JOURNEY is one of the most popular American rock bands of all time, creating some of the best-known songs in modern music. They have continued to tour and record into the 21st century, and have never stopped creating vital music. Since the group’s formation in 1973, the band has earned 19 Top 40 singles and 25 Gold and Platinum albums. The band’s Greatest Hits album is certified 15 times Platinum, bringing Journey into the elite club of Diamond-certified album-holders. Journey is re-energized with the line-up of Neal Schon (guitars, backing vocals), Jonathan Cain (keyboards, backing vocals), Ross Valory (bass, backing vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums, percussion, backing vocals), and Arnel Pineda (lead vocals).
Journey’s rock ‘n’ roll saga started more than 35 years ago in the San Francisco Bay Area. Columbia Records signed the group in November 1974, and each of the band's first three albums—Journey (1975), Look Into the Future (1976), and Next (1977)—charted higher than the previous release. The band embarked on a grueling touring schedule, staying on the road nine months per year performing music that Schon has referred to as “a rock ‘n’ roll version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.”
Journey’s fourth album, Infinity, was their first with Steve Perry, and was produced by Roy Thomas Baker (Rolling Stones, Queen, The Cars). It immediately went Platinum after its April 1978 release, remaining on the charts for more than two years, and has sold more than three million copies to date.
In 1978, Journey brought their former drum roadie Steve Smith into the fold, adding his expert jazz-fusion chops to their signature sound for 1979’s Evolution, which would become their second million-selling album. In October of that year, Journey scored their first Top 30 single with “Lovin’, Touchin', Squeezin'.” Keeping up a prolific output in the studio and on the road, the band waited less than a year to release Departure, which became their first Top 10 album and boasted the lead single “Any Way You Want It,” which reached #8 on the Billboard album chart. A subsequent live double album, Captured, became their fourth consecutive Platinum disc.
1981’s Escape was the band’s first #1 album and spent more than a year in the Top 40, eventually becoming certified eight times Platinum. That album produced three Top 10 hits that have become the best-known songs in Journey’s repertoire: “Don't Stop Believin',” “Who's Crying Now” and “Open Arms.” The latter track, which marked the first songwriting collaboration between Cain and Perry, quickly became the band’s signature song and would years later be covered by many artists.
By the early 1980s, Journey had become bonafide superstars. In 1983, Frontiers reached #2 on the Billboard album chart, held back from the top spot only by Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Between 1983 and 1986, the band landed seven Top 20 hits, including "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)," "Girl Can't Help It" and “Only the Young,” their song for the film Vision Quest.
In 2006, Neal Schon found Journey's singer Arnel Pineda when he discovered a YouTube video of Pineda singing with a Filipino cover band called the Zoo. Pineda’s tone, power, and ability to sing a wide variety of material—including a couple of Journey classics—impressed Schon. After watching all the available videos he could find with Pineda, Neal made an excited midnight phone call to share the news with his bandmate Cain. Soon thereafter, Schon personally contacted Pineda, who initially thought it was a prank and didn’t believe that he was talking to a founding member of one of the biggest bands in rock history. But six weeks later, after spontaneously singing a Journey song for Philippines immigrations officers to prove the reason for his trip, Pineda arrived in San Francisco to meet with Journey. Within a few songs, he had secured the job.
Journey introduced Pineda to the world as their official new singer with the release of their 14th studio album, Revelation, which marked the band’s biggest first-week sales in more than a decade, debuting at #5 on the Billboard 200 in June 2008 and taking the top spot on the Independent Albums chart. Revelation earned the band their 11th Platinum album certification to date, leading The New York Times to declare that "the band…feels alive." Journey toured the world for two years in support of Revelation, with more than a million fans attending the shows.
The group’s success with Pineda led to another album of brand new material, Eclipse. Produced by Kevin Shirley and co-produced by Schon and Cain, the new album features Pineda’s songwriting contributions for the first time, solidifying the strong chemistry that the singer was just beginning to formulate on Revelation.
The 2011 Eclipse World Tour was one of the band’s most successful tours ever, drawing nearly a million fans and ranked in the Top 15 Tours of the year. Journey was awarded the prestigious “Legend Of Live Award” at the 2011 Billboard Touring Awards in honor of the band’s significant and lasting contributions to live music and the touring business, and in acknowledgement of their commitment to the fans and the art of performing live.
2011 also marked the 30th anniversary of Journey’s classic anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The song is the #1 digital catalog song in history, with sales of more than 5.4 million in the U.S., and was memorably used in the electrifying series finale of HBO’s The Sopranos in 2007. But the song reached another level of stratospheric success in 2009, when it was covered by the cast of FOX's wildly successful series Glee and became the best-selling song from the show. Three decades after its original release, “Don’t Stop Believin’” has reached a new class of young fans to become a huge anthem for a whole new generation.
“The world is so ready for us,” states Schon. “Things are opening up everywhere we go. Journey is a world band now.”
Multiple generations are welcoming this legendary band in 2012, as Journey continues to bring their signature sound of classic hits and new favorites across the country on tour with Pat Benatar, featuring Neil Giraldo, and Loverboy.
The band is firing on all cylinders and making sure their fans will never stop believin’.
For more information, visit www.journeymusic.com.
Neal Schon was born on an Air Force Base near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family soon after moved to Trenton, New Jersey. Neal picked up his first instrument around the age of five. He was constantly surrounded by jazz and blues due to his parents' musical talents. Neal practiced the oboe, keys, and of course guitar. When he was still young, his family moved to San Francisco, where Neal has lived for most of his life. At the age of 15, Neal was asked to join the world famous band Santana and remained as a guitarist in the band for two years. Soon after, he formed Journey. Neal has earned the reputation of being one of the world's greatest guitarists of his time.
After performing, writing, and recording with some of the best-known bands of the ’80s, keyboardist and longtime member Jonathan Cain can look back and reflect on a successful career. With Journey, the song "When You Love A Woman" was nominated for a Grammy. He has received two of the most prestigious BMI Most Performed Song of the Year songwriter awards for over two million or more radio plays of “Open Arms” and “Who's Crying Now.”
Ross Valory was born February 2nd in San Francisco, CA. Ross has had an illustrious and respected musical career. Prior to Journey, one of the first bands Ross performed in was the “great lost psychedelic band” Frumious Bandersnatch. Soon after, Ross played with the legendary Steve Miller Blues Band. And then, he joined Neal Schon in the formation of Journey.
Deen Castronovo was born in Westminster, CA. Deen discovered the drums at age five and played his way through a long list of highly acclaimed bands. At 13, he had learned every song on Journey's album, Infinity. Deen cites Steve Smith, Neil Peart, and Terry Bozzio as his greatest influences. He has released an instructional video entitled "High Performance Drumming". Deen's vocals are as impressive as his accomplished drum skills. Deen's discography includes albums with Bad English, Hardline, Ozzy Osborne, Steve Vai, Wild Dogs, Paul Rodgers, and many more. Deen has been touring around the world and recording with Journey for over 10 years.
Arnel Pineda, born in Sampaloc, Manila, in the Philippines, began singing at age five. His parents encouraged him to enter singing contests, and from a young age on, he has been recognized for his outstanding vocal abilities. On December 5, 2007, Pineda was announced as the new lead singer of Journey. He mentions that joining the legendary band was a dream come true for him. He states, “It's so exciting to sing with one of the best bands in the world.” Arnel's grace and spirit, along with his amazing talent, are now being shared worldwide. It's well deserved for this humble and extremely talented man. Arnel now resides in Quezon City in the Philippines.
Learn more about Arnel here.