Journey: The Biggest Classic Rock Band Ever?
by Bryan Reesman on Jul.08, 2009, under Music Musings, Pop & Rock
Journey back in the day with Steve Perry.
Sounds absurd? It isn’t. Not totally.
Melodic rockers Journey have sold boatloads of records (an estimated 75 million) since vocalist Steve Perry joined the group back in 1977, not to mention plenty of concert tickets. Even their short-lived reunion with their famous frontman in 1996 did not derail them. The San Francisco quintet has had three singers since Perry’s departure and can still play to crowds of 10,000 people or more, effectively warding off the frontman curse that befalls any superstar group that loses its “voice”. On top of all that, Journey’s 2008 album Revelation (a Wal-Mart exclusive) even hit #5 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and sold over 1,000,000 copies in America. Classic rock dinosaurs? Far from it.
More importantly, Journey’s songs have become pop culture touchstones that work everywhere, from major video games like Rock Band to TV shows. When The Sopranos used “Don’t Stop Believin’” for its series finale in June 2007, the song shot to the top of the iTunes chart and become the site’s biggest selling download ever, reaching the 2 million mark as of last November. The same tune, along with “Any Way You Want It,” has been used in the new Broadway jukebox musical Rock of Ages. And it is also sung by a high school glee club in the finale to the pilot episode of Glee, a charming Fox TV series due to air in September. (And by the way, what is “Don’t Stop Believin’” about anyway? Despite being an inspirational song for many — the first stanza seems like the lyrical rough draft for Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” — the rest of it is essentially snapshots of everyday people’s lives with little characterization.)
At any rate, it’s all about perception. While heavier bands like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin have probably sold two to three times as many albums as Journey (we won’t include Elvis or The Beatles here since they trump everyone), downloads and individual songs are how you reach people these days. The band is doing big business that way, and many of their instantly hummable, melodic tunes are tailor made for mass media consumption. I don’t mean that as a diss. While I generally can’t stand their hit ballads, I think that Journey actually write a lot of great rock songs that often spotlight stellar musicianship, and their timeless quality has helped their music endure. The fact that they are undergoing a massive resurgence simply adds to their legend and should keep their fanbase growing for years to come. Like it or not, disbelievers.
Journey today with Arnel Pineda.
6 Comments for this entry
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Inside the world of Bryan Reesman.
Bryan Reesman is a veteran entertainment journalist who has contributed to over 100 media outlets including the New York Times, Playboy, E! Online, American Way, Fandango, Grammy, Stage Directions and Metal Edge. He has written liner notes for AC/DC, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Filter, Toto and many others. Always seeking out new things, he does not have enough time in the day to watch, read, listen to or imbibe all of the art he loves.
All written material on this site is © 2009-2010 by Bryan Reesman.
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September 11th, 2009 on 2:10 pm
Great article!
We love Steve Perry! Just to show you how much…please visit our website:
TheOtherMrsPerry.com
September 24th, 2009 on 6:24 pm
I agree wholeheartedly. If people that are only familiar with their hits (or dirty dozen) dug deeper into their catalog, I think they would find many well written gems in there that could have been just as popular.
October 5th, 2009 on 7:35 pm
I was watching Oprah today(10/05/2009) and loved the new JOURNEY… What an amazing voice…
October 6th, 2009 on 2:11 am
I also just watched Oprah and was so blown away by the unforgettable voice. I’m here looking for more. What a touching voice.
October 6th, 2009 on 8:26 pm
I watched Oprah yesterday & could not believe the voice on Arnel Pineda- he seems like such a nice guy
also.
October 8th, 2009 on 2:31 pm
So glad I tape Oprah or I would have missed this. What a throwback to younger days. Journey sounds just the same. I hope they come to one of the Temecula, CA area casinos for a show. I’d buy the first 4 tickets.
Its curious why positive is often looked at as geeky. Isn’t the great goal in life to be happy?
Best of luck to them.