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Why Prince Asked for Journey’s Blessing Before Releasing ‘Purple Rain’

We've been hearing plenty of "Purple Rain" in the days since Prince's shocking death, from onstage tribute performances to last-minute screenings of the 1984 film by the same name around the world…

By Gary Graff

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We’ve been hearing plenty of “Purple Rain” in the days since Prince’s shocking death , from onstage tribute performances to last-minute screenings of the 1984 film by the same name around the world. But it turns out “Purple Rain” the song might not have happened without a little cooperation from the members of Journey .

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Singer/songwriter Jonathan Cain tells Billboard that he was notified in early 1984 that Prince wanted to speak with him. Curious, Cain went to Columbia Records’ offices in Los Angeles and took a call from Prince, who told Cain, “I want to play something for you, and I want you to check it out. The chord changes are close to ‘Faithfully'” — a top 20 single from Journey’s 1983 album Frontiers — “and I don’t want you to sue me.” After listening, Cain says, “I thought it was an amazing tune, and I told him, ‘Man, I’m just super-flattered that you even called. It shows you’re that classy of a guy. Good luck with the song. I know it’s gonna be a hit.’

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“And it was ‘Purple Rain.'”

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The two songs definitely share more than just similar chords, including the wordless outer vocals and the tone of the guitar solos. “Prince felt, I guess, it was obvious enough that he was worried we were going to sue him,” Journey guitarist Neal Schon recalls. “I think he called our office asking about it and we all talked about it and everybody said, ‘Nah, it’s the highest form of flattery. Let it go.'” But Cain never had a moment’s second thought about even asking for a co-writing credit on the anthem. “No, no, that’ll just bring bad juju on you, and you don’t want to do that,” Cain says. “I just thought it seriously showed the kind of caring, classy guy Prince was. He wanted to check in with Jonathan Cain and make sure I wasn’t going to say, ‘That sounds like ‘Faithfully.'” There’s so many other things that have come down the pike that were more of a rip-off, that have stolen Journey songs. There was a One Direction song I was upset about and I just let it roll. But that particular phone call [from Prince] was amazing.”

There were perks for playing ball too. “He got me these amazing seats at the Purple Rain [Tour] show when he played the Cow Palace in San Francisco, and I thought it was ridiculous how cool it was,” Cain says.

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“Faithfully” was the second single from Frontiers , peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 . The song was a late addition to the album, after producers Mike Stone and Kevin Elson asked for another power ballad for the set. “The next day, [Cain] brings in this song that just came to him in the middle of the night and wrote down all the lyrics and had the basic song put together,” remembers Schon, who nevertheless had trouble coming up with a solo. “I didn’t know what to do on it so I said ‘I’ll just sit this one out,’ and everybody went, ‘No, no, just play, play whatever comes to your mind,'” the guitarist says. “So I wrote out my own little chart and I went out, and I believe we played the song twice and that was it. There were no vocals on it yet. Steve [Perry] came in the next day and kicked everybody out of the studio ’cause he wanted to sing it by himself.”

The Journey members subsequently learned that the similarities between the “Purple Rain” and “Faithfully” guitar solos were not coincidental either. “There’s a guy that Jonathan and I both know in Minneapolis who worked with Prince in the last few years,” Schon says, “and he told Jon to tell me that Prince was talking about my guitar playing, how it really moved him and how he liked my playing. It was just so cool.”

“How much he loved Neal Schon is crazy,” Cain adds. “He studied Neal for so many years, learned his licks and made them his own. You can hear it on (‘Purple Rain’) for real.”

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Behind the Song: “Faithfully” by Journey

by Tina Benitez-Eves September 10, 2021, 9:44 am 1 Comment

Highway run / Into the midnight sun / Wheels go round and round / You’re on my mind. 

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“In all honesty, it’s a road song,” says Jonathan Cain.

Observing the band’s touring crew, many of which didn’t have the money to fly their wives and kids around with them, the Journey keyboardist felt drawn to write a song about being on the road, far removed from loved ones, and found “Faithfully,” the first lines coming to Cain one evening after a show when the band was stuck in a snow storm.

“I watched the crew take down the whole stage—the speakers, the lights, the trusses,” Cain tells American Songwriter. “I watched the daredevils climb to the top like ‘Oh, my God, this is like a circus performance.’ I was so touched, and I thought we didn’t have a song, but if we had a song, or we sent one home to our loved ones, like a postcard to help bridge the distance between the road and home what would it be.”

Snowed in for the night, Cain started writing the first few lines of “Faithfully” on a napkin.

“I started thinking about me and my relationship, and I was missing my new wife at the time, and we were having trouble,” shares Cain. “There were early signs that we would probably split apart. I knew I needed to do something that said, ‘I love you, and whether or not you want to leave me, here it is,’ so I got on the bus, and there was this grey sky, and the moon was doing some kind of crazy stuff in the clouds, and it looked like the midnight sun. Then I wrote Highway run / Into the midnight sun / Wheels go round and round / You’re on my mind.”

After starting the song, Cain downed a beer and went to sleep, awakened by the smell of diesel fuel from the band’s bus. “In the morning, I saw the napkin sitting there on the nightstand and I said to myself, ‘This is a good song, so I started automatically lining up the lines and filling it in. In 30 minutes, all the lyrics were done. Then all of a sudden, I believe the Holy Spirit sent it to me, but I thought of the line ‘I’m forever yours, faithfully.’” 

Cain took the napkin to the band’s next soundcheck in Saratoga Springs, New York, placed it on his piano, and started quietly singing “Faithfully,” working out the melody and piano parts, yet never recorded any demo until he revisited “Faithfully” with the late producer Keith Olsen (Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, Heart) and finally recorded the track.

Olsen played the song for Heart’s Ann Wilson, who loved it, but it was a Journey song. By the time the band was recording Frontiers, they needed a ballad, and “Faithfully” was ready to go.

“Perry said to me ‘I’ll sing it on one condition, you can’t be in the room when I’m singing,’” remembers Cain. “I said, ‘fine,’ and we cut it in three takes. We never played it before. We never rehearsed it. That’s how good Journey is.” 

He adds, “Neil didn’t know what to play, and I looked at him and I said, ‘be a French horn”… and the song became a classic.”

Reflecting more on the track, Cain tells American Songwriter that the circumstances around the song give it deeper meaning threaded in love, faith, and music. “It was my first year out on the road, and I was in a really grateful place being young with a band like Journey, and grateful for how far up God had elevated me,” says Cain. “My identity was sort of acknowledged, finally. As a writer and performer, I felt like I belonged there. I didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, I don’t deserve this.’”

Replacing original keyboardist and Journey co-founder Gregg Rolie, who left the band to explore new projects and start a family, Cain, then 31, began working on the band’s seventh album, Escape , writing many of the tracks, including “Faithfully,” along with singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon in 1983. By the time Frontiers was released Cain already had “Don’t Stop Believin”—an encouraging phrase his father shared with him when he was younger—“Open Arms,” and more Journey hits under his belt. 

“I feel like I earned every bit of it,” says Cain of the recognition he felt by the time “Faithfully” was released. “At the same time, I was grateful.

Today, the song, which originally peaked at No. 12, has never left the Journey setlist, but Cain regrets that “Faithfully” never found placement in a film. He can’t even get the song covered, and once approached Garth Brooks as well as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill to cover the ballad.

“I can’t get it covered,” laughs Cain. “I guess they’re afraid of the original. It is a great song.”

Read Jonathan Cain’s recent interview with American Songwriter , here .

One Comment

According to Allmusic.com, “Faithfully” by Johnathan Cain has been covered 18 times including versions by Lorrie Morgan and Cain himself.

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Miley Cyrus' Live Cover of Journey's "Faithfully" Will Give You Chills

This ballad is perfectly suited for  The Voice alum's strong pipes. 

Miley Cyrus is still ours...faithfully. The singer and former The Voice Coach belted out Journey's hit ballad during an intimate Christmastime performance at the famed Los Angeles hotel the Chateau Marmont, and she sounded so good. The song seems to be a favorite of Cyrus's, as she previously sang it during her 31st birthday celebration , also at the Chateau Marmont.

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Watch  The Voice  on NBC and  Peacock.  

In addition to her own material, Cyrus has a deep love of the oldies and frequently performs live covers of classics like "Jolene," "Take It To The Limit," "My Way" and "Maneater." Listen to her "Faithfully" rendition and you'll soon understand why.

RELATED: Miley Cyrus's Updated "Santa Baby" Is Honestly the Best Version

What to know about "Faithfully" by Journey

Released in 1983, the power ballad is from the perspective of a rocker on the road, promising to be faithful to his woman back home. It's about how hard touring can be but also the joy of returning home. It was written in only a half hour by Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain.

The song is an especially apt choice for Cyrus, who's had her own up-and-down relationship with being on the road for her career. She's not currently touring and explained in a social media post , “This has nothing to do with a lack of appreciation for the fans & everything to do with I simply don’t want to get ready in a locker room. Which is the reality of life on the road…I just don’t want to sleep on a moving bus.” Thankfully, she still performs live , even around Christmas!

RELATED: From Teen Queen to Pop Icon, Check Out Miley Cyrus' Trailblazing Career

"Faithfully" by Journey lyrics

Highway run into the midnight sun Wheels go 'round and 'round, you're on my mind Restless hearts, sleep alone tonight Sendin' all my love along the wire

They say that the road ain't no place to start a family Right down the line, it's been you and me And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be Oh, girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours Faithfully

Circus life under the big-top world We all need the clowns to make us smile Through space and time, always another show Wonderin' where I am lost without you

And being apart ain't easy on this love affair Two strangers learn to fall in love again I get the joy of rediscovering you Oh, girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours Faithfully

Whoa-oh, oh-oh Whoa-oh, oh-oh, oh Whoa-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh Faithfully I'm still yours

I'm forever yours Forever yours Faithfully

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Journey - Faithfully Lyrics

Artist: Journey

Album: Frontiers

Genre: Rock

Highway run into the midnight sun Wheels go 'round and 'round, you're on my mind Restless hearts sleep alone tonight Sendin' all my love along the wire They say that the road ain't no place to start a family Right down the line it's been you and me And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be Oh, girl you stand by me, I'm forever yours, faithfully Circus life under the big top world We all need the clowns to make us smile Through space and time, always another show Wondering where I am lost without you And bein' apart ain't easy on this love affair Two strangers learn to fall in love again I get the joy of rediscovering you Oh girl, you stand by me, I'm forever yours, faithfully Faithfully, I'm still yours I'm forever yours, ever yours Faithfully

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Watch Miley Cyrus Cover Journey’s Hit ’80s Anthem ‘Faithfully’

By Emily Zemler

Emily Zemler

Miley Cyrus shared a video of herself performing Journey ‘s 1983 single “Faithfully.” The black and white clip, released on social media, showcases Cyrus singing the anthemic tune live at Los Angeles’s Chateau Marmont in front of a Christmas tree.

Faithfully: Live From Chateau Marmont pic.twitter.com/VHXseiUZxN — Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) December 27, 2023

Cyrus previously shared a live video of her debut public performance of her hit “ Flowers ,” which was recorded at Chateau Marmont at a pre-Thanksgiving bash. While the Christmas tree suggests she performed “Faithfully” over the holidays, both videos appear to be from the same event.

Earlier this year, Cyrus revealed in an interview that she has no plans to embark on another arena tour. She hasn’t embarked on a full-scale tour since 2014, a trek in support of  Bangerz , which came out a decade — and four studio albums — ago. She’s played smaller (less than 10 gigs) runs,  in her backyard , and performed at dozens at festivals since then — including Glastonbury, Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza — Cyrus  told  Vogue UK  that fans shouldn’t expect a world tour for Endless Summer Vacation any time soon.

“Like singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love,” she said. “There’s no connection. There’s no safety. It’s also not natural. It’s so isolating because if you’re in front of 100,000 people then you are alone.”

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