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Journey Lead Singers In Order: History and Band Members

In this article, we delve into the captivating history of Journey, an iconic rock band that has left an indelible mark on the music industry. From their humble beginnings to their meteoric rise to fame, Journey has mesmerized audiences worldwide with their unique sound and timeless hits. Join us on a journey through time as we explore the remarkable story of this legendary band.

Formation of the Band

Journey was formed in 1973 in San Francisco, California, bringing together a group of highly talented musicians. The founding members included Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Aynsley Dunbar, and George Tickner. With their combined musical prowess and creative vision, they set out to create something extraordinary.

Early Years and Musical Style

During their early years, Journey experimented with a fusion of rock, jazz, and progressive influences, creating a distinctive sound that set them apart from their contemporaries. Their self-titled debut album, released in 1975, showcased their musical versatility and marked the beginning of their incredible journey.

Evolution and Breakthrough Success

In 1977, Journey underwent a significant change that would forever shape its destiny. Steve Perry joined the band as their lead vocalist, injecting new energy and unparalleled vocal range into their music. This lineup change proved to be a turning point for Journey, leading to a series of chart-topping albums and unforgettable songs.

Chart-topping albums and Hit Singles

Journey’s breakthrough came in 1978 with the release of their album “Infinity,” which became a massive success. The album spawned the hit singles “Wheel in the Sky” and “Lights,” propelling Journey into the mainstream spotlight. They continued their winning streak with subsequent albums, including “Evolution” (1979) and “Departure” (1980), which produced hits like “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” and “Any Way You Want It.”

The Iconic Album: “Escape”

In 1981, Journey released their most iconic album to date, “Escape.” This album elevated their status as rock superstars and solidified their place in music history. Featuring the mega-hits “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Open Arms,” and “Who’s Crying Now,” “Escape” became an instant classic, captivating audiences with its emotionally charged lyrics and powerful melodies.

The Power Ballad Era

Journey’s success continued into the mid-1980s, defined by the rise of power ballads that struck a chord with fans worldwide. Songs like “Faithfully,” “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” and “Send Her My Love” showcased the band’s ability to create heartfelt and anthemic ballads that resonated deeply with listeners.

A Change in Direction

As the 1990s approached, Journey faced challenges and underwent significant lineup changes. Steve Perry departed from the band in 1987, leading to a period of transition as they searched for a new lead vocalist. Despite these challenges, Journey remained resilient and continued to produce music that captivated its loyal fan base.

Journey’s Enduring Legacy

Although the band’s popularity waned in the late 1990s, their music never faded from the hearts of their dedicated fans. Journey’s timeless classics continue to resonate with audiences of all ages, thanks to their emotional depth, infectious melodies, and inspiring lyrics. Their songs have become anthems for perseverance, love, and the power of music itself.

Past Journey band members include the following:

• Steve Perry (1977-1998)
• Aynsley Dunbar (1974-1978)
• Robert Fleischman (1977)
• Steve Smith (1978-1985, 1995-1998)
• Randy Jackson (1985-1987)
• Steve Augeri (1998-2006)

Current Journey band members:

• Neal Schon – Guitar (1973-present)
• Jonathan Cain – Keyboards (1980-present)
• Ross Valory – Bass (1973-1985, 1995-present)
• Arnel Pineda – Vocals (2007-present)
• Deen Castronovo – Drums (1998-present)

Lead Singers of Journey

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The Original Journey: Gregg Rolie’s Era

Gregg Rolie, a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, served as the original lead singer of Journey. He began his musical career as a co-founder and lead vocalist of Santana before joining forces with Neal Schon to form Journey. Rolie’s soulful voice and exceptional skills as a keyboardist and harmonicist contributed to the band’s early success. He showcased his talent on albums like “Journey,” “Look into the Future,” and “Next.” However, Rolie transitioned to co-lead vocals when Steve Perry joined the band in 1977.

Steve Perry: The Voice of Journey’s Greatest Hits

Steve Perry, widely recognized as the quintessential Journey lead singer, propelled the band to unprecedented heights during their most commercially successful era. Born with a gift for singing, Perry’s powerful and emotive vocals struck a chord with audiences worldwide. With Perry at the helm, Journey released a string of chart-topping albums, including “Infinity,” “Escape,” and “Frontiers.” Iconic songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Open Arms,” and “Faithfully” became anthems for a generation. Perry’s remarkable songwriting abilities and magnetic stage presence contributed to the band’s enduring legacy.

Current Lead Singer: Arnel Pineda

Following Steve Perry’s departure in 1987, Journey experienced a series of lead singer changes. Steve Augeri, known for his vocal range and stage charisma, took over from 1998 to 2006. Jeff Scott Soto briefly joined the band in 2006, leaving his mark with his distinctive style. However, it was Arnel Pineda who breathed new life into Journey as the current lead singer. Pineda’s incredible vocal resemblance to Steve Perry, coupled with his dynamic stage presence, won the hearts of fans worldwide. Since 2008, Pineda has seamlessly integrated into the band, injecting fresh energy and passion into their performances.

Journey’s Enduring Discography: Albums That Defined an Era

Over the past five decades, Journey has released a diverse and extensive discography, showcasing their musical prowess and creativity. Let’s explore some of their most iconic albums:

“ Infinity ” (1978): With Steve Perry as the lead singer, “Infinity” marked a significant turning point for Journey. It featured hit singles like “Wheel in the Sky” and “Lights,” solidifying their place in the rock music landscape.

“ Escape ” (1981): This album became a monumental success, boasting chart-topping hits such as “Don’t Stop Believin'” and “Open Arms.” “Escape” catapulted Journey to international stardom and remains one of their most beloved records.

“ Frontiers ” (1983): Building upon their previous success, “Frontiers” showcased Journey’s evolution with tracks like “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” and “Faithfully.” The album’s polished production and memorable hooks solidified Journey’s status as one of the biggest rock bands of the 1980s.

“ Raised on Radio ” (1986): Released during the band’s final years with Steve Perry, “Raised on Radio” featured a more radio-friendly sound and produced hits like “Be Good to Yourself” and “I’ll Be Alright Without You.” Despite tensions within the band, the album showcased their ability to create catchy, melodic rock tunes.

“ Revelation ” (2008): With Arnel Pineda as the lead singer, “Revelation” marked a new chapter for Journey. The album featured new recordings of their classic hits, reaffirming Pineda’s vocal prowess and rekindling the band’s popularity among longtime fans and a new generation.

“ Eclipse ” (2011): Continuing their musical journey with Pineda, Journey released “Eclipse,” a record that showcased their ability to evolve while staying true to their roots. The album demonstrated their enduring songwriting skills and featured tracks like “City of Hope” and “Edge of the Moment.”

“Escape & Frontiers Live in Japan” (2019): As a testament to their enduring appeal, Journey released a live album featuring their performances of the “Escape” and “Frontiers” albums in their entirety. The release showcased the band’s timeless hits in a live setting, capturing the energy and excitement of their concerts.

Journey’s Impact and Legacy

Journey’s impact on the rock music landscape cannot be overstated. With their infectious melodies, anthemic choruses, and powerful vocals, they carved out a unique sound that resonated with millions of listeners. Their music transcended generations, becoming the soundtrack to countless moments and capturing the hearts of fans worldwide.

Steve Perry’s tenure as the lead singer marked the band’s most successful period, and his distinct voice became synonymous with Journey’s sound. His emotional delivery and ability to connect with audiences elevated their songs to new heights and created an unparalleled legacy.

Arnel Pineda’s addition to the band injected new energy into Journey and allowed them to continue their musical journey. Pineda’s remarkable vocal resemblance to Perry breathed new life into the band’s live performances, earning him a dedicated fanbase and ensuring that Journey’s music lives on.

Journey’s timeless hits continue to be celebrated and embraced today. Songs like “Don’t Stop Believin'” have become cultural touchstones, appearing in films, TV shows, and sporting events, and capturing the imaginations of new generations of listeners.

Journey Band Member’s Ages

Here, is the list of all the Journey member’s ages. It seems like all of the Journey band members are above 50 and below 80.

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Arnel Pineda

Who Is Arnel Pineda?

After a series of unfortunate events in his childhood, Arnel Pineda found success in Asia as the front man for the group The Zoo. In 2007, he was discovered by Journey guitarist Neal Schon, after a series of YouTube videos were posted of him covering American songs, including the famous hit, "Dont Stop Believin'." In December 2007, Pineda became the new lead singer of Journey. His is noted for having a strikingly similar sound to former Journey front man Steve Perry.

Troubled Childhood

Arnel Pineda was born on September 5, 1967, in Sampaloc, Manila, in the Philippines. Throughout his childhood, Pineda endured grave misfortune. When he was just 13 years old, his mother, who was 35 at the time, passed away after a long battle with heart disease. Her medical costs left the family in serious debt, and Pineda's father could no longer provide for Pineda and his three younger brothers, Russmon, Roderick and Joselito.

While relatives were able to take in his brothers, Pineda was left on his own. He spent the next few years homeless, often sleeping outside in public parks and scraping for any food or water that he could afford. When possible, he would stay at a friend's house, who offered him a cot outside. Eventually, Pineda was forced to quit school and take up odd jobs collecting scrap metal and bottles at the pier and selling newspapers to support his family.

Early Career

Pineda's love of music started at a young age. He began singing at just five years old, and had entered many singing contests as a child. In 1982, when he was 15, Pineda was introduced to a local band called Ijos, and was encouraged by his friends to try out as their new lead singer. He sang the Beatles' "Help" and Air Supply's "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All." Although they were concerned with his lack of training, Ijos members were wowed by Pineda's powerful voice, and took him on as the new front man of the band. One of the band member's friends even offered to pay Pineda's salary, 35 pesos a night, out of his own pocket, and Pineda was offered a tiny room to sleep under the guitarist's front stairs.

In 1986, some members of Ijos joined together to form the new pop-rock band Amo. The group found success covering songs by hit groups Heart, Queen and Journey. In 1988, they turned heads when they won the Philippines' leg of the Yamaha World Band Explosion Contest. Although they were disqualified in the finals due to a technicality, the event was broadcast on TV in Asia, widening their fanbase. The band continued performing at popular clubs and arenas around the Philippines.

In 1990, the members re-grouped yet again, under the new name Intensity Five, and re-entered the contest. The band came in as runner up and Pineda won the Best Vocalist Award. After a series of unfortunate health problems in the early '90s, including the brief loss of his voice, Pineda re-emerged in 1999 with a new solo album with Warner Brothers. The self-titled album had several hits in Asia.

After brief stints with a few different bands, Pineda found success again in 2006 with The Zoo, a band that he formed with Monet Cajipe, a guitarist/songwriter who had been in all his bands during over the previous 20 years. The Zoo performed at several popular clubs in the area and, in 2007, released an album by MCA Universal titled Zoology . Soon the band began covering songs by groups such as Journey, Survivor, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and more, with more than 200 performances uploaded to YouTube.

On June 28, 2007, Neal Schon, guitarist and member of the band Journey, saw a video of Pineda on YouTube and immediately contacted him. The band had been looking for a new lead singer, and Pineda's voice sounded strikingly similar to Steve Perry, Journey's legendary former front man. After speaking with Schon on the phone, Pineda made arrangements to fly to the United States and audition with the band in San Francisco. On December 5, 2007, Pineda was welcomed as the band's new lead singer.

Right away, Pineda went on tour with the band, performing two shows in Chile and two in Las Vegas. Both were a huge success. After a series of guest show appearances and magazine features, Pineda gained popularity within the American public. On June 3, 2008, the newly organized Journey released their first album, Revelation , which came in at No. 5 on the U.S. charts. The album was their highest charting album since Trial by Fire (with Steve Perry), and reached platinum status by October 2008.

Soon after the album's release, the band continued touring around the world with Pineda. The documentary, Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey , slated to be released in 2012, will chronicle the band's "Revelation Tour," and Pineda's first years with the band.

Personal Life

When he is not on tour, Pineda resides in the Philippines with his wife, Cherry, their children, Cherub and Thea. He has two other sons—Matthew, 19, and Angelo, 13—from past relationships.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Arnel Pineda
• Birth Year: 1967
• Birth date: September 5, 1967
• Birth City: Sampaloc, Manila
• Birth Country: Philippines
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Arnel Pineda is best known as the new lead singer for the rock group Journey.
• Astrological Sign: Virgo
• Nacionalities

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Arnel Pineda Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/arnel-pineda
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: July 20, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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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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Journey: Band Members and History

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For over 40 years, Journey has been one of the greatest classic rock bands of all time. The band has released 23 albums and 43 singles since 1975 and has reached worldwide album sales totaling more than 75 million. 

But how exactly did Journey come to be? The San Francisco band got its start in 1973. Santana's former road manager, Herbie Herbert, recruited two of that band's members (Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon) and former Steve Miller Band bassist Ross Valory to form the Golden Gate Rhythm Section—the band that later became Journey.

The original Journey band members included Gregg Rolie on vocals and the keyboard, Neal Schon on guitar and vocals, George Tickner on guitar, Ross Valory on bass and vocals, and Prairie Prince on drums. 

Their first album was released in 1975 and established the band's jazz-influenced progressive rock sound. After several personnel changes, Steve Perry signed on as lead vocalist, launching the band's greatest period of commercial success from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. Many people remember Steve as the face of the band.

The Best Album

The group's seventh album, Escape,  produced three hit singles and sold over 9 million copies. In addition to its commercial success, the album also received critical acclaim that has eluded them through most of their existence. Arguably, the most popular song put out by Journey is "Don't Stop Believin'." Originally released in 1981, the song became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at No. 9. The song has been used in near countless films in American TV and cinema including  Monster, Glee , the season finale of  The Sopranos , and  Rock of Ages. 

Journey Band Members Over the Years

In 2005, the band (along with original members Schon and Valory) marked its 30th anniversary with the release of its 23rd album,  Generations  and an anniversary tour, at times featuring some of the many former members of the group. In December 2006, Jeff Scott Soto replaced Steve Augeri as lead vocalist. Soto had been filling in for several months after Augeri was sidelined with a chronic throat infection. Soto was replaced a few months later by Arnel Pineda , vocalist for a Filipino cover band who was hired as a result of a video he posted on YouTube.

The band has been on a journey as it has evolved from past members including Steve Perry to its current members. 

Past Journey band members include the following:

• Steve Perry (1977-1998)
• Aynsley Dunbar (1974-1978)
• Robert Fleischman (1977)
• Steve Smith (1978-1985, 1995-1998)
• Randy Jackson (1985-1987)
• Steve Augeri (1998-2006)

Current Journey band members:

• Neal Schon - guitar (1973-present)
• Jonathan Cain - keyboards (1980-present)
• Ross Valory - bass (1973-1985, 1995-present)
• Arnel Pineda - vocals (2007-present)
• Deen Castronovo - drums (1998-present)

Fun Facts About Journey

• Journey music has been part of the animated TV shows South Park and Family Guy, and movies Caddyshack and BASEketball.
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Complete List Of All Journey Current And Former Band Members

Feature Photo: Bruce Alan Bennett / Shutterstock.com

I first fell in love with the band Journey when I was in high school and brought the band’s album Infinity when it was first released. Their record company Columbia Records at the time heavily promoted the album. It was Steve Perry’s first recording with the band and Columbia knew they had a hit on their hands. I was blown away by Steve Perry’s voice and completely floored by how great the songs were on the record. Journey became one of the biggest bands of the seventies. They helped define the term “Stadium Rock.” The band has gone through multiple lineup changes over the years.  This article takes a look at the revolving door of musicians who have come and gone as members of the band Journey .

The Orginal Journey Band Members

Neal Schon, born on February 27, 1954, in Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist for Journey. He was one of the founding members of the band in 1973. Over the years, Schon played a significant role in shaping the band’s sound and has appeared on every Journey album to date, from their self-titled debut album “Journey” (1975) to their most recent releases. He primarily plays the electric guitar but has been known to play acoustic guitar and perform backing vocals as well. Schon co-wrote some of the band’s most iconic songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Wheel in the Sky,” and “Any Way You Want It.” Besides his work with Journey, Neal Schon has had a rich solo career and has also been a part of other bands like Santana and Bad English .

Ross Valory

Ross Valory, born on February 2, 1949, in San Francisco, California, is an American musician renowned for being Journey’s original bass guitarist. He joined the band at its inception in 1973 and contributed to albums like “Journey” (1975), “Infinity” (1978), “Escape” (1981), and many more. Valory played both the bass guitar and occasionally provided backing vocals. He was a part of Journey until he was fired from the band in 2020. Apart from Journey, Valory was involved in the Steve Miller Band and also had a side project called “The Vu.”

Gregg Rolie

Gregg Rolie was born on June 17, 1947, in Seattle, Washington, and is an American keyboardist and singer. He was a founding member of Journey and joined the band in 1973. Rolie played keyboards and was the lead vocalist on the band’s first three albums: “Journey” (1975), “Look into the Future” (1976), and “Next” (1977). He left Journey in 1980 to pursue other musical endeavors. Notably, he was a member of Santana before joining Journey and co-wrote and sang lead vocals on classics like “Black Magic Woman” and “Evil Ways.” After leaving Journey, he went on to form The Gregg Rolie Band and also joined Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band .

George Tickner

George Tickner, born on September 8, 1946, in Syracuse, New York, is an American musician who played rhythm guitar for Journey. He was among the original members when the band was founded in 1973 but left shortly after the release of the band’s self-titled debut album in 1975. Tickner contributed to the writing of some early songs but didn’t stay with the band long enough to participate in the more commercial phases of Journey’s career. After leaving Journey, Tickner largely retired from professional music to pursue a career in medicine.

Charles “Prairie” Prince

Charles “Prairie” Prince, born on May 7, 1950, in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the original drummer for Journey when the band was formed in 1973. However, he never officially recorded with the band and left before their debut album was made. He is best known for his work with The Tubes , a San Francisco-based rock band. Though his time with Journey was short-lived, Prince has had a significant career in music, working with artists like Todd Rundgren, and Jefferson Starship, and as a session musician for various other artists.

The Next Phase and Beyond

Aynsley dunbar.

Aynsley Dunbar, born on January 10, 1946, in Liverpool, England, is a British drummer known for his work with various rock and blues bands. He joined Journey in 1974, shortly after the band’s formation, and played on the albums “Journey” (1975), “Look into the Future” (1976), and “Next” (1977). Dunbar’s jazz-influenced drumming style added a unique element to Journey’s early sound. He left the band in 1978 before the band shifted to a more mainstream, commercial sound. Apart from Journey, Dunbar has had an extensive career, playing with artists like Frank Zappa, David Bowie, and Whitesnake.

Robert Fleischman

Robert Fleischman, born on March 11, 1953, in Los Angeles, California, is an American musician who briefly served as Journey’s lead vocalist in 1977. Though he never appeared on any studio albums with Journey, he contributed to songwriting and is credited with co-writing songs like “Wheel in the Sky.” Fleischman was replaced by Steve Perry later in the same year he joined. Outside of Journey, Fleischman had a solo career and was a member of other rock bands like Vinnie Vincent Invasion.

Steve Perry

Steve Perry , born on January 22, 1949, in Hanford, California, is an American singer known for his soaring vocals. He joined Journey in 1977 and quickly became the band’s iconic lead vocalist. Steve Perry played a significant role in Journey’s commercial success and was a key contributor to albums like “Infinity” (1978), “Evolution” (1979), “Escape” (1981), among others. He co-wrote and sang some of Journey’s most famous songs, including “Don’t Stop Believin'” and “Open Arms.” Perry left the band in 1998 due to health issues and to pursue a solo career, which itself has been highly successful, featuring hits like “Oh Sherrie.”

Steve Smith

Steve Smith, born on August 21, 1954, in Whitman, Massachusetts, is an American drummer. He joined Journey in 1978, replacing Aynsley Dunbar, and played on some of their most successful albums like “Evolution,” “Escape,” and “Frontiers.” Known for his technical skill, Smith left the band in 1985 but returned for various stints, the latest being from 2015 to 2020. Outside of Journey, Smith has had a rich career in jazz and has been part of his own jazz fusion band, Vital Information.

Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson, born on June 23, 1956, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is an American musician, best known as a judge on the television show “American Idol.” He joined Journey as a bass player for a short stint during the mid-1980s and played on the 1986 album “Raised on Radio.” Jackson was part of the band’s transition towards a more pop-oriented sound during that period. Besides Journey, he has been an in-demand session musician and has produced and performed with a wide array of artists across genres.

Steve Augeri

Steve Augeri, born on January 30, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American rock singer best known for his work as the lead vocalist for Journey from 1998 to 2006. He was brought in as a replacement for Steve Perry and featured on albums like “Arrival” (2001) and “Generations” (2005). Augeri co-wrote songs for the band but had to leave in 2006 due to vocal issues. Outside of Journey, he has been involved in other bands like Tyketto and has also embarked on a solo career.

Jeff Scott Soto

Jeff Scott Soto, born on November 4, 1965, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American singer who served as Journey’s lead vocalist for a brief period from 2006 to 2007. He stepped in following Steve Augeri’s departure due to vocal issues but was in the band for less than a year. Though his time with Journey was short-lived, he did perform live with the band during that period. Outside of Journey, Soto has a prolific career, having been a part of bands like Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force and Talisman, as well as a successful solo career.

Deen Castronovo

Deen Castronovo, born on August 17, 1964, in Westminster, California, is an American drummer and vocalist. He joined Journey in 1998, replacing Steve Smith, and contributed to albums like “Arrival” (2001), “Generations” (2005), and “Eclipse” (2011). Besides playing drums, Castronovo also performed backing and some lead vocals during his time with the band. He left Journey in 2015 amidst personal issues. Beyond Journey, he has played with bands like Bad English and Hardline and is known for his work in various other musical projects.

Narada Michael Walden

Narada Michael Walden, born on April 23, 1952, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is an American musician, producer, and songwriter. He joined Journey as a drummer in 2020, replacing Steve Smith. Known for his diverse skill set across genres, Walden has a rich career outside of his time with Journey. He’s a multi-Grammy Award-winning producer and has worked with a myriad of artists including Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Aretha Franklin.

Arnel Pineda

Arnel Pineda, born on September 5, 1967, in Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines, is a Filipino singer and songwriter. He became the lead vocalist for Journey in 2007, discovered by Neal Schon through YouTube videos of Pineda covering Journey songs. He made his studio debut with the band on the 2008 album “Revelation” and has remained with the band since. Outside of Journey, Pineda had been a part of several bands in the Philippines and has a solo career as well.

Jason Derlatka

Jason Derlatka, born on September 8, 1972, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and composer. He joined Journey in 2020 as a touring keyboardist and background vocalist. Though he hasn’t been featured on any studio albums with the band yet, he brings a wide range of musical experience to Journey. Derlatka has worked extensively in television, composing music for series like “House” and “Parenthood.”

Todd Jensen

Todd Jensen, born on October 19, 1965, in Portland, Oregon, is an American bassist. Though he never officially recorded with Journey, Jensen was involved as a touring member following Ross Valory’s departure in 2020. Known for his versatility, he has played with various artists and bands spanning multiple genres, including David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, and Alice Cooper.

Complete List Of All Journey Current And Former Band Members article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023

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About the author.

Brian Kachejian

Brian Kachejian was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of ClassicRockHistory.com. He has spent thirty years in the music business often working with many of the people who have appeared on this site. Brian Kachejian also holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stony Brook University along with New York State Public School Education Certifications in Music and Social Studies. Brian Kachejian is also an active member of the New York Press.

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JOURNEY's JONATHAN CAIN: 'We're Very Happy With ARNEL PINEDA'

In a new interview with Steve King of the 105.3 The Bone radio station, JOURNEY keyboardist Jonathan Cain spoke about the band's current working relationship with its longtime vocalist Arnel Pineda . Pineda was a bar and club singer working in Manila, Philippines in 2007 when he got an e-mail from JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon who had seen videos of Pineda performing on YouTube and asked him to come to San Francisco and audition to become the band's new frontman.

"Yeah, Arnel 's 16 years celebrating — this is his 16th year [with JOURNEY ]," Cain said. "[It's] probably the longest tenure of any lead singer for the band. So, he's been crushing it for us. He's got his kids on the road with him this time, and he seems really content and happy. And we're really proud of everything he's done up to this point. And we see some years left. There's definitely still some gas in the tank. But we're very happy with Arnel . He's amazing."

Classic JOURNEY singer Steve Perry left the band in 1998 and was replaced by Steve Augeri . Jeff Scott Soto replaced Augeri in JOURNEY in December 2006 after Augeri began suffering throat problems on the road. But Soto lasted less than a year, and in December 2007, JOURNEY hired Pineda , who fronts the band to this day.

Back in August 2022, Schon was asked what it had been like to work with Pineda for the prior 15 years. He responded: " Arnel is just a gem. He's more amazing right now than he was when I first found him in Manila 15 years ago, when he was homeless and he was in dire straits. I was searching for the new singer for JOURNEY and I chose YouTube to look all over the world for the singer. When I heard his voice, I knew that he was it — with no other thought. It hit me emotionally in my heart. I went, 'That is the voice. He is the voice. I know he can do it.' And so I stuck to my guns, with a lot of resistance from many — from within the band and from management. They all thought I was crazy. I said, 'I know I'm right. So get him over here.' We got him over. And he proved that I was right again."

Neal continued: "The show we just played the other night, he sounded phenomenal through the whole show. We finally got his in-ears sorted out; we've got a great mixer in front now. It sounds like a record every night. And he's sounding phenomenal every night. And he's very excited about some of the new direction that we took that allows him to show how creative he can be without having to emulate our other albums, which is a requirement for any singer that would come into JOURNEY . It's either that or you throw away all your hits that you ever had. And what do you do? Start from ground zero again? It doesn't make sense.

"So I knew when I found Arnel that I had found a true chameleon like no other singer I've ever heard. He is amazing. I love him. He's a true warrior."

Born in the Philippines, Pineda has been fronting the legendary rockers since 2007. A vocal doppelganger for JOURNEY 's longtime vocalist Steve Perry , Arnel has helped put JOURNEY back in arenas once again. But some fans were not happy about the addition of Pineda , complaining about his ethnicity and dismissing his voice as a "copycat" of Perry .

Pineda and Perry finally crossed paths when JOURNEY and its former singer shared the stage at their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2017. While accepting the award, Steve spoke warmly about his former bandmates, as well as the man who replaced him. "I must give a shout-out to a man who sings his heart out every night, Arnel Pineda ," Perry said.

Although Pineda did not get inducted with his bandmates, he did get up and join them at the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, singing "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Lights" .

Six years ago, Perry told SiriusXM that he didn't perform with JOURNEY at the Rock Hall ceremony because he is "not in the band. I haven't been in the band for quite some time," he explained. " Arnel 's been in the band for almost 10 years, I think. He's a sweet kid — he's a wonderful kid. He sings his heart out every night. It's his gig."

As for meeting Pineda before the induction, Perry said: "There was something endearing about the way he looked at me. He was meeting, like, a grandfather. [ Laughs ] He's got the gig. It's his gig. He's doing great."

Pineda has overcome a tremendous number of obstacles throughout his life, including the loss of his mother at a young age, homelessness and borderline starvation, making him an inspiration and providing hope for millions of people around the globe. Blessed with the ability to give back, Pineda mobilized his team to join the battle against poverty and its ensuing havoc on Philippine youth.

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Before His First Gig With Journey, Steve Augeri Got So Nervous He Threw Up

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

Rolling Stone ‘s interview series King for a Day features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and singers who had the difficult job of fronting major rock bands after the departure of an iconic vocalist. Some of them stayed in their bands for years, while others lasted just a few months. In the end, however, they all found out that replacement singers can themselves be replaced. This edition features former Journey singer Steve Augeri.

Journey has been fronted by six vocalists over the past 50 years. Some of them lasted a matter of months, while others remained with the group for well over a decade. But none faced the insane pressure that Steve Augeri faced during his tenure from 1998 to 2006. This was right after the band parted ways with Steve “The Voice” Perry and many fans were unwilling to even consider the idea that anyone else could fill that slot.

“It was literally one day at a time, one show at a time, that I would slowly, slowly get the fans’ approval and their confidence,” Augeri says today. “Not everyone was willing, though. I might have been one of the people that said, ‘No. I don’t care if you can sing or not. I don’t care if you are a decent individual. I won’t stand for anyone other than Steve Perry singing for this band.’ I’m sure that to this day, there are some fans that feel that no matter who is singing for them. I respect that. I get it.”

Augeri left the group 16 years ago when health issues and their relentless tour schedule left him with a shattered voice, but he’s made a full recovery and now spends much of his year touring the world and playing the Journey classics with the Steve Augeri Band. He phoned up Rolling Stone from his home in Staten Island, New York, to look back on his life and his tenure in Journey.

How are you doing today? I’m doing great. I’m having a couple of double espressos, a protein energy shake, and I’m ready to talk. My cat is staring at me. We’re having a staring contest.

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Were you on tour recently? We just came back from something called the Retro Festival in Switzerland in Lucerne. Our year just started in the last two weeks. We were in Orlando, Florida, prior to that. It’s been a slow couple of years. You can only imagine. Things are starting to pick up.

It must feel good to be back onstage. Oh, goodness. Indeed. These last two years have really changed my perspective on a lot of things. Getting back to work and performing, I’ll never take it for granted again.

I want to go through some of your history here. You grew up in Brooklyn? Yeah. Bensonhurst Brooklyn in the heart of what I guess you can call Mobland/Mafialand/Gangland territory, to be honest with you. I used to go to school and I’d pass by Sammy “The Bull” Gravano’s bar where he used to carry on his illegal activities, so to speak.

Was music a big part of your life as a kid? Yeah. Starting at PS 48 in Brooklyn. They had some money in the budget to pass out recorders and then clarinets. And then a music teacher that saw a spark of talent in me and started working with me vocally. I remember my first recital in fifth grade singing [Giuseppe Verdi’s] “La donna è mobile.” I learned it phonetically and that was the start of it all.

Who were some of your favorite singers as a kid? I’m of the generation that was fortunate to see the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I remember laying on the living room floor on my elbows with my hands on my chin, watching these four guys that would push me towards that direction and spark something in me. Thousands of other kids turned into musicians the next day and bothered their parents for a guitar or a bass or drums. I was one of thousands of kids that had their lives turned upside by that TV performance.

Did you see any concerts in your youth that left a big mark on you? My first concert was a Humble Pie concert at the Academy of Music on 14th Street. It then became the Palladium and then NYU dormitories. I was probably about 15. I remember that was my exposure and the first time I’d ever experienced anything like that. It was a gathering of people from all over the city that came together to celebrate this amazing music. The marijuana smoke was so thick. I had never experienced anything like that in public. There was electricity in the air. It really rocked my world and cemented my desire to follow in that path of attempting to become a rock & roll artist.

When did you first make a really serious attempt to become one? It was absolutely at age 15. I knew that was it. There was no profession or no job that could at all compare to anything like that. I already had the music bug. I was already living and breathing music. I’d wake up and I had to chatter my teeth in a drum groove. You can ask my dentist. To this day, I’m still repairing it. That used to be my drum kit. It just used to consume me 24/7.

How did your career develop from there? The beautiful thing about growing up in that era, and especially in New York City, was you’d take a walk and you’d hear a band on each and every street, whether it was coming from the basements or garages, there was one on every block. I had a little clique of three or four bands in the neighborhood. We’d all share gear, drums, amplifiers. What’s interesting is that I grew up in the same neighborhood as Saturday Night Fever. That particular nightclub, 2001 Odyssey, on Wednesday nights they would hold a rock & roll night. We were one of the bands that used to play there to an audience of about 10. It was mainly family and friends. We kind of came up in there.

Steve Perry Signs to New Label, Contemplates Solo Tour: 'I Miss It Terribly'

Hear the journey tune steve perry rerecorded with steve lukather's son, journey's bassist ross valory opens up about the band's saga — and his adventurous solo album.

I was playing in a band called Kicks. It was managed by [Steve] Leber and [David] Krebs, who were doing AC/DC and Aerosmith. They had a wonderful gal named Marge Raymond who sang in a band called Flame. That was produced by Jimmy Iovine. Marge had a voice like no other and she could out-sing any male vocalist. She could dominate any room or any concert, any stage.

She left Flame and started Kicks and I became one of her rhythm guitarists. Then she was tapped when Aerosmith was on the ice to play with the rhythm section plus Bob Mayo of Peter Frampton frame. They called themselves Renegade. She was fronting that band. That led me to step into the lead vocalist slot for Kicks. From there, Leber and Krebs took notice.

And then Paul O’Neill, who is most noticeable for being one of the leaders of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, tapped me to play with Michael Schenker. It was for a vocalist and guitar player. I couldn’t cut it on the guitar at the time, but they took me out as a vocalist. We started in nightclubs, and then Ted Nugent took us out as his opening act.

My job was to stand behind a curtain near the side of the stage and sing background. On the Nugent tour, I used to feel this looming presence behind me. It was Ted slapping my back. He’d say, “Don’t worry. Someday you’ll be in front of that curtain.”

How did you wind up working at the Gap in the mid-Nineties? [ Laughs ] I spent a few years in this band called Tall Stories. Like many bands of our era, we were just about to release our record when the music moved on a dime with the release of Nirvana’s record [ Nevermind .] On our very same release date was Spin Doctors and, more importantly, Pearl Jam. Anything that wasn’t associated with Seattle or the new sound was dropped and not even considered. And so that was the demise of Tall Stories. We were a fine band with a fine album.

After that, I was out of work. I had a cousin that worked for the Gap. She was high up in management. She was kind enough to look and see if there was anything I could do. All through my career, I was a construction worker or laborer, much like my father and my grandfather. I come from a long line of people swinging a hammer.

I did this for a year. They made me a maintenance manager. It wasn’t so awful, but it was anything from changing toilet seats to lightbulbs to painting fitting rooms, in record time. If you ever tried on a pair of jeans at the Gap and went home with a little extra paint on your butt, that might have been my responsibility. I now apologize, in front of the world.

Were you a fan of Journey back in the Eighties? I was an absolute fan, first and foremost, of Steve Perry’s voice. I had heard them prior to that, but it wasn’t until I was working in a record store called Record Factory in Brooklyn when Escape was released. That kind of altered the direction of my life. That particular record was played a minimum of three times a day for quite a few months. I kid you not. We sold a minimum of a case a day. As you can imagine, it became ingrained in me.

When I first heard Steve, I said, “Oh, my God, this guy is doing something Sam Cooke might have done in front of an electric guitar and bass and a drum kit. He’s bringing this great R&B influence.” That marriage of the two is what grabbed my attention.

How did you hear that they were looking for a new singer? It’s the old expression of “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” I had done some work with a fabulous guitar player known as Joe Cefalu. He then moved out to Marin County in California and befriended Neal Schon. He then heard through the grapevine that they were splitting with Steve for one reason or another, and they were starting to audition vocalists.

He gives me a call and tells me what’s happening. I had basically retired after having more success than most people have had in this industry. I released a record with Tall Stories and another with Tyketto, another wonderful melodic rock band.

But a year had passed. I guess I was content working for the Gap. I was just about to reach a year and I was going to achieve 401(k) status. I was going to have a retirement plan put into place. I was like, “You’re doing OK. You walked away from music. You have a steady paycheck.” And he throws this dream back at me and goes, “Put together three songs, send it to me, and I’ll personally put it in Neal Schon’s hand.”

A week goes by. He doesn’t receive the cassette in the mail. He calls to ask what happened. I thanked him and said, “Joe, it’s a pipe dream, my friend. I appreciate you thinking of me, but this is never going to happen. I’m nowhere near the level of these guys, and especially Steve. It’s just ludicrous, insanity.” He said, “Don’t worry, I’m going to take care of it.”

He had a great deal more confidence in me than I ever had. He handed a tape to Neal and within a day or two, I was handed a phone call from Neal inviting me out to California to audition. As soon as I hung up, I received a phone call from Jonathan Cain. It may have been vice versa. I don’t remember.

What happened from there? I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know if someone was pranking me. I didn’t know if someone was having a good laugh. I called Joe and he said, “Steve, you might want to sit down for this. What I’m about to tell you is going to alter your life forever.” He did indeed confirm that I was getting the audition. I begged Jonathan and Neal to give me a week to prepare, which is nowhere near what you need to get the voice back into shape, but I literally hadn’t sang for a year.

A week went by. I received my ticket to go across the country to San Francisco to Marin County. I walked in the room and there were these two heroes of mine. For five days, we recorded two songs a day. One was one of their classic hits, and one new song a day they had written and were preparing to release on their forthcoming record.

It was a little bit of a rocky start my first day because of either nerves or just the voice is a muscle and it hadn’t been worked in a year. We started out slow and rough. But by the fifth day, by the grace of God or some higher power, my voice came back to me. The stars aligned and I was singing up to par of close to where I was years ago.

I was feeling pretty good. They were working with A&R guru John Kalodner. They thanked me and the feeling was really great. I think I read in their eyes and their facial expressions it was going to happen without them saying it. But I turned around and said, “Gentlemen, I just want to say that I don’t know how this will end. I appreciate the opportunity. One thing for certain, by just you opening my eyes again, you’ve reestablished the fact that I want to go out and sing. I don’t want to go back to the Gap. I want to go get my music career back on track. And if this doesn’t happen, I’ll have a pretty great story to tell my grandkids.”

I had one foot out the door. I spun around and said, “You know, there was one more song I’d really love to have a stab at.” Not because I love ballads and soft rock and love songs, but because of the way that Save Perry sang “Open Arms,” it was a mega-song for me. Maybe it’s a little too mushy and a little too soft for the hard rock fans.

Here I was after nailing the audition, and I’m rolling the dice again. I could have absolutely blown it and thrown everything down the toilet. But I didn’t. I said, “Can I try that?” They agreed, and we did it. I happen to think that particular song may have clinched it for them. Again, it’s luck. It’s who you know. But after who you know, you have to be prepared. Things worked out. Stars were aligned.

How did you learn you had the gig? It didn’t happen overnight. I know Geoff Tate [from Queensrÿche] was also considered. He co-wrote one of the songs that was on one of our records. I can only imagine there had to be quite a few others. But I’m the one who got lucky. It was the big shot, one chance in a million, chance of a lifetime.

Once you got the job, did you start to feel a tremendous weight on your shoulders? It must have been like, “Oh, my God. I need to now step into the shoes of one of the greatest singers of all time, and somehow win over his fans.” Absolutely. I don’t there’s any more daunting task. I’ve seen bands replace members, and lead vocalists are usually the hardest ones. Even if there’s a beloved guitarist, for example, it’s tough. And of course, I’m coming from a fan’s perspective, first and foremost. I knew I had a great obstacle when it came to them, and there’s only one way to do it is to go out and do my best and try to be myself. It’s equally important to respect the music and respect what Steve did with it. I guess the reason they picked me in the first place is that we have vocal similarities. We aren’t identical, but there are similarities.

I had a great teacher early on in my career. One thing he taught me is that you can only go out there and be yourself and do your best. The moment you try and mimic somebody and try to alter your voice to do something other than what comes natural, you’re not going to be the best at your craft. I had to straddle those two things. I had to give the audience and the band what they were expecting, and also try to be true to myself.

There was a balancing act. And there was no overnight success. It happened over a course of eight years. It started out in 1,500 seat theaters.

Let’s go through some of that. Your first show was in June of 1998 in San Rafael, California. What was it like to walk onstage and deliver that first song? Before the show, there was a garbage receptacle. I stuck my head in there and relieved myself. I never had that happen to me before. My stomach was in jitters and butterflies. Once I was done, I cleaned up and hit the stage. I was fine for the first minute or so, but then I locked eyes with my son and my wife in the 20th row. That’s when the waterworks happened. That’s where the reality crept in. That’s where the emotions started. “This is really true. This is happening.”

I could only imagine it went well. We had the label there and John Kalodner. As you said, how do we even consider replacing someone as monumental and iconic as Steve Perry? But we did it in increments. We went out for a test drive. That was a test drive. We went to Japan for a few shows. That was a test drive.

You had to prove to the industry that the audience was still there even without Steve Perry. There were probably doubts that this was even possible. Absolutely. I understand the band’s perspective that they wanted to continue on. And of course, Steve’s perspective was, “How could you even possibly consider it?” I always looked at both sides of this. I went, “If I’m going to do this with them, I have to be respectful, more than anybody, to the fans.”

Some folks are there that literally just need the music. They have to go and pay for a ticket and hear it live. There is where Journey are fortunate, or anyone that had someone step in and do that. Sometimes they just need the music. It’s that simple.

I spoke to some people back then who saw Journey and couldn’t name one member of the band, past or present. They just wanted to hear the songs and didn’t follow the saga in any real way. Pretty much. As you can imagine, through the years I’ve come in touch with a number of these musicians. We all share the same battle stories. I have a gentlemen who used to sing for Kansas, John Elefante. He’s amazing. He’s absolutely stellar. I’ve worked with Bobby Kimball’s replacement [in Toto] who passed away a number of year ago, Fergie Frederiksen. These are just a handful of guys. I could rattle off at least 20 names.

Getting back to your early days in Journey, the Armageddon soundtrack was pretty key. It showed people that Journey would be more than just an oldies revue. Sure. The Armageddon soundtrack was a huge shot in the arm and a huge opportunity. It wouldn’t have happened without John Kalodner. The soundtrack was compete. He asked for a favor from [ Armageddon music composer] Trevor Rabin and the label. He said, “If Journey is going to have any shot at a comeback, we’re going to have to get a song on a huge blockbuster soundtrack.” So we have John and CBS Records and Trevor Rabin to thank. And you can thank “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Aerosmith’s gazillion-selling hit single. And Diane Warren. Thank you, Diane Warren [ laughs ].

It was the peak of the CD era. The labels had basically killed the single. Everyone who wanted that one song had to buy the whole album. That’s correct. And they did that 7 million times.

Tell me about making Arrival. It was a love/hate relationship. First of all, there were so many things to love about it. They chose New York City to do the record because [producer] Kevin Shirley had a second home here. He had a beautiful penthouse on Central Park West. He had a beach home in West Hampton. The guys came and made their homes here for however long the record took, a month or so. The damndest thing is I have a very fragile voice. I’ve never been the kind of guy that can go out and sing very night.

The first week of pre-production, the label was coming. They wanted to hear us rehearse. Me being a novice and green, I gave it all I had at the first rehearsal. And I had poor monitoring. I didn’t have the expertise and the knowledge that one eventually builds up. I blew my voice out. For the first week or two, we were repairing the voice.

You can only imagine. You want to go in there and give it your 200 percent. Now I’m a bird with an injured wing, a lame duck. But through the patience of the band and Kevin Shirley’s master production, we took our time and I’m glad. I’m extremely proud of the record we did and the performances that are on that record. Somehow, by the grace of God, the record was embraced by the fans.

They gave you credits on many of the songs. You have to imagine, that was a huge honor. I had picked up a couple of things along the way with Tall Stories. And in Tyketto, I co-wrote every song on the record, along with some great records. But this was in the minor leagues. We’re talking about the Staten Island Yankees as opposed to playing up in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium.

Now here I am in the big leagues. I’m in a room with Neal and Jon, who penned “Faithfully” and “Don’t Stop Believin'” and “Who’s Crying Now” and “When You Love a Woman,” with and without Steve Perry. These guys are masters. I’m a novice. I’m green.

Neal and Jonathan would develop a section of a song and be really happy. All of a sudden, these guys are off to the races. They’re world class. But my mind is a little slow, so I literally would have to leave the room with my pen and pad and a guitar maybe. I’d have to take five minutes to listen on my own since these guys are working on all cylinders. They’re revving their engines at 120 mph.

I’d go back and throw my little idea out. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t. They’d have to say, “Go back to the drawing board.” That’s where I literally did leave the room. That’s where I first learned to write with them. These guys were monsters, and I was not. [ Laughs ] That was the learning process. I was in the room with the adults, and I was the kid. It was a great experience.

Their touring schedule was often pretty rough. They’d go out for months at a time. After a couple of years, did it start to grow tiresome? Of course. At first, it’s all brand new and shiny. You run out the door. I’d have my suitcase packed a week before we left. Towards the end of my career with Journey, it would be the morning of the flight and I hadn’t packed a thing. It’s just human nature. It was hard to leave.

Everyone thinks of the upsides and the glamor and the sparkle and everything that shines. But the loneliness and the wear and tear, which is a huge part of it for a vocalist. The thing that would kill me was when we’d do three nights in a row. We would do five shows a week. And you needed to do that to keep a big touring machine afloat.

If you go down, nobody makes a nickel. You go into the red. You’re paying for hotel rooms and salaries and nobody is generating income. There’s a bit of a psychological thing going on. You have to keep yourself healthy.

One of the many things I used to do was I’d almost never go out. If perhaps they’d drink on their day off at a bar, I’d bring my bicycle and go for a ride. I literally saw the world on two wheels. The cornfields of Iowa and the Mississippi River. You name it, I saw it, but staying away from talking. I zipped it up and saved my voice for the next show. That was one way I kept it together.

Those are not easy songs to sing night after night. It was even hard for Steve Perry near the end of his time. You have to hit those notes over and over. Yeah. Whether you did or not, you were expected to. You did everything in your power to make it happen. It was diet or exercise. We used to say you literally lived the life of a monk. And it worked for a while, but what happens is it starts to compound over the years. And your voice was going to change anyway. No athlete is going to perform at 30 like they did when they were 20. That’s just the reality of your physicality. It’s just inevitable. It’s going to happen. There’s going to come a time where you can’t do five shows in a row. It’s not possible.

Tell me about making Generations . That was a different sort of record since they all sang on it. Correct. I don’t think that necessarily would have been the case had I not been on the ropes at the time. We had come off the road and I was experiencing vocal problems, or not recuperating as quickly as I used to. And so it was a great idea. “Let’s just share the vocal responsibilities amongst the band. This way, when we go out for the following tour, Steve doesn’t have to sing as much. We can take some of the workload off him.” Frankly, that was a pretty good idea. And that’s exactly what we did.

It’s sort of a lost record. It’s not on Spotify, or anything. Do you know why that is? Well, I can only imagine. I’m speculating. But for one reason or another, they just perhaps felt it wasn’t necessary or worthwhile to put it out there. I know for a fact there are a couple of songs on there that are extremely worthy. I’m sad that they haven’t done that. But that is still the case. Maybe that might change in the future going forward. Maybe not.

In 2005, you guys get the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Steve Perry shows up out of nowhere. Tell me about that day and what it was like to meet him. This was kind of nerve-racking for me, obviously, for several reasons. We had never met prior to this. I don’t think there was bad blood, but nobody was necessarily sending each other Christmas cards.

So here we are being honored. What a great honor to get a star on the Walk of Fame. It was exciting for me. I brought my whole family over. And Steve had an obligation to his fans. If you ask for my opinion, and I shouldn’t speak for anyone else, I think he showed up out of respect to the fans. It was a day to take a bow and accept a great honor. That’s why we were all there. Steve deserved it at least as much as anyone that was receiving it.

We did have a cordial, “Hello. How do you do? Great to meet you. Honored to meet you.” That was the extent of it. I didn’t expect much. I’ve always had a great respect for him. I continue to. But that’s that way it was. That’s the way it went down.

How stressful was it to go on tour at this point when you’re having vocal problems and there were that many shows booked? I don’t think I ever experienced anxiety in my life like that before. I was pretty low key. Everything rolled off my back. Nothing really stuck to me. I was pretty chill until the later years of my career with Journey. I saw the writing on the wall. I knew there was no way I could keep it up and sustain. Frankly, the day that they released me, my voice was completely “in the weeds,” as Jonathan Cain used to say. I guess that’s a golf expression. I was terrible. I don’t think I’ve ever physically and emotionally felt that much pain in my life.

It was also equally liberating. There was a relief and a weight off my shoulders that I soon embraced and accepted that I had a pretty decent run. I achieved something that, from a musician’s point of view, you only dream of. These are dreams that are so far out of reach, but somehow they came into my clutches. I had it for a while. Like everything good in life, nothing lasts forever.

Near the end of your time in Journey, some fan reports suggested you were using pre-recorded vocals onstage. Is that accurate? Well, I can’t … I’ll put it to you this way, and I’ll keep it short and sweet. Each and every day I went out and performed with Journey, I sang every show to the best of my ability and with every ounce of my heart and soul. I can’t answer that question. I can’t legally answer it. But I will tell you that much. Perhaps someday, someone else will answer it another way. That’s the best I can do.

How did they tell you it was over? At first, they sent me to some of the best doctors in Nashville and a coupe of voice therapists. It was coming together. But they had this tremendous summer tour planned with Def Leppard. Neal was working at the time with this great artist named Jeff Scott Soto. They tapped Jeff to step in and help them out for the remainder of the year. He did.

I don’t recall the precise day they gave me the pink slip, but I wasn’t surprised. I was certainly hurt. I was certainly saddened, but I wasn’t surprised because the last thing that Neal said to me before we parted was, “Steve, it’s not personal. It’s business.”

I understand. What puts it in perspective and what got me through what was one of the most difficult times in my life is that if they were able to part with the likes of Steve Perry and the talent of Steve Perry, this is a no-brainer for them. And so I was able to accept it easier. Not 100 percent. That’s because I’ve never experienced pain like that, emotional pain. But it was easier to accept.

Have you spoken to Jonathan or Neal since then? I have. Very infrequently. I had the desire to see them when they came locally once or twice. It was fun to see them. They embraced me. It was very kind of them to have me come. I’ve met Arnel [Pineda] on one or two occasions. Aside from having a great voice and a great instrument, I love his story and how he came to be. I’m actually thrilled for him since I was him. I saw what it was like. It’s a rags-to-riches story. I’m happy for him.

Your job was harder. You were coming right after Steve Perry. You had to deal with all sorts of fan expectations and pressures that he did not. You know what? I think that’s very true. I did some of the lifting. I can’t take all the credit. After me, they really exploded. I think you could call me the buffer or the primer. I was the one that really took the hits, maybe. Again, it’s all relative. I didn’t expect any less. I took the criticism. I didn’t accept any less. It’s natural and it’s just the way it was.

If it happened again, would I do it any differently? Yeah. I’d probably diminish the shows from five to four a week. That might have saved me a little bit. But who knows?

You’ve been touring a lot recently and you’re still doing the Journey classics. I’ve been fortunate in that. I formed the Steve Augeri Band 10 years ago. I’ve been fortunate enough to find a group of really great guys that love to play the music. Of course, the scale is minuscule compared to, again, playing Yankee Stadium. We’re playing what sometimes is even the sandlot. But the joy is still there. The same joy is still there. I’m not exaggerating. As long as the joy is there, I’ll continue doing it.

You’ve also done shows with John Payne and Lou Gramm and these other former singers of big bands. Yes. In fact, we just came back from Sweden yesterday. I’m still adjusting to the timezone. I’m going out tomorrow to be with John Payne and Asia. We’re playing with Lou in another few weeks. I still carry on with my band and other situations. I’ve got another situation in Nashville with the group. Sixwire. They are some of the great Nashville players. They keep me humble. They are great musicians.

Tell me about your new song, “If You Want.” Over the last 10 years, just to make people aware I haven’t completely disappeared, I’ve made sure that I’ve released at least one song a year. It’s not on a label. I just put it out on social media and YouTube and Amazon and all these platforms.

And then 2020 rolls around. We get locked down in March. I took a good look at myself, especially living in New York, and I said, “We may not get out of this alive. And I have a laundry list of material, songs I want the world to hear. Whether it gets to their ears or not, that’s another story, but I need to release them.”

I went from performing mode and I pivoted to creative mode. I don’t recall ever being this gung-ho and this enthusiastic about writing music. I wrote a bunch of stuff immediately and I started collaborating with two band members of mine, my guitarist, Adam Holland, and my keyboard player, Craig Pullman. We were sending files back and forth and we wrote about a third of the record together in that manner.

And then I had about a third of the record that I had written prior to the pandemic. I felt I had to get them out since it would be fruit dying on the vine. Then I wrote some songs in the past couple of years. I put together an album that I’m super psyched about. More than anything ever, I feel like I’ve found my voice. I don’t think I’ll get the comparisons to Steve Perry. As wonderful a compliment as that is, I feel like I finally found something that sounds like me both writing-wise and performance-wise. This summer, we’re releasing Seven Ways to Sunday . That’s the name of the record.

Your voice sounds great. I hear no signs of the damage from years past. It gets back to what I was telling you. My vocal coach told me, “When you do your thing and you’re not chasing anyone else’s expectations and you’re not imitating, you’re less likely to put yourself in a position that’s unnatural.” That’s basically what it boils down to. I would say that I’d be able to do this music without having to second guess myself and without the anxiety. [ Laughs. ]

How does it feel emotionally when you’re onstage these days and you’re singing “Faithfully” and “Don’t Stop Believin'”? Obviously with “Don’t Stop Believin'” there’s a different feeling mainly because it’s so iconic. You can almost sing just half the lyrics and the audience will sing the rest. You can literally kick back and skate a little bit. I don’t, but I could. Everyone knows it inside and out. Boy, wouldn’t you want to write a song like that? But kudos to Steve Perry and Journey.

To get back to your question, I do find joy in singing those songs. However, I will be honest with you. I do some songs in my set that are non-Journey songs, like a Rod Stewart song or a Tina Turner song. I do feel a certain freedom doing these songs and a certain comfort because I’ve hand-picked them. I have a desire to do something like this. I would do anything by Rod, but we happen to do “Forever Young.” That’s kind of apropos because as we age, going out in front of an audience literally makes you feel 20 or even 40 years younger.

As more time goes by, I imagine you’re very grateful that you had the Journey experience. It changed your life in so many ways. They brought you the audience you have now. I have no regrets. I can never say a negative word. Maybe if I really dug down deep, I’m sure you could find darkness and negativity anywhere. But at face value and even just in the big picture, it’s been nothing but a huge positive in my life and continues to be. I can only be thankful and I’m continuing on doing exactly what I did then. I’m still doing it now. Again, even if it’s going from Yankee Stadium to the sandlot, as long as it continues to be a joy, which it is, I’m going to continue doing it.

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Silverdocs: How Journey Found A New Lead Singer And Made Friends In Manila

Linda Holmes

Arnel Pineda became the lead singer of Journey in late 2007. Silverdocs hide caption

Arnel Pineda became the lead singer of Journey in late 2007.

One of the oddest things about the story of Arnel Pineda is that it's not actually quite as odd as it might seem.

Pineda was a bar and club singer working in Manila in 2007, doing some original material but finding an audience mostly for his covers, when he got an e-mail from Neal Schon, the guitarist from Journey. Schon had seen videos of Pineda performing on YouTube and asked him to come to San Francisco and audition to become the band's new lead singer. From Journey fan to Journey member, because of YouTube.

That's the hook of Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey , which opened Silverdocs on Monday night. Director Ramona S. Diaz followed Pineda and the band from the time shortly after he started rehearsing with them through their very successful 2008 tour and their – the word is a cliché, but it applies – triumphant show in Manila in March 2009 when they brought him back home a hero, the successful lead singer of an iconic American band.

There is a certain fairytale quality to all of it – the guy who was singing Journey covers when he suddenly got The Call – but really, it's not that weird. Schon didn't stumble on him accidentally or get an e-mail from someone that said "You've got to see this guy!!!"; he found Pineda while specifically searching YouTube for lead singers, because it's a not-unusual way to find musicians. Maybe he was even looking for lead singers doing Journey songs. Maybe even for lead singers doing Journey songs who sounded a lot like former lead singer Steve Perry – which Pineda surely does. Other than the fact that he was in the Philippines, Schon found his guy the way he set out to find him.

Pineda isn't quite as young as he sometimes seems in the film; he can seem like a kid, but he turned 41 during the 2008 tour. He's a stretch younger than guys like Schon, who's pushing 60, but he's not Justin Bieber being plucked from YouTube because he's never done anything. The story threatens at times to become a wacky internet novelty, but at its best, it's something a bit more satisfying than that. At its best, it's about a working singer – not a YouTube fluke, but a working, day-in-day-out singer who's been playing for years and years – can suddenly find himself jumped to the head of the line, playing to 22,000 people with musicians he's admired all his life. It doesn't have a lot to do with YouTube; the better story is about a band taking a huge risk on a completely unknown quantity because they need a guy and they found one they think will be a fit.

(As a side note, as tempting as the "Don't Stop Believin'" title is, I would have gone with a variation on "Journeyman." Just a suggestion, pun-wise.)

The best parts of the film focus on Pineda; he has a playful attitude toward his own sometimes overwhelming anxiety about the situation into which he's been thrust. He turns out to be a terrific fit for the band, despite his own comment that partly because he's "so Asian," he looks like they Photoshopped him in when Journey has photos taken. In fact, one of the guys in the band comments that bringing something a little more "international" to the "all-American" group is probably an advantage – a prediction that proves true when Pineda helps the band develop an impassioned following of Filipino-American fans in addition to the people back home in Manila. (The security team notes at one point that for some of Arnel's fans, he's "like Elvis.")

But at almost two hours, the film feels long. It comes to what seems like a natural ending at one point, and then it goes on for probably another 20 minutes. There are some background segments on the general history of Journey that don't seem to have been made with the love that went into the Pineda-era stuff, and a persistent subplot about Pineda getting colds and drinking tean — while care of the voice makes a nice tour detail — keeps coming back and back and back but never really goes anywhere.

Then there is also the problem of "Don't Stop Believin'" itself. I don't think it's a spoiler – I really, truly cannot imagine how it could be – to tell you that the film builds to the performance of that particular song. This tour happened after The Sopranos put "Don't Stop Believin'" in the spotlight but before Glee put it there again, and the closing titles of the film point out that it's now the most downloaded song written in the 20 th century. But at some point, waiting for it becomes a bit of a tease, and the build to the performance (and the holding out on playing much of that song after playing most of Journey's others that are well-known, sometimes more than once) turns into a game. I would have dropped the bomb a little sooner, just to avoid the sense of inevitability.

But the film is fun, and it's worth seeing, not because it's the tale of an internet sensation, but because it's the tale of a bunch of guys who really, really want to hear crowds scream – either again or for the first time ever. As much as it's about how a band lifted an unknown singer into a dreamlike world of screaming crowds and far more money than he'd ever known, it's also about how a band found just the right guy at just the right time to help capitalize on the surprise comeback of one of the band's most famous songs. Pineda says at one point that it's like hitting the lotto, what happened to him, but in truth, Schon hit the lotto, too. You can see the guys standing around him at certain moments, looking at him or watching him perform, realizing that he's incredibly grateful to them, but in fact, without him, they are out of luck .

There's an argument to be made that when you set out to find your new lead singer looking specifically for someone who can sing your existing hits and make them sound just like they did when your old lead singer sang them – rather than being primarily focused on a guy who can contribute to whatever your next identity is – you run the risk of essentially covering your own music. Under this theory, Pineda was originally recruited to be the lead singer of the most famous Journey cover band in the world – the one called Journey. But they have since released two albums of new material, and it seems to be a little more than that. It may even be a little more than Schon expected to find on YouTube.

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Anytime by Journey

Songfacts®:

• According to the liner notes of Journey's Time3 compilation, guitarist Neal Schon wrote the chorus lyrics. Said Schon: "(keyboard player) Gregg Rolie was doing Bing Crosby - you know, 'ooh, ooh.' And I'd listened to lots of Beatles records when I was a kid, so I just went 'Anytime that you want me.' It came out real easy in rehearsal." Rolie supplied the lead vocals, and the song was released as the second single from Infinity .
• The band wrote this song before Steve Perry joined; it's credited to Robert Fleischman, Gregg Rolie, Neal Schon, Roger Silver and Ross Valory. Fleischman was with the band just a short time, and did not perform on any of their albums. Roger Silver is a San Francisco-based poet who contributed lyrics to the song.
• This song reached just #83 in the US, but was proof of what Steve Perry could bring to the band. Journey released three albums before he arrived, none of which produced a chart hit. The first Infinity single, " Wheel In The Sky ," rose to #57. Perry didn't write that one either, but it was clear he could deliver a distinct vocal that popped on the airwaves. The next single after "Anytime" was " Lights ," which Perry co-wrote. That one went to #68 and became a Journey classic.
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Comments: 3

• Kaye from Alabama Most of the the lead singers for Journey since and including Steve Perry, have 'blown out' their voices. There's very few men, and women that can continue to sing with such a wide range for 300+ gigs a year, practice, warm ups, and recording. Freddie Mercury, if he were still with us ( but, his range had a lot to do with cultural, and religious exposure), and Micky Thomas best known for Jefferson Starship, now just Starship, and his first hit, Fooled Around and Fell in love, still has the range and power he had in the '70 when he was playing with my husband in local bands in N. Florida, S. Georgia. To name 2. Pat Benetar, classically trained, Ann Wilson, classically trained. Now, look up Tommy Shaw's version of 'Open Arms' That is on a copulation tribute album. You might just be impressed. Digging ditches is damn hard dirty work. Going on stage, whether you feel like it or not, cold, flu, stomach virus, migraine headache, strep throat, And performing like you feel absolutely wonderful and so very happy to be there, when you would rather be lying on the stage trying not to die, is the hardest job in the world. I work as a gardener, landscaping, basically ditch digging, and I am no where near exhausted, sick, and basically insane as I was when touring and singing with several well known bands and performers. I was a trained lyric soprano that learned to sing rock and some pop and country. Now my range is quite a bit lower than it was.
• Jim from Long Beach, Ca Gregg Rolie, The American Paul Carrack, he sings on hits for other bands(Journey/Santana) but remains faceless..Great voice and keyboard player..
• Dodge from Casper, Wy Gregg Rolie, though somehow not the most recognizable face of the two bands, founded and was the original singer for both supergroups Santana and Journey. He is the co-lead vocalist here, though he is the clear and recognizable singer on the timeless Santana smash Black Magic Woman.

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Journey celebrates 50th anniversary: Rock band members then and now

Journey was formed in february 1973 by neal schon, gregg rolie and herbie herbert.

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Journey recently celebrated 50 years since the band first formed.

The band's most well-remembered lead singer, Steve Perry, was spotted on a walk in Los Angeles earlier this month. The 74-year-old was the frontman and prominent songwriter for the band for 10 years alongside Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Jonathan Cain, Aynsley Dunbar and Steve Smith.

Current members of the band include Schon, Cain, Deen Castronovo, Arnel Pineda, Jason Derlatka and Todd Jensen.

Here is what Journey band members from the Perry era are up to now as the band's 50th anniversary tour comes to a close April 25 in Palm Springs, California. 

STEVE PERRY WOWS CROWD AFTER 19 YEAR ABSENCE FROM STAGE

Steve Perry 

Steve Perry was brought on as a replacement for lead singer Robert Fleischman and was the frontman during the band's most prosperous era. (Shutterstock/SplashNews.com)

Steve Perry joined the band as a replacement for Robert Fleischman, making his debut as the frontman in October 1977. As well as acting as the band's lead singer, Perry also was one of the band's principal songwriters. He was nominated to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2020.

Although fans were skeptical of Perry when he first joined the band, he was able to win fans over after the release of his first album, "Infinity," which had a much different sound than Journey had created in the past. They then began getting more radio airplay. He sang lead vocals on the albums "Evolution," "Departure," "Dream, After Dream," "Captured," "Escape," "Frontiers," "Raised on Radio" and "Trial By Fire."

Perry went solo for the first time in 1984 when he released "Street Talk," which sold over 2 million copies and featured the singles "Oh Sherrie" and "Foolish Heart." He was also featured on the 1985 benefit song, "We Are the World." He attempted to reunite with Journey. However, he was caring for his ill mother and couldn't be present for a majority of recording, and the band went on break in 1987 after its "Raised on Radio" tour.

In 1988, Perry began working on a second solo album, which he never released, eventually releasing a successful second album in 1994, called "For the Love of Strange Medicine."

Perry sang lead vocals on the albums, "Evolution," "Departure," "Dream, After Dream," "Captured," "Escape," "Frontiers," "Raised on Radio" and "Trial By Fire." (Michael Putland/Getty Images)

The singer once again reunited with his former band in 1996 to record the very successful album, "Trial By Fire," which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts and went platinum by the time the year was over. To capitalize on the success of the album, a tour was planned, but it had to be postponed due to Perry injuring his hip while hiking in Hawaii.

A doctor determined his injury required surgery, but Perry was reluctant to agree to go under the knife. The decision delayed the tour longer than expected, which angered his bandmates. They eventually went on tour without Perry, and he announced his permanent exit from the band.

"I had to have a hip replacement, and the band was telling me when they thought I should do it," Perry said in an interview with MelodicRock.com in 2011. "And I said, ‘Major surgery like this is not a band decision.' I said that I would get it done, but I didn't get it done quickly enough. They just wanted to get on the road, and there was an ultimatum given to me. And I don't respond well to ultimatums."

FORMER JOURNEY FRONTMAN STEVE PERRY REVEALS WHY HE LEFT BAND AT ITS HEIGHT

Following his departure from the band, he released his "Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased" compilation album, which featured songs from his 1988 unreleased album. In 2005, Perry joined a few of his former bandmates when Journey was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, he was voted one of the ten greatest rock singers of all time, and Rolling Stone placed him at number 76 in a list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time." 

Perry joined his former bandmates on stage in 2017 for the band's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

For the next few years, Perry continued singing and writing, appearing on background vocals or on stage with various bands and artists. In 2017, he appeared on stage with Journey for the first time since they were together on the Walk of Fame in 2005 to accept the honor of being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He did, however, opt out of performing with the band.

In 2018, Perry released another solo album, "Traces," which performed well, with a deluxe version debuting in 2019. In December 2021, he released a Christmas album, "The Season," and in 2023 he announced he would be singing background on Dolly Parton's new album.

Perry has a daughter and grandchildren but has chosen not to speak about them publicly to protect their privacy. 

Neal Schon is a founding member and guitarist for the band Journey. (Getty Images)

Neal Schon is a founding member of Journey and is the longest-serving original member of the band. Prior to helping create Journey, he was a member of the band Santana, playing guitar on the albums "Santana III" and "Caravanserai."

He briefly played with the band Azteca before founding Journey with Gregg Rolie and their manager Herbie Herbert. They initially called the band the Golden Gate Rhythm Section, however the name was changed after their roadie John Villaneuva suggested Journey.

Along with playing on the albums "Journey," "Look into the Future," "Next," "Arrival," "Generations" and "Revelation with Journey," Schon also released several solo albums, including "Late Nite," "Beyond the Thunder," "Piranha Blues," "The Calling," "So U" and "Universe."

The guitarist also produced two albums with keyboardist Jan Hammer and was a member of the supergroup Bad English. He also has fostered collaborations with Sammy Hagar as part of Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve and Paul Rodgers. Schon also plays guitar on Michael Bolton's album, "The Hunger.

Schon performed with his band at the 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, where Journey was being honored. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

In 2005, Schon was present at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony to accept the honor of receiving a star alongside his fellow bandmates. They reunited again in 2017 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he and some of the other band members performed.

Schon is performing with Journey for the band's 50th anniversary tour, which also features Toto.

JOURNEY'S NEAL SCHON SLAMS BANDMATES OVER TRUMP MEETING

In September 2011, Schon confirmed his romance with former "Real Housewives of D.C." star Michaele Salahi, while also revealing they dated briefly in the '90s. Just a little over a year later, in October 2012, Schon proposed to her on stage while performing at a charity benefit, and the two were married in December 2013. 

Schon is married to his fifth wife, Michaele Salahi, a former "Real Housewife of D.C." (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

Schon was previously married to Tena Austin from 1976 to 1986. He was then married to Beth Buckley from 1987 to 1992, and had two children with her, Miles and Elizabeth, before splitting up. He then married Dina Gioeli from 1993 to 1999, and then Amber Kozan (from 2001-2008), with whom he has two children, Aja and Sophia. He also has a daughter named Sarah.

Gregg Rolie

Gregg Rolie was a member of Santana before forming Journey and was the lead singer on the first two albums. (Getty Images)

Gregg Rolie was a founding member of Santana before branching off to join what would become Journey. For the band's first six albums, he was the keyboardist, and he was the lead vocalist for the band's first two albums. Once Perry joined the band, Rolie sang co-lead on a few songs on various albums.

The musician chose to leave the band in 1980 and started a successful solo career. His first solo album was "Gregg Rolie," and he followed up with "Gringo" in 1987. 

"I left because I didn’t like my life anymore," Rolie told Rolling Stone in 2019. "I’ve said this a million times. And I know there’s people that say, ‘That’s not the reason.’ But I left because I was unhappy with what I was doing in my own life. I loved the management. I loved the music. I loved what we built. I just wasn’t happy, so I had to blow the horn on it and just stop it."

A few years after releasing his second album, Rolie formed another band with Steve Smith and Ross Valory from Journey in 1991 called The Storm. Rolie worked as the keyboardist for this band. The band's eponymous debut album was a huge success, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard charts. It also featured a top 10 hit, "I’ve Got A Lot To Learn About Love."

Rolie left Journey in 1980 and started a solo career before founding another band. (Getty Images)

They did not reach the same amount of success with their second album. It was shelved by their record company before finally getting released in 1996. In 1998, Rolie and a few other members of Santana reunited to form the band Abraxas Pool, ultimately releasing one eponymous album.

Also in 1998, Rolie was inducted, along with the other members of Santana, into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He became a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 2017 with Journey.

In 1999, while working on an album with Ron Wikso, they formed The Gregg Rolie Band, which featured Kurt Griffey on the guitar and Wally Minko as a second keyboardist. Together, they released the album "Roots" and a live CD, "Rain Dance," in 2009.

From 2012 to 2021, Rolie toured as a member of Ringo Starr and his All Star Band, during which he sang many of the hits he is known for, including some from his time in Santana. While performing, he also recorded an album with original members of Santana in 2016, "Santana IV."

Rolie frequently appears on stage with Schon and the rest of Journey during their 50th anniversary tour. (Rob Loud/Getty Images for Journey)

Rolie reunited with Schon in 2018 to perform some charity shows and occasionally joined Journey on stage during its most recent tour.

The keyboardist married his wife Lori in 1980 after first meeting her while on a flight in 1979. The two have remained together and live in Texas. They have two children together, a son named Sean and a daughter named Ashley.

Ross Valory

Ross Valory was an original member of Journey, which he joined after forming and releasing one album with the Steve Miller Band. (Getty Images)

Ross Valory was an original member of Journey, which he joined after forming and releasing one album with the Steve Miller Band. As a bassist, he has played on all the band's albums, except 1986's "Raised on Radio" and 2022's "Freedom."

During the band's hiatus in the late ‘80s and early ’90s, Valory played on Todd Rundgren's album, "2nd Wind," and released two albums as a member of The Storm, "The Storm," and "Eye of the Storm."

He returned to playing with Journey in 1996 on the "Trial by Fire" album. Valory was kicked out of the band in 2020, and he was once again replaced by Randy Jackson, who also took over for him in "Raised on Radio."

His 2020 exit came on the heels of a lawsuit involving him and Steve Smith, filed by their Journey bandmates Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. Schon and Cain claimed Valory and Smith attempted to take over Nightmare Productions to gain control of the Journey trademark. 

Journey's management announced the two parties came to a settlement, releasing a statement in April 2021.

Ross Valory, right, was sued by his former bandmate, Jonathan Cain, left, for trying to gain control of the band's trademark. (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

"Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain acknowledge the valuable contributions that both Ross Valory and Steve Smith have made to the music and the legacy of Journey," the statement said. "Ross Valory and Steve Smith wish their former bandmates well and much success in the future. Journey looks forward to continuing to tour and make new music for their dedicated fans around the world." 

Valory was once married to Diane Oakes, however the marriage ended in a divorced. He later married his current wife, Mary Valory.

Steve Smith

Steve Smith replaced Aynsley Dunbar as the drummer for Journey. (Getty Images)

Steve Smith replaced Aynsley Dubar as the drummer for Journey, joining the band in 1978 and staying on until 1985. His first album with the band was "Evolutions" in 1979, and he left for the first time following 1986's "Raised on the Radio."

During the band's hiatus, he joined Valory and Rolie in the band, The Storm, appearing on their two albums. He also started a second band, Vital Information, and released several albums with them in that time, including "Vital Information," "Orion," "Global Beat," "Fiafiaga" and "Easier Said Than Done."

He returned to Journey in 1995 for a comeback album, "Trial by Fire," staying on for a few years before leaving a second time after the release of 1998's "Greatest Hits Live" album. He continued to release music with Vital Information, including "Ray of Hope," "Where We Come From," "Live Around the World" and 2017's "Heart of the City."

Smith left Journey and started his own band, Vital Information. (D Dipasupil/FilmMagic)

Smith was also a part of the jazz group Steps Ahead and can be heard playing on their albums "Live in Tokyo," "N.Y.C," "Yin-Yang" and "Steppin' Out." As a musician, he can also be heard on albums for Jeff Berlin, Frank Gambale, Henry Kaiser and Neal Schon.

In 2001, Modern Drummer magazine named Smith one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time, and the following year he was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. Starting in 2007, he recorded two albums with Buddy's Buddies, a quintet made up of musicians who once played with Buddy Rich.

In 2017, Smith was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey. He performed with Journey during the ceremony.

Smith was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside the other members of Journey. (D Dipasupil/FilmMagic)

Smith was also named in the lawsuit filed against him and Ross Valory when they allegedly tried to gain control of the Journey trademark. Like Valory, Smith was kicked out of the band at this time. 

Jonathan Cain

Jonathan Cain was a member of The Babys before he left to join Journey, taking over the position Gregg Rolie held in the band.  (Getty Images)

Jonathan Cain was a member of The Babys before he left to join Journey, taking over the position Gregg Rolie held in the band. Cain's first collaboration was on the album "Escape." He was also one of the composers of the band's longstanding hit, "Don't Stop Believin'."

JOURNEY'S JONATHAN CAIN RESPONDS TO CEASE-AND-DESIST ORDER, SAYS BANDMATE SHOULD 'LOOK IN THE MIRROR'

One of his most well-known contributions to the band was when he wrote the ballad "Faithfully," a song about what it's like to live life on the road. Cain went on to play the keyboard on the albums, "Frontiers," "Raised on Radio" and "Trial by Fire."

Prior to "Raised on Radio," Cain reunited with his former Babys bandmates and formed Bad English, releasing two albums before breaking up in the early 90s. 

Cain wrote a memoir about his experience as a member of Journey in 2018, called "Don't Stop Believin': The Man, the Band, and the Song That Inspired Generations." (Brandon Williams/Getty Images)

Along with his albums with The Babys, Bad English and Journey, Cain recorded eight solo albums, including "Windy City Breakdown," "Back to Innocence," "What God Wants to Hear," "Bare Bones" and "More Like Jesus." He has primarily focused on making Christian-based faith music since 2016.

In 2018, Cain published a memoir, "Don't Stop Believin': The Man, the Band, and the Song That Inspired Generations," about his time as a member of Journey.

Cain married his first wife, singer Tane McClure, for which he wrote the song "Faithfully" before calling it quits. 

In 1989, he married Elizabeth Yvette Fullerton, and together they had three children — a daughter Madison and twins Liza and Weston. The two divorced in 2014 after 25 years of marriage. In 2015, Cain married his third wife, a minister named Paula White. 

Jonathan married his third wife, Paula White, in 2015. (Vincent Sandoval/WireImage)

Cain and Schon are currently at odds and are in a legal battle over a shared American Express account. 

Aynsley Dunbar

Aynsley Dunbar was the second drummer for Journey, taking over for Prairie Prince. (Getty Images)

Aynsley Dunbar was the second drummer for Journey, taking over for Prairie Prince, and played a big part in co-writing their first four albums, "Journey," "Look Into the Future," "Next" and "Infinity."

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Additionally, Dunbar played drums on albums for artists such as David Bowie, Lou Reed, Herbie Mann, Mick Ronson, Nils Lofgren, Ian Hunter, Sammy Hagar and Pat Travers.

Dunbar later joined Jefferson Starship and stayed with the band for three albums, including "Freedom at Point Zero," "Modern Times" and "Winds of Change." He then joined the band Whitesnake and stayed with them for two albums, including their eponymous record, which featured hits like "Still of the Night" and "What Is Love," and the album "1987 Versions."

Throughout the mid-90s, Dunbar played with some of the era's most notable bands and artists, including Aerosmith, Queen, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Pat Travers and Van Halen.  

Dunbar was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, along with other members of Journey. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

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Aynsley has three children, Gretchen, Bibs and Taylor. In 2000, his 5-year-old son Dash died of brain cancer. 

In 2005, Aynsley and the other members of Journey were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In April 2017, Dunbar and the band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for their contribution to the music industry.

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Journey’s Jonathan Cain shares the real-life story behind ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ ‘ as band prepares for Spokane show

One of the architects of the massive hit “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” almost stopped believing in Journey when vocalist Steve Perry quit the band in 1998. Keyboardist Jonathan Cain was uncertain that the band could continue after Perry left the group. It was understandable, since Journey said goodbye to a singer with such a big set of identifiable pipes that his nickname is “The Voice.”

“Steve was the best bandleader you can have,” Cain said. “He was magical.”

If Journey failed to replace Perry, the group would have called it a day during its 25th anniversary. However, guitarist Neal Schon refused to give up, and Steve Augeri filled Perry’s role. Jeff Scott Soto followed Augeri. Neither replacement singer approximated the impact of the iconic Perry. And the band was searching for yet another vocalist in 2007. Cain once again wondered if Journey could continue.

Then Schon witnessed Journey cover band singer Arnel Pineda in 2007 belting out “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” in his native Manila via YouTube. An invitation to audition was offered.

“I was skeptical,” Cain said. “I’m a realist. I thought, this kid has never been to America. There will be blowback because of his skin color and his race. I worried about how much of this country would accept him.”

But Pineda was embraced with open arms by Journey fans. A quarter century after Perry bid farewell to Journey, the band is nearly as popular as it was during its heyday.

“We could have never have guessed this would happen,” Cain, 73, said while calling from Los Angeles. “There is life for us at this point. When I look back at all that we accomplished, it’s just amazing to take it all in.”

So Cain and the rest of Journey, which includes drummer Deen Castronovo and bassist Todd Jensen, believe. “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” isn’t just the name of Journey’s biggest hit. It’s also the advice Cain received from his father when he struggled as a musician during the ‘70s.

“ ‘Don’t stop believin’ Jon,’ is what my dad told me,” Cain said. “I wrote it down in one of my notebooks.” “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” is also the name of Cain’s memoir, which was published in 2018.

Journey, which will perform Friday at the Spokane Arena, was massive during its early ‘80s peak with Perry, who is an underappreciated arranger of the band’s many hits. When Journey was putting together songs for its breakthrough album, “Escape,” in 1981, Perry asked Cain for ideas.

“The clock was ticking on us and Steve wanted to know if there was anything in my magic notebook,” Cain recalled. “I shared with him the phrase, ‘Don’t stop believin’.”

Cain proceeds to sing the couplet, Don’t stop believin’/hold on to that feeling. It’s an enduring anthem. The chorus doesn’t arrive until the conclusion of the tune, which is rare.

“Steve came up with that idea,” Cain said. “He said, ‘Make them wait to hear it. That way they’ll always want to hear it.’ I can still hear Steve yodeling the words to ‘Don’t Stop Believin’. ”

Journey has sold 48 million albums and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. “I don’t know how to top that,” Cain said.

There’s often drama and unpredictability over the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mark Knopfler blew off Dire Straits’ induction in 2018. After years of complaining that they were dismissed by the hallowed Rock Hall, Kiss accepted the hardware but surprisingly refused to perform at their ceremony in 2014. According to Cain, nobody knew what Perry would do during the night of Journey’s induction.

“I was hoping he would perform,” Cain said. “I was waiting for him to do so. He didn’t perform, but I was ready if he was up to it. On the plus side, Perry was full of grace and humility. He had a one-on-one for 15 minutes with Arnel, who came out and said, ‘My God, I met him!’ It was an amazing experience.”

Journey played “Lights,” “Separate Ways” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Speaking once more of the latter, Journey was ecstatic that Sopranos visionary David Chase selected the hit to cap his iconic show.

“That blew us away,” Cain said. “David Chase notified us a year before it aired. ‘I’ve chosen your song’ is what he told us.”

The members of Journey were sworn to secrecy. “We didn’t say a thing,” Cain said. “It was a feel-good song for Tony Soprano’s character. I loved the show and James Gandolfini (who played Tony Soprano).”

While on vacation in Italy in 2013, Cain was checking out of a hotel in Rome shortly before Gandolfini checked in. Just a few hours later, Gandolfini passed away in his room. “I was freaking out when I heard about it,” Cain said. “That was just too weird.”

But fans might also file Journey adding a cover band singer from halfway around the world as weird. “Who would ever guess that would work,” Cain said, “But it has worked out well.”

Pineda’s tenure with the band has almost matched Perry’s period with Journey, which was 21 years.

“We’re still going strong,” Cain said. “We have more years ahead of us.”

Don’t stop believin’, indeed.

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Journey to celebrate 50th anniversary with 30 shows in 2024: See where they're headed

Journey is continuing the celebration of its five-decade career with a run of 2024 shows.

The 50 th Anniversary Freedom Tour kicks off Feb. 9 in Biloxi, Mississippi and will play 30 dates in North America through April 29 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. local time on Sept. 29 via ticketmaster.com.

Toto, which supported Journey on their tour earlier this year to celebrate their "Freedom" album, will again join Journey founder, guitarist Neal Scho n, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, lead singer Arnel Pineda, keyboardist Jason Derlatka, drummer Deen Castronovo and bassist Todd Jensen as show openers.

Journey's tour finds the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers tearing through a set list of anthems including "Any Way You Want It," "Faithfully," "Be Good to Yourself" and, of course, "Don't Stop Believin'."

When "Freedom" arrived in July 2022, Schon told USA Today that the album title was originally tapped for the band's 1986 release, "Raised on Radio," but then-singer Steve Perry didn't like it, "so we sat on it for many years … when we were tossing around album titles said, why not just call the whole thing 'Freedom?' It's for the times right now."

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Schon was also sanguine when reflecting on the band’s legacy.

"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," he said. "It’s pretty mind-boggling but also a lot of hard work."

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Here are Journey's 2024 Freedom Tour dates

*Sioux City on sale Thursday, October  5

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journey lead singer dies – Steve Perry

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Updated on: June 6, 2023

The world of music mourns the demise of a real legend as the news is announced of the death of Steve Perry, the renowned lead singer of the legendary rock group Journey. But this not true, its a fake rumour flowing all over the media. In this piece, we pay homage to Steve Perry and explore the remarkable Journey through his life and music career, beginning with his rise to fame through his Journey to his legacy in the world of rock.

Steve Perry’s Journey with Journey

Table of Contents

The Journey of Steve Perry with Journey began in the group’s initial days. With his impressive vocal range and captivating stage presence Perry quickly became an integral member of Journey’s group. Perry’s contributions to the sound of the band and songwriting were instrumental in bringing Journey to new successes. Together, they created an array of chart-topping songs and anthems, which have become a part of Journey’s name.

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Personal Life and Challenges

Beyond his accomplishments in the field of music, Steve Perry’s personal life has shaped his career in significant ways. Growing up in an upper-middle-class family, Perry’s childhood gave him a solid determination and work ethic. He also had the drive to pursue his love of music. However, he was also confronted with personal difficulties and hurdles in the process. These experiences tested his endurance and ultimately influenced the emotion and depth that defined his music.

Departure from Journey

In a pivotal time for the band as well as Steve Perry, he made the difficult decision of separating from Journey . The reasons for the decision were complex and multifaceted, from artistic differences to personal issues. The news of his departure shocked people around the globe who longed for the powerful voice and heartfelt performances that shaped his role in the group.

Solo Career and Return

After the breakup of Journey, Steve Perry embarked on his own solo career , which showcased his talent and versatility as a musician. He released several critically-acclaimed albums, showing the ability of his music to reach his fans at a personal level. Despite the popularity of his solo projects, the fans were begging for an opportunity to reunite with Journey. After a long absence, Perry made a triumphant return to the scene in the form of a rousing performance, sparking excitement and reviving the magic of his work with Journey.

Legacy and Influence

The legacy of Steve Perry goes far over his years with Journey. Perry’s unbeatable voice, soulful delivery, and lyrical sensitivity created a lasting impression on the rock scene. Perry’s ability to express the rawness and vulnerability of his music was a hit with his fans on an emotional scale, which made Perry an iconic figure in the category. Perry’s influence can be seen through the works of many artists who were influenced by his distinctive style and unwavering enthusiasm.

Discography and Achievements

Journey’s discography speaks to their musical talent and their lead singer’s unquestionable talent. The band’s catalog includes several multi-platinum releases and chart-topping songs that have evolved into rock classics. Their accomplishments include numerous awards, sold-out tours, and loyal fans that span generations.

Solo Projects and Collaborations

Beyond Journey, The lead singer began solo projects and collaborations that demonstrated their plethora of talents as artists. They could experiment with different music styles and test their creative expression. Their work as a duo and in collaboration also helped establish their reputation as a major influence in the world of music.

Impact on Rock Music

The impact of the lead singer’s voice on rock music goes beyond the time of Journey. Their strong vocals, emotional delivery, and captivating stage presence were the norm for rock singers who wanted to become a part of the band. Their ability to communicate emotions and connect with the audience helped create a new style of rock and influenced many musicians who followed the same path.

Is the original lead singer of Journey, Gregg Rolie, still alive?

Yes, Gregg Rolie, the first lead singer of Journey, is alive and well . Gregg was born on the 17th of June 1947 and is now 75. older. He has been a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. He was inducted as a part of Santana in 1998 and an artist of Journey in 2017.

Rolie left Journey when he left Journey in 1987; however, he continues to record and tour with his group, The Gregg Rolie Band. He also played the keyboard and sang backup vocals with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band between 2012 and 2021.

In recent times, Rolie has also been involved in various initiatives with fellow musicians. One of them was an album collaboration with the former Journey guitarist Neal Schon on the album “Space Between” in 2015. The singer also released a self-titled album by himself, “Sonic Ranch,” in 2019.

Rolie is still in the music world and continues to record and tour. He is a well-known artist and musician who made important contributions to the genre of rock and roll.

Did Gregg Rolie leave because of Steve Perry?

The truth is that Gregg Rolie did not leave Journey due to Steve Perry. He stated that he was pleased when Perry joined the group. Due to personal reasons, Rolie quit Journey in 1980, just three months after Perry joined the band. Rolie has stated that he was unhappy about his current situation and determined to have the family. He also claimed he consumed too often and needed to feel more inspired.

It is widely believed that Rolie has left Journey due to discontent with how Perry was treated in the group. This isn’t the case. Perry was a great addition to the band, and Rolie claims he enjoyed working alongside Perry. The reason for Rolie’s departure was personal and unrelated to Perry.

Did any of the Other lead singers of Journey die?

None of the vocalists other from Journey have passed away. The group has had three singers as lead performers: Steve Perry, Steve Augeri, and Arnel Pineda. Perry led the band from 1977 until 1987. Augeri was the singer in charge from 1998 until 2006. Then Pineda was the lead singer from 2007 onwards. Augeri quit Journey at the end of 2006 because of vocal cord issues. Pineda is the main singer for Journey, who has been for the last time since 2007.

Here are a few additional pieces of information on the Journey’s singers Steve Augeri and Arnel Pineda who are the mainstays of Journey:

• Steve Augeri: Augeri was born in New Jersey in 1959. The singer became a part of Journey in 1998 , following Perry quit the group. Augeri made two recordings together with Journey, “Trial by Fire” (1998) and “Arrival” (2001). Augeri was forced to leave Journey at the end of 2006 because of problems with his vocal cords. He’s since released two solo albums, “Covers” (2009) and “Sing for You” (2013).
• Arnel Pineda: Pineda was born in the Philippines in the year 1967. He gained fame in 2007 after he was found through Neal Schon, the guitarist for Journey . Pineda was picked for the position of the new lead vocalist of Journey after Schon watched the video featuring Pineda singing Journey songs on YouTube. Pineda has been the main singer in Journey since 2007 and has released three studio albums for the group, “Revelation” (2008), “Eclipse” (2011)”Eclipse” (2011), as well as “Freedom” (2015). Pineda has been the only Filipino to lead a major rock group.

Steve Perry’s tragic rumour of passing has left a gap in the world of music and in the heart of his fans. His incredible path from his fame-making debut through his Journey through his own solo work and eventually return to the stage is an example of his talents, perseverance, and unflinching dedication to his work. As we commemorate and remember Steve Perry’s legacy and life in music, his songs will remain in the hearts of those who listen and inspire generations to come.

What are some of Journey’s most popular songs featuring Steve Perry?

Some of Journey’s most popular songs featuring Steve Perry include “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” “Open Arms,” “Faithfully,” and “Wheel in the Sky.” These timeless classics have become anthems of the rock music genre.

Did Steve Perry ever reunite with Journey after his departure?

Yes, Steve Perry reunited with Journey several times after his departure. However, these reunions were sporadic and often temporary. Nonetheless, the moments when Perry joined his former bandmates on stage were highly anticipated and cherished by fans.

How did Steve Perry’s solo career fare compare to his time with Journey?

Steve Perry’s solo career showcased his musical range and creativity. While he enjoyed success with his solo albums, including the critically acclaimed “Street Talk,” his time with Journey remains the pinnacle of his commercial success and recognition.

What is Steve Perry’s lasting impact on rock music?

Steve Perry’s impact on rock music is immeasurable. His distinctive voice, emotional performances, and heartfelt lyrics set a new standard for vocalists in the genre. His ability to connect with audiences on an emotional level continues to inspire and influence musicians across generations.

How can fans honor Steve Perry’s memory?

Fans can honor Steve Perry’s memory by celebrating his music, sharing fond memories and stories, and continuing to appreciate his impact on their lives. Keeping his music alive and passing it on to future generations ensures his legacy will endure.

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Legendary rock singer teases new music, return to touring

• Updated: May. 21, 2024, 12:36 p.m. |
• Published: May. 21, 2024, 11:34 a.m.

Steve Perry, the former lead singer for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Journey, has signed with a new record label and is considering a return to touring, he told Rolling Stone. "I never say never at this point," said the 75-year-old Perry. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) Tribune News Service

• Zach Mentz, cleveland.com

Steve Perry, the former lead singer for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Journey, is teasing new music and a possible return to touring.

Perry served as Journey’s frontman from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998, but went on a 22-year recording hiatus before releasing solo album “Traces” in 2018.

Now, the 75-year-old Perry says he has additional projects in the works.

“I just signed with a new label,” Perry told Rolling Stone . “I’m very excited about it, and I’ll have an opportunity very soon to work with these very, very musically creative people. I’ll probably announce who I signed with very soon. That’s about as much as I can say, but I’m excited about that, and I am working on stuff.”

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Perry also teased the possibility returning to touring, which he didn’t do following the release of “Traces,” which he said was because “Uncle Steve is up in age, and everybody at this age has some aches and pains and things like that.” Perry played his last full-length performance with Journey at the Sullivan Sports Arena in Anchorage, Alaska, on Feb. 1, 1987, and also toured as a solo act in the mid-1990s. He reunited with Journey for the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2017, but chose not to perform with the group at the ceremony.

“It’s something that I’m absolutely missing terribly,” Perry said of touring. “I can’t even tell you how much, but there’s been a big soulful reclaiming of this original feeling that I had about signing that I needed to get back to. I didn’t want to go out and just turn the wheel or turn the crank.

“I never say never at this point. My life has proven me just that,” he added.

Perry also noted that his desire to return to touring isn’t only for him, but in honor of his late father, as well.

“My father was a singer that never got a chance to realize his dreams, and I did,” he said. “I got to tell him years ago, before he passed, that I was doing this not just for me, but for him, too. This is the historical relevance to what I’m going through and rekindling, I think, about my and my voice and touring.”

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Lead Singer Adam Bradley from Sub-Radio Joins Left of Str8 Show Interviews Left of Str8 Podcasts

• Society & Culture

In this conversation, Scott interviews Adam Bradley, the lead vocalist of the band sub radio. They discuss Adam's musical influences, the band's journey, and their connection with the queer community. They also talk about their songwriting process, the challenges they face in the music industry, and their approach to social media. Adam shares insights into staying connected as a band and adapting to changes in the industry. The second half of the tour was incredible, with wild shows and dedicated fans. The band is working with producer Neil Avron, known for his work with alt rock and pop punk bands. They are excited about their upcoming album and the opportunity to work with a producer who can elevate their sound. The band is also focused on rebranding and creating a new visual language for themselves. They value giving back and have participated in charity events. They have a new tour coming up and are looking forward to playing their best shows yet. Adam Bradley from Sub-Radio @subradioband www.sub-radio.com Thank you for listening to Left of Str8 Podcasts, hosted by Scott Fullerton. Left of Str8 Podcasts were created for the LGBTQ Community and our Straight Allies. Subscribe on your favorite distributor so you never miss an episode. You can also click the bell icon to be notified when new episodes are available. The video podcasts are on YouTube and Spotify, and the audio podcast is available at all major distributors including: iTunes, iHeart Radio, GoodPods, Amazon Music, Audible, and more. If you like us, please give our episodes a 5 star rating so more people will find them in the Algorithm. Please share with your friends and follow us on social media @leftofstr8 on Instagram and Threads and Tik Tok, @leftofstr8radio on Twitter (X), and Left of Str8 Show on Facebook. Go to our website at www.leftofstr8.com to listen to all shows, enter contests, write questions to the show for Scott or Guests, and if you want to be a guest or host on the network. You can support the show on our Patreon Page for as little as $3 a month, $5 a month, or $7 a month, to help cover show expenses and other costs. you can find us over at www.patreon.com/leftofstr8 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leftofstr8/message

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Jon Wysocki, founding member of Staind, dead at 53

( WTRF ) — Jon Wysocki, a drummer and founding member of the rock band Staind, has died at 53, according to members of his current band.

Bandmates on Wysocki’s current project, Lydia’s Castle, announced his death over the weekend on social media.

“On 5/18/2024 at 8:02pm, [Jon Wysocki] passed away surrounded by family and friends that loved him dearly. An official statement will be developed shortly,” the band wrote in an Instagram post shared on Saturday.

Staind also released a statement on Wysocki’s death the following day.

“We first met Jon through mutual friends in 1994,” reads a statement posted to the band’s social media pages. “We came together with Mike, Aaron and Johnny April in 1995 and founded Staind. The 17 years that followed were some of the best memories of our times together. From practice in Ludlow, [Massachusetts,] to touring around the world, Jon was integral to who we were as a band. Our hearts go out to Jon’s family and fans around the world who loved him.”

Wysocki was one of the four original members of Staind, along with lead singer Aaron Lewis, Lead guitarist Mike Mushok, and bassist Johnny April. Wysocki left the band in 2011, before briefly joining the band Soil.

“I was very frustrated with it all, so I said to the guys, ‘As much as I love this band and I love you guys, I gotta go. This is not the Staind we started out being,” Wysocki once said in an interview for the 2021 book “Nu Metal: The Definitive Guide.”

Aaron Lewis, Staind’s lead singer, also released a personal statement after Wysocki’s passing, calling him a “brother in arms.”

“My journey would’ve been different without him,” Lewis said, in part. “The battles we fought together. The battles we fought against each other. The battles we fought side by side alone with our own demons. The battles we won and the battles we lost. He was my friend. He was our brother. My heart is broken. My world has changed. I’ll see you on the other side my friend. My brother. Godspeed. My heart, my love, and my condolences go out to his family and loved ones. I’m so f—— sad. He will be missed.”

Wysocki’s cause of death had not been made public as of Monday morning.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.

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‘the voice’ season 25 crowns winner on nbc, breaking news.

• All The ‘American Idol’ Judges In The Show’s History: From Simon Cowell to Katy Perry

By Dessi Gomez

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Another Season of American Idol has come and gone. Season 22 crowned winner Abi Carter Sunday night, and judge Katy Perry bid the show farewell . Perry sat at the judges’ panel for seven seasons alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

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ABC has not yet announced who will replace Perry as a judge and join the ranks of past and present celebrity judges. Below, find a list of all the judges in American Idol history.

Simon Cowell

Known for his blunt critiques and brutal honestly, Simon Cowell was one of the original three judges on American Idol alongside Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. He remained until Season 9. He also served as a judge on Pop Idol and The X Factor UK . Cowell is also known for putting together groups like One Direction and Fifth Harmony on The X Factor UK. He now serves as a judge on America’s Got Talent.

Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson holds the record as the longest serving American Idol judge in the show’s history with his tenure of 12 seasons. He became known for calling contestants and others “dawg” as well as critiquing “pitchy” performances. Aside from Idol , Jackson worked as an executive at Columbia Records and MCA Records. He also toured as bassist with rock band Journey.

RELATED: ‘American Idol’ Winner Fantasia Barrino Delivers Inspiring Message To Season 22 Finalists On 20th Anniversary Of Crowning Moment

Paula Abdul

Kara DioGuardi

Kara DioGuardi joined the show in 2009 as a fourth judge in addition to the original trio. She served as a judge for Seasons 8 and 9.

Ellen DeGeneres

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres replaced Paula Abdul in Season 9. She only judged for one season on American Idol , after which she returned to hosting her eponymous talk show, which began in 2003. The Ellen DeGeneres Show wrapped in 2022.

Steven Tyler

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler replaced Simon Cowell on Season 10 of the show. He sat alongside Randy Jackson for two seasons before departing to continue work in the rock band known for singles like “Dream On” and “Sweet Emotion.”

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez joined the same year as Steven Tyler and stayed for his two seasons in addition to returning for Seasons 13 through 15. She took a brief hiatus during Season 12. She is also known for numerous film roles including Selena ( 1997) and more recently, Shotgun Wedding (2023).

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Mariah Carey

The All I Want for Christmas Is You singer replaced Steven Tyler after his season 12 exit. She sat alongside Jackson as well as newcomers Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban starting in 2012. She had previously guest mentored contestants during Season 7. She judged for one season.

Nicki Minaj

Rapper Nicki Minaj became an American Idol judge alongside Mariah Carey in Season 12. That was her only season judging. She is known for hit songs like “Starships” and “Super Bass” as well as albums Pink Friday (2010) and Pink Friday (2012).

Harry Connick Jr.

Crooner Harry Connick Jr. joined the show for Season 13 alongside the returning Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban. A New Orleans-born singer composed the soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally (1989), and he went on to host a tak show Harry on CBS for two years. He remained on American Idol until Season 15.

Katy Perry made up the new trio of judges in the show’s ABC revival. She joined for Season 16 alongside country singer Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. Perry guest-judged in Season 9, and she saw the show through its 20th season. She just wrapped her final season judging. Before becoming a judfe, she released albums like Teenage Dream , Prism and more.

Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie has been a judge on American Idol for six seasons since he joined in 2018. The Grammy Award winner is known for his kind comments and wisdom that he offers the contestants.

Country star Bryan has also been with American Idol since 2018. Some of his top hit singles include “Country Girl (Shake It for Me),” “Drink a Beer” and “Drunk on You.”

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The Glam Band, Copper Box and Wisco Kidz among big winners at Sunday's WAMI Awards in Ashwaubenon; Garbage inducted into Hall of Fame

ASHWAUBENON - The Wisconsin Area Music Industry packed a year’s worth of celebration of the state’s music scene into a ceremony just shy of four hours on Sunday night at the EPIC Event Center .

It was the first time in the WAMI Awards’ 42-year history that the honors were done in Green Bay, and local talent took home wins in some of the top categories.

Perhaps no table was having more fun all night than that of The Glam Band. The Green Bay/Fox Valley group’s wildly successful take on all things ’80s hair metal not only earned it Tribute Act of the Year, but the band sent a parade of members in their wigs and spandex up to the podium to collect individual awards.

Dennis Peters won Male Vocalist of the Year as lead singer Dennis Lee Roth, Eric Johnson (aka Skitch Rockett) won Drummer of the Year, and Christopher Larson (aka Randi Schenker) won Electric Guitar Player of the Year.

“After bar at my house!” Peters told the crowd.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Album of the Year went to De Pere singer-songwriter Kurt Gunn for “Winter.”

“I’ve always said the most important band member you ever have is your spouse,” Gunn said, as he thanked his wife for allowing him to be a musician for 25 years.

Green Bay-area rock band The Coves snagged Rising Star of the Year.

Rap Performer of the Year is Wisco Kidz, the Green Bay hip-hop group of Wisco YD and Wisco Kyrie, who followed up their 2017 Green Bay Packers hype song “Run the Table” by paying homage to Jordan Love during last season’s playoff run with “Believe in 10ove.”

Kelly Klaus, a guitar player in Green Bay for decades and currently a member of Journey tribute band Separate Ways, won Live Sound Engineer of the Year, but the audience had to forgive him for not being able to make it onstage to accept — he was busy mixing sound for the awards ceremony. Emcee Frank Hermans accepted on his behalf and later delivered the award to him at the boards.

Artist of the Year went to Oshkosh-based band Copper Box. Green Bay duo 7000apart won for Pop Song for "Runaway," and Trash Pandas, with members from Green Bay and the Fox Cities, won Hard Rock Performer of the Year.

Longtime area favorite Nashville Pipeline won Country Performer of the Year, its first WAMI since 2011. Dani Crow took home Female Vocalist of the Year. No Can Do was awarded New Artist of the Year.

The full list of winners is available at wami.org .

Hall of Fame inductees Garbage checked in via video with a 'Go Pack Go'

Garbage, Todd “Speech” Thomas of Arrested Development and The Fendermen were inducted into a WAMI Hall of Fame that includes such big names as Les Paul, Al Jarreau, Violent Femmes, Liberace and The BoDeans.

Garbage accepted via a prerecorded video message from Los Angeles, near their studio, where drummer and producer Butch Vig said the rock band is recording its eighth album.

“We wish were there. Thank you so much. This means a lot to us, everybody,” Vig said, before wrapping with a “Go Pack Go” and raising a glass along with his bandmates.

During his induction speech, Thomas said it had been 32 years since Arrested Development won its first WAMI Awards in 1992. He thanked his parents — his mother for encouraging his musical passion by buying him equipment as a kid and his late father, whose nightclub on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee was a place where a young Thomas would immerse himself in the power of music by watching people dance.

He also talked about writing “People Everyday” in Milwaukee and then sang a bit of it, asking the crowd to join him in the chorus.

The Fendermen’s Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey, who rose to fame in the 1950s with their cover of “Mule Skinner Blues,” are both deceased. Jim Sundquist Jr. thanked the crowd for their induction.

The late Randy Bowles of De Pere was added to the WAMI Wall of Honor during the ceremony. Bowles co-founded Bananas Entertainment with Lance Shellman in 2002. The live talent agency books approximately 175 bands across northeastern Wisconsin for bars, weddings, festivals and other events. Bowles was known for his love of music, especially The Beatles, and his kindness in the business . He died of cancer in July 2022 at age 67.

Rhythm Chicken, Fun w/Atoms, Supertramp Tribute performed

Nine acts performed during the evening, but only the longtime Wisconsin punk eccentricity that is the Rhythm Chicken did it from behind the drums while wearing a giant rabbit head. The mystery musician showed up twice, with no introduction, to play out amongst the crowd.

Fun w/Atoms, one of Green Bay's most enduring and respected bands, took the stage for two songs after being introduced by promoter Tom Smith, who said the first time he saw the group he was parking cars for his church at the Brown County Fair. Hermans said he remembered sneaking into Lefty's bar in the '80s to see them. Had Vig been there in person, the band could have reminisced about recording their debut album at his Smart Studios in Madison in 1983.

Milwaukee's Social Cig and The Supertramp Tribute's cover of "Goodbye Stranger" (playing Oct. 18 at the Meyer Theatre in Green Bay) also delivered big jolts of energy in between the long list of awards.

Janet Planet and John Harmon were among the presenters

Several WAMI Hall of Fame inductees were among the night’s presenters, including Fox Valley jazz great John Harmon, founder of Matrix, the 1970s Appleton jazz fusion group Matrix in the 1970s.

Sigmund Snopek III, a 2015 inductee, introduced himself to the audience as one of the few artists who can say he has played Carnegie Hall and a bowling alley in the same month.

Vocalist Janet Planet found herself reading her own name — “some girl named Janet Planet” — for the nominees of Music Teacher of the Year. When Hermans introduced her as a presenter, he recalled the days of booking her at Purcell’s Lounge in the former Radisson Hotel & Conference Center.

Garbage made a return appearance to present Percussionist of the Year by video, with each of the nominees’ names written on cocktail glasses raised by the band.

Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or [email protected] . Follow her on X @KendraMeinert . 

‘The Masked Singer’ Finale Reveals Identities of Goldfish and Gumball: Here’s Who Won Season 11

By Michael Schneider

Michael Schneider

Variety Editor at Large

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SPOILER ALERT: Details follow for Season 11, Episode 13 of “ The Masked Singer ,” “Finale: One Mask Takes It All,” which aired May 22 on Fox.

“The Masked Singer” winner Vanessa Hudgens admits she didn’t necessarily play the hiding game: At least among her friends and fans, they figured out it was her under the Goldfish costume rather quickly.

“Rita [Ora] guessed it was me straight from the jump,” Hudgens said. “But she’s also my friend. And we saw each other a few days before the first episode!”

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Hudgens noted that the show’s production team takes its secrecy very seriously. “I didn’t see a single contestant,” she said. “If I was on the studio a lot, I had a face shield, a hoodie that was up and wore gloves so not even my hands were showing. It was very under wraps. But when it came to singing and performing, that’s something that I love and have integrity in and wanted to give it my all — even if it was completely hidden behind the mask.”

For winner Goldfish, Rita Ora knew it was her pal Vanessa Hudgens, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg agreed. Robin Thicke went with Hilary Duff. Ken Jeong said it was Nicole Scherzinger.

As for Gumball, no one got Scott Porter right. McCarthy-Wahlberg and Thicke went with Derek Hough; Jeong said it was Taran Killam and Ora guessed Joseph Gordon Levitt.

Vanessa Hudgens as Goldfish and Scott Porter as Gumball join Thelma Houston (Clock), Chrissy Metz (Poodle Moth), Corey Feldman (Seal) and Clay Aiken/Ruben Studdard (Beets), Jenifer Lewis (Miss Cleocatra), Kate Flannery (Starfish), Charlie Wilson (Ugly Sweater), DeMarcus Ware (Koala), Colton Underwood (Love Bird), Sisqó (Lizard), Billy Bush (Sir Lion), Joe Bastianich (Spaghetti & Meatballs), Savannah Chrisley (Afghan Hound) and Kevin Hart (Book) as the celebrities unmasked on “The Masked Singer” this season.

Hudgens joins previous winners Ne-Yo (Cow), Bishop Briggs (Medusa), Amber Riley (Harp), Teyana Taylor (Firefly), Jewel (Queen of Hearts), Nick Lachey (Piglet), LeAnn Rimes (Sun), Kandi Burruss (Night Angel), Wayne Brady (Fox) and T-Pain (Monster).

Back for Season 11 were host Nick Cannon, alongside panelists Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, while Rita Ora joined the desk to fill in for Nicole Scherzinger, who was in London to star on the West End’s “Sunset Boulevard.”

“The Masked Singer” Season 11 themed episodes included “The Wizard of Oz,” in celebration of the 85th anniversary of the classic film; “Transformers” (marking the brand’s 40th anniversary) and music tributes including “Billy Joel Night” and “Queen Night.” Additional themes include “Girl Groups,” “Soundtrack of My Life,” “TV Theme Night” and “Shower Anthems.”

With sixteen total celebrity singers, including three “wildcards,” Season 11 featured new costumes including “Gumball,” “Lizard,” “Ugly Sweater,” “Goldfish,” “Starfish,” “Book,” “Gumball,” “Miss Cleocatra,” “Afghan Hound,” “Beets,” “Poodle Moth,” “Clock,” “Spaghetti & Meatballs,” “Lizard,” “Koala,” “Seal” and “Sir Lion.” According to the show, the Season 11 contestants boasted a combined 22 Grammy nominations, 11 platinum albums, 33 Teen Choice nominations, 108 million records sold, 326 film appearances and 1.7 billion Spotify streams.

Here were the performances on Wednesday’s Episode 13, “Finale: One Mask Takes It All”:

Goldfish (Group A Champion)

Song: “Heart of Glass,” by Blondie; “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” by Elton John

Panel guesses: Lea Michele, Nina Dobrev, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Sarah Hyland, Julianne Hough, Hilary Duff, Carly Rae Jepsen, Nicole Scherzinger

Package voiceover: “I have loved being able to swim into new territories as the golden girl on this stage. As a little girl, I was never really great at expressing myself. It’s not something I really grew up around. But lately I have been on a journey of self-discovery. And being here, I’ve been able to express myself, so freely. I come from a working class family that has no connection to Hollywood whatsoever. So, there’s no reason I should have made it. But I’m proof with enough hard work and dedication, you can truly do anything. And I’m so proud of my performances. I can’t wait to have kids when that time comes so I can be like, ‘look at mommy go!’ I know I’m up against some steep competition, but winning this would be the ultimate pat on the back. It would mean so much. It makes me so emotional. Because I’ve always thought of myself as an actor first, singing does kind of come second. Doing the Masked Singer is my way of giving everyone a music moment. And the response has made me want it to never end.”

Previous songs: “Vampire,” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Baby Come Back,” by Player; “The Show Must Go On,” by Queen; “Unforgettable,” by Nat King Cole; “You Oughta Know,” by Alanis Morissette

Previous panel guesses: Lea Michele, Selena Gomez, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sarah Hyland, Kristen Stewart, Nina Dobrev, Hilary Duff, Vanessa Hudgens, Nicole Scherzinger, Hilary Duff, Julianne Hough, Ashley Tisdale, Selena Gomez

Gumball (Group B Champion)

Song: “Latch,” by Disclosure feat. Sam Smith; “Renegade,” by Styx

Panel guesses: Jamie Dornan, Taran Killam, James Marsden, Derek Hough, Kevin Jonas, James Van Der Beek, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Scott Porter

Last words: “Tonight, that performance was about my folks. I told you they were in a rock band, but they were never able to pay the bills through their artistry. So, they worked hard – 40, 60, 80 hours a week just to get to the weekend, and do what they loved and perform on stage. I realize now why it was so special to them. Because I know tomorrow, I go back to my day job. This has been the time of my life and I’m so thankful and honored to be on this stage.”

Previous songs: “If I Only Had a Heart,” by Jack Haley; “Wide Open Spaces,” by the Chicks; “Carry On Wayward Son,” by Kansas; “I’m Yours,” by Jason Mraz; “I Lived,” by OneRepublic

Previous panel guesses: Chace Crawford, Kevin Jonas, Jamie Dornan, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Derek Hough, Taran Killam, Jack Black, Zachary Levi, James Marsden, James van der Beek, Jason Sudeikis, Taylor Kitsch

Last season’s performers included Ne-Yo as Cow, John Schneider as Donut, Macy Gray as Sea Queen and Janel Parrish as Gazelle join John Oates as Anteater, Keyshia Cole as Candelabra, Sebastian Bach as Tiki, Ginuwine as Husky, Ashley Parker Angel as S’more, Metta World Peace as Cuddle Monster, Luann de Lesseps as Hibiscus, Tyler Posey as Hawk, Billie Jean King as Royal Hen, Michael Rapaport as Pickle, Tom Sandoval as Diver, Anthony Anderson as Rubber Ducky and one-time special guest Demi Lovato as Anonymouse.

Fox Alternative Entertainment is behind “The Masked Singer,” which is exec produced by showrunner James Breen, Craig Plestis, and Nick Cannon. The series is based on the South Korean format created by Mun Hwa Broadcasting Corp.

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