25:18Oldies Music · Stories Behind the SongsJourney: From Backup Band to Don't Stop Believin'
Episode: Journey — From a Backup Band to 'Don't Stop Believin''
From Sora Music Rewind · 18 min ·This episode plays on YouTube — the button opens it in a new tab.
About the Journey Band History
The Journey band history is a story about a group that began as somebody's backup plan and grew into one of the best-selling rock bands America ever produced. Along the way it nearly fell apart more than once, and each time help came from an unexpected place.
This episode follows Journey from a San Francisco side project in 1973 to the voice it found on YouTube in 2007. The dates, chart positions and sales figures below were checked against chart records and reliable reference sources.
How Journey Began in San Francisco
A Backup Band With No Singer (1973)
Guitarist Neal Schon joined Santana in 1971, at just 17. He has said that Eric Clapton also asked him to join Derek and the Dominos around that time, but he chose Santana. There he played alongside keyboardist and singer Gregg Rolie.
In 1973, Schon and Rolie teamed up with Herbie Herbert, who had worked on Santana's management team. Their first idea was modest: a group called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section that would back established Bay Area artists. That plan did not last long, and the band soon became Journey.
Their first show was at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on New Year's Eve 1973, in front of 10,000 people. The early sound leaned toward long, jazzy instrumental jams.
Three Albums and a Warning (1975–1977)
The debut album, Journey, came out in April 1975 and entered the Billboard chart only at No. 138. Look into the Future (1976) and Next (1977) did a little better on the chart, but sales stayed small.
Columbia Records was close to dropping the band. The label asked Journey to change its style and add a real frontman. In 1977 the band hired singer Robert Fleischman, who toured with them that year and co-wrote "Wheel in the Sky." By the fall he was gone. Manager Herbie Herbert said he was let go over personality differences, while Fleischman has said he left over management complications.
Steve Perry and the Breakthrough (1977–1981)
Steve Perry nearly quit music before Journey ever called. After the bassist in his band, Alien Project, was killed in a car accident, Perry went home to Lemoore, California. He has said his stepfather gave him work at a turkey ranch during that hard stretch.
When Herbie Herbert phoned, it was Perry's mother who urged him to take the call. Perry quietly joined the tour, introduced as a roadie's cousin from Portugal so Fleischman would not be alarmed. During a soundcheck in Long Beach, he sang with the band while Fleischman was offstage, and Herbert named him the new lead singer. His first show was on October 28, 1977, in San Francisco.
The first album with Perry, Infinity, arrived in January 1978. It reached No. 21 and was later certified triple platinum, the band's real breakthrough. In 1980 Gregg Rolie left to start a family, and he suggested Jonathan Cain of the Babys as his replacement.
Why Don't Stop Believin' Became Bigger Than the Band
Escape and a Song That Breaks the Rules (1981)
Escape came out in July 1981 and went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In 2021 the RIAA certified it Diamond, for ten million copies sold in the United States. Frontiers followed in 1983 and peaked at No. 2.
"Don't Stop Believin'" was the second single from Escape, released in October 1981. It reached No. 9 on the Hot 100. The song does something unusual: its famous chorus does not arrive until about three minutes and twenty seconds in, near the very end.
The song had a remarkable second life. It became the best-selling digital track originally released in the 20th century, with more than seven million downloads by 2017, and in 2024 the RIAA certified it 18 times platinum.
When Did Journey Nearly Lose Its Voice?
Trial by Fire and Perry's Exit (1996–1998)
By 1996 the classic lineup had reunited. Trial by Fire entered the Billboard 200 at No. 3 and went platinum, and its single "When You Love a Woman" earned a Grammy nomination.
Then, while hiking in Hawaii, Perry hurt his hip. Doctors found a degenerative bone condition that needed a hip replacement, and he was reluctant to rush into surgery. Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon finally told him that if he did not have the operation, the band would hire another singer so it could tour. Perry chose to leave Journey in 1998, and the album never got a supporting tour.
In a 2001 episode of VH1's Behind the Music, Perry said he had never really felt like part of the band. Herbie Herbert strongly disagreed. Two men saw the same years very differently.
Two Singers in Nine Years (1998–2007)
Steve Augeri took over in 1998 and sang with Journey until July 2006, when vocal problems ended his run. Jeff Scott Soto stepped in that same month, and the band announced his departure in June 2007. Once again, Journey had a famous catalog and no one at the microphone.
Who Saved Journey? The Arnel Pineda Story
A Video From Manila (2007)
Arnel Pineda was born in Manila in 1967 and spent years singing in cover bands, including several years performing in Hong Kong. In 2006 he formed a band in the Philippines called the Zoo. A fan and friend, Noel Gomez, posted many of their covers on YouTube, including Journey songs.
Neal Schon heard Pineda sing "Faithfully" in one of those videos. On June 28, 2007, Schon reached out through Gomez. Pineda first thought the email was a hoax. After his friend convinced him it was real, he wrote back, and shortly afterward the phone rang with Schon on the line.
In August 2007, Pineda flew to Marin County, north of San Francisco, for a week of auditions. On December 5, 2007, Journey announced him as the band's new lead singer. Their first album together, Revelation, debuted at No. 5 in June 2008.
Don't Stop Believin' Finds a New Generation (2007–2009)
That same year, before Pineda was hired, the song gave Journey a lift of its own. In June 2007, "Don't Stop Believin'" played in the famous final scene of HBO's The Sopranos, and digital downloads soared.
In 2009, the cast of Glee sang it to close the show's first episode, and their version reached No. 4 on the Hot 100. A song from 1981 was suddenly being sung by teenagers who had not been born when it first played on the radio. In 2017, Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Why the Journey Story Still Matters
Journey's history is full of near misses. A label almost let them go. A future star almost stayed home. A singer in Manila almost ignored an email. Each time, someone picked up the phone.
That may be why "Don't Stop Believin'" still lands the way it does. It is a song about holding on, from a band that kept finding its way back.
Where were you the first time you heard "Don't Stop Believin'," and does it still take you back to that moment?
Sources and Further Reading
Topics in This Story
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