Journey, the #38 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"One of the best bands ever."

"Journey is amazing."

"The vocals and music give me chills."

"Incredible voice and band.  Period."

"Legendary band, both in the studio and on stage."

"Journey is a fantastic band. No band will ever be able to match their beautifully crafted songs."

"They put out so many great songs."

"Journey will go down in history as one of the best."

"Immensely talented band."

"Outstanding Rock & Roll band! Real musicianship!"

"Awesome! Some of the best music ever made."

"Incredible group. Steve Perry is one of the best front men ever."

"Journey is the greatest band of the '80s."

Santana alumni Neal Schon (lead guitar) and keyboardist Gregg Rolie started this group in San Francisco in 1973 that included bassist Ross Valory, rhythm guitarist George Tickner and drummer Prairie Prince from the Tubes.  Herbie Herbert, formerly manager of Santana, agreed to guide the new act.  They called themselves the Golden Gate Rhythm Section and set out with the goal to back up some of the top Bay Area artists.

Soon after, the band set their sights higher to be a legitimate recording and performing act.  A radio contest to rename them didn't produce satisfactory results, but the group decided on Journey, suggested by roadie John Villaneuva.  

Journey performed live for the first time at the Winterland Ballroom on New Year's Eve, with Rolie also handling lead vocal duties in the early years.  Prince went back to the Tubes, however, with the group deciding upon Aynsley Dunbar as his replacement.  On February 5, 1974, the new lineup debuted at the Great American Music Hall and, with Herbert's help, signed a recording contract with Columbia Records.
Journey released their self-titled album in 1975, but Tickner departed soon after.  Rolie delivered some of his best vocals here on "Anyway".  

 

This jazz-influenced number showed that, while Rolie and Schon's experience with Santana was invaluable, they wanted to set Journey on its own path.  This is "To Play Some Music".

 

This song was named after a comet that was then approaching Earth's orbit.  "Kohoutek" resulted from some of Journey's earliest rehearsals.  Amazing guitar playing from Schon and top-of-the-line drumming from the dependable Dunbar.

 

Rolie's expressive vocals are at the center of this track--"You're On Your Own".

Neither their debut nor their 1976 album Look into the Future sold well.  The bandmembers believed they knew why, so Dunbar, Schon and Valory took vocal lessons to add harmonies to Rolie.  Schon sang lead on two songs on the 1977 album Next.  That album didn't do any better.  Here is one of those songs with Schon on lead vocal--"I Would Find You". 

 

This is the heavy rocker "Hustler".

Another of Journey's best early songs is "Here We Are".

Columbia wasn't impressed with their output and especially with their lack of sales.  They told Journey to change their style and add a frontman pronto.  Journey decided upon Robert Fleishman, but he didn't work out and left before the year was up.

A puzzle is a good analogy to putting together a good rock group, but said group also has to have a bit of magic.  Journey found both the missing piece and tremendous magic with the hiring of lead singer Steve Perry in 1977.  Herbert also hired producer Roy Thomas Baker, who came with a resume that included lifting the careers of both Queen and Nazareth.

Journey came up with one of The Top Underrated Albums of the Rock Era*, the 1978 LP Infinity.  Infinity is the precursor to worldwide success for the group, but at the time, its songs got airplay on Album-Oriented Rock stations but little else.  When Journey made it big, fans discovered this gem and helped it eventually sell over one million copies.  Infinity might not contain the giant hits of future albums, but it is right up there with their career best.  

 

Don't be fooled by the #45 peak for "Wheel In The Sky" in Canada or the #57 peak in the United States.  This is one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 Infinity has gone over the three-million mark in sales, nearly all of that coming after the group became one of the most successful in the world.  There are three other amazing songs on the album that represent some of the finest work the group has ever done.  

Perry brought this gem with him to the group.  Rolie said later that the rest of the band wasn't completely sold on Perry until they harmonized together on "Lights" backstage while waiting to perform at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California.  

"Lights" stalled at #68, which has more to do with the lack of proper promotion by the record company and/or the tendency of radio station music directors to only go the "safe" route and play artists familiar to them than it does the quality of the song.

These next two songs are better heard back-to-back. They are, in fact, a legacy-defining moment for the group.  "Feeling That Way" started out as a song called "Velvet Curtain", written by Rolie.  Through some reworking, it became "Let Me Stay", which was considered for inclusion on the Next album.  Perry added the chorus to become half of the great video above.  Journey nearly scrapped the second song.  But Schon added the lyric "Anytime that you want me".  Perry and Rolie's vocals then took over.  "As soon as the vocals were put in, the song came alive," Rolie said in 2014.  "I'm glad we didn't can it!"  We believe these are two more members of that club of underrated songs--here are "Feeling That Way" and "Anytime".

 

 This song combines their new lead singer's amazing voice with Dunbar providing a great beat and Schon powering the song with his incredible guitar playing.  "Opened The Door" closed the album.

 

We love featuring these other worthy tracks in this special for they may just find a new audience.  Plus, most who listen to the entire special (as we highly recommend) will agree that not only does the artist belong among the all-time elite but they are ranked about where they should be.  People who grew up with these artists know them well, but their worth deserves to be spread across the world.  Is it obvious from not only this entire album but the final cry from Perry that he was going to be exactly what they needed to go on to greatness?

 

Here is another song we want to feature.  Interestingly, it was written when Perry, wanting to make a good impression, dropped by Schon's hotel the day after a Journey concert in Denver, Colorado.  The two wrote "Patiently" during that time.  "It was really about the determination of me wanting to get next to those players," Perry wrote in the liner notes to Time3.

You only hear music this good all at once, day after day, on The Top 100 Artists of the Rock Era*, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era.  Join us for Part Two.