Journey at Hard Rock Live
Power balladeers and arena rock favorites Journey return to Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Thursday, September 24 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 10 at noon.
Journey have sold more than 47 million albums in the United States and more than 80 million albums, worldwide The band has had 18 Top 40 singles, six of which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and their signature song, “Don’t Stop Believing”, is the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history, at more than two million downloads.
Guitarist Neal Schon formed Journey Northern California in 1973. A previous member of Santana, Schon recruited fellow Santana member Gregg Rolie, former Steve Miller Band bassist Ross Valory and guitarist George Tickner. They enlisted drummer Prairie Prince, a member of the Tubes, and the all-instrumental act began performing as the Golden Gate Rhythm Section. After a radio contest to choose a new name, the band emerged as Journey.
The band saw several personnel changes over the years beginning with the addition of British drummer Aynsley Dunbar in 1974 and departure of Prince. Then, Tickner departed leaving the band with just Schon on guitar.
Each of the band’s first three albums – Journey (1975), Look Into the Future (1976) and Next (1977) – charted higher than the previous release. But sales were not as strong as the label had hoped and the band was asked to hire a full-time lead singer. (Rolie had handled vocals from behind his keyboards).
Journey
Enter a young vocalist named Steve Perry and the fourth album, Infinity, which quickly went platinum after its 1978 release. The album remained on the charts for more than two years, peaking at #21, and would ultimately sell three million copies. Shortly thereafter, Dunbar left the band to be replaced by Steve Smith. Evolution, which would become their second million-selling album, was released in 1979. It featured Journey’s first Top 30 single with “Lovin, Touchin’, Squeezin’.” Only 11 months later, the band registered their first Top 10 album with Departure, which featured the single, “Any Way You Want It.” The song reached #8 on the Billboard album chart. A live double album, Captured, followed, becoming their fourth consecutive disc to go platinum.
Before the band returned to the studio Rolie departed, to be replaced by Jonathan Cain of the Babys. Adding Cain to the songwriting mix with Schon, Perry and Valory would result in Journey scoring the biggest hits of their career, Escape (1981). The album was the band’s first #1 and would eventually be certified eight times platinum, spending more than a year in the Top 40. That album produced three of the best -known songs in the Journey canon: “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which hit #9; “Who’s Crying Now” at #4; and “Open Arms,” which spent six weeks at #2 in 1982.
With the advent of MTV, Journey’s star only continued to rise. One of the few 1970s rock bands to successfully make the transition into the video age, the follow-up to Escape, Frontiers, sat at #2 on the Billboard album chart in 1983. The album that kept them from the top slot was Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time during the vinyl era.
Between 1983 and 1986 the band landed seven Top 20 hits, among them “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” and “Girl Can’t Help It.” In early 1985, their track for the film Vision Quest, “Only the Young,” hit #9. A year later, Raised on Radio was released and it hit #4, spending almost seven months in the Top 40. The band toured with bassist Randy Jackson, who would years later become a judge on American Idol, and drummer Mike Baird.
The group disbanded in 1989, but reunited briefly in 1993, sans Perry, for a Bay Area concert honoring their former manager. Perry, Schon, Cain, Smith and Valory reunited one last time for 1996’s Trial By Fire. That yielded the #3,hit single “When You Love a Woman,” which would garner the band their first Grammy nomination. For health reasons, Perry could not tour and the members of Journey went their separate ways.
Ultimately, Schon, Valory and Cain decided the band would forge ahead. Steve Augeri was brought in as lead singer and Dean Castronovo, a member of Bad English, replaced Smith on drums. Together, the new lineup recorded “Remember Me” for the Armageddon soundtrack. Arrival, Journey’s 11th studio album, was released in April 2001. A 30th anniversary tour followed the release of Generations in 2005. A year later, Jeff Scott Soto replaced Augeri, and in 2008 Journey introduced a new singer to the world, Arnel Pineda, with the release of their 14th studio album, Revelation.
Tickets cost $150, $110, $80 & $60*; all seats are reserved and available at the Hard Rock Live Box Office, open Monday – Saturday from noon to 7pm and on Sunday – only open on event days at noon. Tickets also are available at all Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open one-hour prior to show start time. *Additional fees may apply.
About Hard Rock Live
Hard Rock Live, a spectacular state-of-the-art facility has quickly emerged as the entertainment capital of South Florida. Attracting music, comedy and sports fans, this 5,500-seat indoor arena further expands the ultimate entertainment experience at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. For more information please visit www.hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com
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