1973-1987, 1996-Neal SchonGuitar, vocals1973-
Ross Valory Bass1973-1986, 1995-2020
Gregg RolieKeyboards, vocals1973-1981
Prairie PrinceDrums1973-1974
George TicknerGuitar1973-1975
Aynsley DunbarDrums1974-1978
Randy JacksonBass 1985-87, 2020-
Steve PerryVocals1977-1987, 1996-1998
Steve SmithDrums1978-1986
Jonathan CainKeyboards1981-
Steve AugeriVocals1998-2006
Jeff Scott SotoVocals2006-2007
Arnel PinedaVocals2007-
Deen CastronovoDrums1998-2015
Jason Derlatka Keyboards2020-
Narada Michael WaldenDrums2020-
The group started out as more of a prog-rock band with the vocals downplayed. For their first three albums, Gregg Rolie was their singer as well as their keyboard player. Their label, Columbia wasn't happy with their poor sales numbers, and pushed the group to get tighter and more radio-friendly. Adding Steve Perry did the trick; he joined for their fourth album, Infinity, and set them on a course for stardom. Rolie left in 1981.
They broke up in 1987 and re-formed in 1996 for the album Trial By Fire. Perry developed a degenerative hip condition which prevented the band from touring for the album, but against his wishes, the band went on without him, touring with Augeri instead.
A wildly popular band, Journey was often dismissed by critics as disposable pop. Grammy voters clearly disdained them, giving them only one nomination (Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "When You Love A Woman" in 1997 - they lost to "
Free As A Bird" by The Beatles).
They were eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, but weren't let in until 2017, when it was abundantly clear that people were still listening to Journey and would be for quite some time.
In 1999, they toured with new lead singer Steve Augeri. Augeri grew up listening to Journey albums, and did lots of Journey covers before joining the band. He sounds almost exactly like Steve Perry. The first recording with Augeri was for the Armageddon soundtrack.
Randy Jackson, who later became a judge on American Idol, played bass for Journey in 1986 on the Raised On Radio album. He also toured with them that year and the year after.
As a teenager, Schon turned down an opportunity to join Eric Clapton's band Derek and the Dominos. He did later join Santana.
Smith's drumming has broadened over the years partially due to his involvement in the jazz group Vital Information.
Prior to joining Journey, Perry sang in many commercials. One of them was for a Chicago Amusement Park.
Schon is the founder of Schon Guitars, which markets and sells instruments he designed himself. They are manufactured by Jackson.
Dunbar played with Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Lou Reed and David Bowie before Journey. He would later join Jefferson Starship.
Perry's band Alien Project was almost signed to CBS Records in 1978, but then their bass player was killed in a car crash. For Perry, this led to landing the vocalist spot in Journey.
Schon met Rolie while they were both members of Santana. Between their times in the two bands, Schon played with others in the San Francisco area, while Rolie opened a restaurant with his father in Seattle.
When the group formed, they held a contest on the San Francisco radio station KSAN-FM to come up with the name of the band, the winner getting tickets for life to their shows. The names terrible - stuff like Rumpled Foreskin and The Mound Pounders. John Villanueva, who worked in the band's management, came up with the name Journey, and they created a fake winner for the contest, an imaginary listener named Toby Pratt.
Valory had been bassist for the Steve Miller Band and Prince had played with the Tubes. He decided after a few gigs with Journey that he wanted to stay with the Tubes.
According to Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry brought a Bible into the studio when they recorded their last album with Perry, Trial By Fire (1996). Cain later found religion and married the renown megachurch preacher Paula White in 2015. "This really opened my eyes," Cain said of Perry's affirmation of faith. "I was still in the wilderness, but God was planting seeds in me."
Schon and Cain formed Bad English in 1987 with John Waite, who was lead singer in Cain's pre-Journey band The Babys. They had a #1 hit in 1989 with "
When I See You Smile."
Before taking the name Journey, they were known as The Golden Gate Rhythm Section.
The first Journey song released after Steve Perry's departure was "
Remember Me" for the
Armageddon soundtrack in 1998 with Steve Augeri on vocals.
In late 2007 Arnel Pineda was announced as their new lead singer. He got the job after posting a video on YouTube of him performing in a Journey cover band in The Philippines called The Zoo.
They opened the Rolling Stones' 1981 North American tour on September 25 in Philadelphia.
Neal Schon pronounces his surname "sh-on" (not "sh-own"). He says he's more concerned with folks spelling his first name correctly - he's often listed as "Neil."
