Journey is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1973 by guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Gregg Rolie, both former members of Santana, along with bassist Ross Valory and drummer Prairie Prince under the management of Herbie Herbert. Schon had joined Santana at age seventeen and built his reputation as one of the Bay Area's most gifted guitarists before co-founding what would become one of the best-selling rock bands in history. The band's first three albums — Journey (1975), Look into the Future (1976), and Next (1977) — were progressive rock and jazz fusion oriented, commercially modest but critically respectable. The decisive transformation came with the addition of vocalist Steve Perry in 1977, whose soaring, emotionally intense tenor gave the band a commercial and melodic identity that would define their peak years completely.
The Steve Perry era produced an extraordinary run of platinum albums and arena rock anthems. Infinity (1978), produced by Roy Thomas Baker of Queen fame, went triple platinum and launched Lights and Wheel in the Sky. Evolution (1979) and Departure (1980) continued the momentum, with keyboardist Jonathan Cain joining from The Babys after Rolie's departure and adding a crucial third songwriting voice alongside Schon and Perry. The creative chemistry among Schon, Perry, and Cain reached its apex on Escape (1981), which went to number one on the Billboard 200, sold nearly ten and a half million copies in the US alone, and produced Who's Crying Now (number four), Don't Stop Believin' (number nine), and Open Arms (number two for six weeks). Don't Stop Believin' — co-written by Perry, Schon, and Cain, with the title drawn from words of encouragement Cain's father had given him as a struggling musician on the Sunset Strip — became in 2009 the best-selling catalog track in iTunes history among songs not released in the 21st century. Frontiers (1983) sold ten million copies and produced Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), Faithfully, and Send Her My Love, all top 40 hits. Between Escape and Frontiers, Journey was arguably the biggest rock band in America.
After Raised on Radio (1986) and the subsequent tour cut short by the death of Perry's mother, the band went on hiatus. Perry rejoined for Trial by Fire (1996), which sold nearly two million copies. But a degenerative hip condition made touring impossible for Perry, and he was replaced by Steve Augeri in 1998. When the closing scene of The Sopranos used Don't Stop Believin' in 2007, the song's digital downloads surged dramatically and reinvigorated public interest in the band at the exact moment they needed a new vocalist. Neal Schon found Arnel Pineda — a Filipino singer leading a Journey cover band called The Zoo — through YouTube videos and invited him to join as lead vocalist in December 2007. The story was documented in the PBS Independent Lens film Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey. Pineda has since become the band's longest-serving frontman, bringing an extraordinary vocal range and an emotional connection to the music that earned him genuine acceptance from the band's fanbase.
Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, with inductees including Schon, Cain, Valory, Perry, Rolie, drummer Aynsley Dunbar, and drummer Steve Smith. They have sold over 100 million records worldwide, appear on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and remain one of the most consistently active touring acts in rock. The band announced a Final Frontier farewell tour in the mid-2020s with Pineda continuing as lead vocalist.
Wayne Dennon photographed Journey as the most-viewed artist in the entire waynedennon.com archive — a distinction that reflects both the band's enduring popularity and the depth of Wayne's documentation of their live performances. Journey onstage is a study in arena rock done at its highest level, and Wayne's images capture exactly why this band has been filling the largest venues in America for five decades.
