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Journey music biography continued...

and saw an ever-changing lineup through the years. The only constant factor was guitarist Neal Schon (born February 27, 1954), a music prodigy who had been a member of Santana in 1971-1972. The original unit featured Schon, bassist Ross Valory, drummer Prairie Prince (replaced by Aynsley Dunbar), and guitarist George Tickner (who left after the first album). Another former Santana member, keyboard player and singer Gregg Rolie, joined shortly afterward. In 1977, the band added frontman Steve Perry. The following year, the new-look Journey debuted with Infinity, which went platinum on the strength of two hit singles, "Wheel in the Sky" and "Lights," which became known as "the high school prom ballad." Journey racked up hit after hit over the next several years, playing sold-out venues around the world. Their commercial peak came with 1981's Escape, which featured "Don't Stop Believin'," "Open Arms," and "Stone In Love" and sold a phenomenal 9 million copies.



After the success of Escape, Perry departed to make a solo album, but when he returned to the group, Journey was in disarray due to internal disagreements and infighting. By the time their next album, Raised on Radio was released (1986) several of the group's members had jumped ship and Journey disbanded shortly thereafter. In 1996, they attempted a comeback with Trial By Fire, which featured the sound of a decade earlier, thankfully sans techno remixes of these '80s hits. Though the comeback was short-lived, the band continues to play their classics to this day on the oldies road show circuit with Steve Augeri, a Steve Perry sound-a-like, performing lead vocalist duties. Meanwhile, their 1988 Greatest Hits album has sold over ten million copies. One observer has said that the album should be put in a time capsule along with Pac-Man and Ronald Reagan, so that future generations can better understand this era in American history. For those who love musical nostalgia, Journey is irresistible.