brian Carr: Infinity is probably the Journey album I listen to most. Strong melodies are hard for me to resist and for Journey, melody is king. Perry’s voice is the obvious example, but every time I listen to Neil Schon’s guitar work, I always come away impressed at his melodic sense - so many singable hooks are built into his leads. I really think he’s an underrated player. 

I also really like Rollie as a vocalist. He put out an album with Smith and Valory in the 90s called The Storm . It went nowhere, but fans of this type of melodic rock (like me) will really like it.

The stories of the contrived nature in which Steve Perry was added hit me where it hurts - the business world taking over music and force-feeding artists to the masses grates on me intellectually. But I just can’t deny the end result of albums like Infinity .

Roland Bearne: I love Journey! This is great, not actually heard it that often so great to spin it again. Of the "played to death" songs Lights holds up comparatively well. La Do Da is rather splendid and one could go on but it's all been said really. A nice rediscovery, and that it is all beautifully played goes without saying. Nice. Simples.

Final Score: 7.65 ⁄10 (265 votes cast, with a total score of 2029)

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