JOURNEY

American rock band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Combining hard-rocking guitars, glossy synthesizer textures, the careening vocals of Steve Perry, and romantic lyrics, Journey arrived at a formula that made it a fixture on album-oriented radio in the United States. The original members were Neal Schon (b. Feb. 27, 1954, San Mateo, Calif., U.S.), Gregg Rolie (b. June 17, 1947, Seattle, Wash., U.S.), Ross Valory (b. Feb. 2, 1949, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.), Prairie Prince (b. May 7, 1950, Charlotte, N.C., U.S.), and George Tickner. Later members included Aynsley Dunbar (b. Jan. 10, 1946, Liverpool, Merseyside, Eng.), Steve Smith (b. Aug. 21, 1954, Boston, Mass., U.S.), Steve Perry (b. Jan. 22, 1953, Hanford, Calif., U.S.), and Jonathan Cain (b. Feb. 26, 1950, Chicago, Ill., U.S.). Formed in San Francisco in 1973 around keyboardist Rolie and guitarist Schon, both formerly of Santana, Journey began as a jazz-rock band. Its first three albums, comprising mostly instrumental numbers, had moderate commercial success, but the addition of vocalist Perry infused Journey with a radio-friendly pop orientation that paid off immediately on Infinity (1978), which featured the hit single Wheel in the Sky. The band's following continued to grow in response to frequent touring and to the albums Evolution (1979), with the hit Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin', and Departure (1980), featuring Any Way You Want It; however, it was after Cain replaced Rolie that Journey reached the top of the American album charts with Escape (1981). With sales of seven million copies, it generated three Top Ten singles: Who's Crying Now, Don't Stop Believin', and Open Arms. Although not on the level of Escape, Journey's later albums continued to garner commercial success until the group disbanded in 1988. Members of the group reunited in 1996 to release Trial by Fire.