Wednesday, May 2, 2018

"Stone In Love" by Journey

The legendary melodic rock band from San Francisco, Journey, began as an experimental outfit. Their first three records in the 70s contain overly long jams that sound like an entirely different band. The band didn't see chart success until the magical voice and melodic sensibilities of Steve Perry joined in 1978.

With Steve Perry onboard and scoring their first chart hit, "Wheel In The Sky" (#57), Journey began their trek to superstardom. They racked up so many hits in the 80s, they became the 20th most successful artist of the decade. Despite being known all over the world, they've never had a #1 hit. "Open Arms" is the closest they've come, sitting at #2 for six weeks in 1982.

Guitarist Neal Schon is the only founding member still in the band today (longtime member and keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who played in The Babys before Journey, came onboard in 1981). Schon and Cain were also involved in the side band Bad English in the late 80s. Another fun fact: American Idol judge Randy Jackson was in the band from 1986-1987.

"Stone In Love" is a well-known tune from their 1981 album, "Escape," but it never charted. "Escape" was a game changer for the band, yielding not only "Open Arms," but also "Who's Crying Now" (#4, and their first top ten hit), "Don't Stop Believin'" (#9, and saw a huge resurgence thanks to its use in the finale of The Sopranos), and "Still They Ride" (#19).


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