Steve Perry

by Greg Prato
If only one singer could be selected as the most identifiable with 80s arena rock, it would have to be Journeys Steve Perry. Born Stephen Ray Perry in Hanford, CA, on January 22, 1949 (to Portuguese parents), Perry was raised in another California town, Lemoore, during which time he worked at his stepfathers turkey ranch. But by the age of 18, Perry wanted to try and fulfill his rock & roll dreams, so he relocated to Los Angeles. The singer paid the bills by lending his vocals to radio and TV advertisements, as well as working as an engineer at Crystal Studios. In addition to singing, Perry was also a drummer and involved in several different bands during the 60s/70s, including such obscure local acts as the Nocturns, Dollar Bills, Sullies, Ice, Pieces, and Alien Project, the latter of which was on the verge of signing a recording contract when the groups bassist died in a car accident, promptly leading to the groups breakup.
Dejected, Perry gave up on music completely and returned back to Lemoore to work once more at his stepfathers turkey ranch. But at his mothers insistence, Perry decided to give music another try. Just as he came to the realization, the manager of the prog rock/fusion act Journey, Herbie Herbert, contacted Perry to see if hed like to try out for the lead singer spot in the group. Perry was eventually welcomed into the band and Journeys sound shifted away from their early indulgent style and toward a more focused mainstream rock sound. The move paid off; over the course of several albums in the late 70s (1978s Infinity, 1979s Evolution, and 1980s Departure), the Perry led version of Journey became one of the top U.S. arena rock bands. Founding keyboardist Gregg Rolie was replaced by former Babys member Jonathan Cain shortly thereafter, which would result in Perry finding a perfect songwriting partner. Just when it appeared as though Journey couldnt get any more popular, Journey scored two of the early 80s biggest rock records back to back — 1981s Escape and 1983s Frontiers — which confirmed what fans had known for several years: that the group members were the undisputed kings of arena rock (as the two albums spawned such massive hit singles as Dont Stop Believin, Whos Crying Now, Open Arms, Separate Ways, and Faithfully).
While Journey was on a brief break from touring and recording around this time, Perry issued his very first solo album in 1984, Street Talk, which unsurprisingly sounded almost identical to Journey and spawned a sizeable hit single with Oh Sherrie (as well as another minor hit, Foolish Heart). Journey regrouped in 1986 for Raised on Radio and although the album was another sizeable hit, it was noticeably not up to snuff when compared to their previous stellar releases. Sensing this themselves, Journey quietly broke up shortly thereafter. Little was heard from Perry subsequently, as a sophomore solo effort slated for release in 1988, Against the Wall, was ultimately shelved. Journey remained out of commission for several years while a pair of compilations, 1988s Greatest Hits and 1992s boxset Time 3, proved to be steady sellers. Perry finally got around to issuing a second solo album, For the Love of Strange Medicine, exactly ten years after his solo debut.
1996 saw Journey regroup for a new studio recording, Trial by Fire, and a proposed tour. But shortly before the tour was to get underway, Perry discovered that he had a degenerative hip condition, which effectively squashed all plans for a reunion tour (Perrys unwillingness to get corrective surgery right away ultimately led to his ousting from the group, as Journey would soldier on with Perry clone Steve Augeri behind the mic). Perry contributed a pair of tracks to the soundtrack for the 1998 Disney animated film Quest for Camelot before a Perry compilation, Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased, was issued later the same year. Perry was interviewed in the early 21st century for an episode of VH1s Behind the Music that focused on Journey, during which the singer told his side of the story of his ousting from the group and the happenings behind the scenes. In addition to his work with Journey and as a solo artist, Perry has lent his vocal talents to recordings by such other artists as Sammy Hagar, Jan Hammer, and Kenny Loggins.