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Steve Perry Walked Away From Journey. A Promise Finally Ended His Silence.

By Alex Pappademas

• Sept. 5, 2018

MALIBU, Calif. — On the back patio of a Greek restaurant, a white-haired man making his way to the exit paused for a second look at one of his fellow diners, a man with a prominent nose who wore his dark hair in a modest pompadour.

“You look a lot like Steve Perry,” the white-haired man said.

“I used to be Steve Perry,” Steve Perry said.

This is how it goes when you are Steve Perry. Everyone is excited to see you, and no one can quite believe it. Everyone wants to know where you’ve been.

In 1977, an ambitious but middlingly successful San Francisco jazz-rock band called Journey went looking for a new lead singer and found Mr. Perry, then a 28-year-old veteran of many unsigned bands. Mr. Perry and the band’s lead guitarist and co-founder, Neal Schon, began writing concise, uplifting hard rock songs that showcased Mr. Perry’s clean, powerful alto, as operatic an instrument as pop has ever seen. This new incarnation of Journey produced a string of hit singles, released eight multiplatinum albums and toured relentlessly — so relentlessly that in 1987, a road-worn Mr. Perry took a hiatus, effectively dissolving the band he’d helped make famous.

He did not disappear completely — there was a solo album in 1994, followed in 1996 by a Journey reunion album, “Trial by Fire.” But it wasn’t long before Mr. Perry walked away again, from Journey and from the spotlight. With his forthcoming album, “Traces,” due in early October, he’s breaking 20 years of radio silence.

Over the course of a long midafternoon lunch — well-done souvlaki, hold all the starches — Mr. Perry, now 69, explained why he left, and why he’s returned. He spoke of loving, and losing and opening himself to being loved again, including by people he’s never met, who know him only as a voice from the Top 40 past.

And when he detailed the personal tragedy that moved him to make music again, he talked about it in language as earnest and emotional as any Journey song:

“I thought I had a pretty good heart,” he said, “but a heart isn’t really complete until it’s completely broken.”

IN ITS ’80S heyday, Journey was a commercial powerhouse and a critical piñata. With Mr. Perry up front, slinging high notes like Frisbees into the stratosphere, Journey quickly became not just big but huge . When few public figures aside from Pac-Man and Donkey Kong had their own video game, Journey had two. The offices of the group’s management company received 600 pieces of Journey fan mail per day.

The group toured hard for nine years. Gradually, that punishing schedule began to take a toll on Journey’s lead singer.

“I never had any nodules or anything, and I never had polyps,” Mr. Perry said, referring to the state of his vocal cords. He looked around for some wood to knock, then settled for his own skull. The pain, he said, was more spiritual than physical.

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As a vocalist, Mr. Perry explained, “your instrument is you. It’s not just your throat, it’s you . If you’re burnt out, if you’re depressed, if you’re feeling weary and lost and paranoid, you’re a mess.”

“Frankly,” Mr. Schon said in a phone interview, “I don’t know how he lasted as long as he did without feeling burned out. He was so good, doing things that nobody else could do.”

On Feb. 1, 1987, Mr. Perry performed one last show with Journey, in Anchorage. Then he went home.

Mr. Perry was born in Hanford, Calif., in the San Joaquin Valley, about 45 minutes south of Fresno. His parents, who were both Portuguese immigrants, divorced when he was 8, and Mr. Perry and his mother moved in next door to her parents’. “I became invisible, emotionally,” Mr. Perry said. “And there were places I used to hide, to feel comfortable, to protect myself.”

Sometimes he’d crawl into a corner of his grandparents’ garage with a blanket and a flashlight. But he also found refuge in music. “I could get lost in these 45s that I had,” Mr. Perry said. “It turned on a passion for music in me that saved my life.”

As a teen, Mr. Perry moved to Lemoore, Calif., where he enjoyed an archetypally idyllic West Coast adolescence: “A lot of my writing, to this day, is based on my emotional attachment to Lemoore High School.”

There he discovered the Beatles and the Beach Boys, went on parked-car dates by the San Joaquin Valley’s many irrigation canals, and experienced a feeling of “freedom and teenage emotion and contact with the world” that he’s never forgotten. Even a song like “No Erasin’,” the buoyant lead single from his new LP has that down-by-the-old-canal spirit, Mr. Perry said.

And after he left Journey, it was Lemoore that Mr. Perry returned to, hoping to rediscover the person he’d been before subsuming his identity within an internationally famous rock band. In the beginning, he couldn’t even bear to listen to music on the radio: “A little PTSD, I think.”

Eventually, in 1994, he made that solo album, “For the Love of Strange Medicine,” and sported a windblown near-mullet and a dazed expression on the cover. The reviews were respectful, and the album wasn’t a flop. With alternative rock at its cultural peak, Mr. Perry was a man without a context — which suited him just fine.

“I was glad,” he said, “that I was just allowed to step back and go, O.K. — this is a good time to go ride my Harley.”

JOURNEY STAYED REUNITED after Mr. Perry left for the second time in 1997. Since December 2007, its frontman has been Arnel Pineda, a former cover-band vocalist from Manila, Philippines, who Mr. Schon discovered via YouTube . When Journey was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last April, Mr. Pineda sang the 1981 anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’,” not Mr. Perry. “I’m not in the band,” he said flatly, adding, “It’s Arnel’s gig — singers have to stick together.”

Around the time Mr. Pineda joined the band, something strange had happened — after being radioactively unhip for decades, Journey had crept back into the zeitgeist. David Chase used “Don’t Stop Believin’” to nerve-racking effect in the last scene of the 2007 series finale of “The Sopranos” ; when Mr. Perry refused to sign off on the show’s use of the song until he was told how it would be used, he briefly became one of the few people in America who knew in advance how the show ended.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” became a kind of pop standard, covered by everyone from the cast of “Glee” to the avant-shred guitarist Marnie Stern . Decades after they’d gone their separate ways, Journey and Mr. Perry found themselves discovering fans they never knew they had.

Mark Oliver Everett, the Los Angeles singer-songwriter who performs with his band Eels under the stage name E, was not one of them, at first.

“When I was young, living in Virginia,” Mr. Everett said, “Journey was always on the radio, and I wasn’t into it.”

So although Mr. Perry became a regular at Eels shows beginning around 2003, it took Mr. Everett five years to invite him backstage. He’d become acquainted with Patty Jenkins, the film director, who’d befriended Mr. Perry after contacting him for permission to use “Don’t Stop Believin’” in her 2003 film “Monster.” (“When he literally showed up on the mixing stage the next day and pulled up a chair next to me, saying, ‘Hey I really love your movie. How can I help you?’ it was the beginning of one of the greatest friendships of my life,” Ms. Jenkins wrote in an email.) Over lunch, Ms. Jenkins lobbied Mr. Everett to meet Mr. Perry.

They hit it off immediately. “At that time,” Mr. Everett said, “we had a very serious Eels croquet game in my backyard every Sunday.” He invited Mr. Perry to attend that week. Before long, Mr. Perry began showing up — uninvited and unannounced, but not unwelcome — at Eels rehearsals.

“They’d always bust my chops,” Mr. Perry said. “Like, ‘Well? Is this the year you come on and sing a couple songs with us?’”

At one point, the Eels guitarist Jeff Lyster managed to bait Mr. Perry into singing Journey’s “Lights” at one of these rehearsals, which Mr. Everett remembers as “this great moment — a guy who’s become like Howard Hughes, and just walked away from it all 25 years ago, and he’s finally doing it again.”

Eventually Mr. Perry decided to sing a few numbers at an Eels show, which would be his first public performance in decades. He made this decision known to the band, Mr. Everett said, not via phone or email but by showing up to tour rehearsals one day carrying his own microphone. “He moves in mysterious ways,” Mr. Everett observed.

For mysterious Steve Perry reasons, Mr. Perry chose to make his long-awaited return to the stage at a 2014 Eels show at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn. During a surprise encore, he sang three songs, including one of his favorite Eels tunes, whose profane title is rendered on an edited album as “It’s a Monstertrucker.”

“I walked out with no anticipation and they knew me and they responded, and it was really a thrill,” Mr. Perry said. “I missed it so much. I couldn’t believe it’d been so long.”

“It’s a Monstertrucker” is a spare song about struggling to get through a lonely Sunday in someone’s absence. For Mr. Perry, it was not an out-of-nowhere choice.

In 2011, Ms. Jenkins directed one segment of “Five,” a Lifetime anthology film about women and breast cancer. Mr. Perry visited her one day in the cutting room while she was at work on a scene featuring real cancer patients as extras. A woman named Kellie Nash caught Mr. Perry’s eye. Instantly smitten, he asked Ms. Jenkins if she would introduce them by email.

“And she says ‘O.K., I’ll send the email,’ ” Mr. Perry said, “but there’s one thing I should tell you first. She was in remission, but it came back, and it’s in her bones and her lungs. She’s fighting for her life.”

“My head said, ‘I don’t know,’ ” Mr. Perry remembered, “but my heart said, ‘Send the email.’”

“That was extremely unlike Steve, as he is just not that guy,” Ms. Jenkins said. “I have never seen him hit on, or even show interest in anyone before. He was always so conservative about opening up to anyone.”

A few weeks later, Ms. Nash and Mr. Perry connected by phone and ended up talking for nearly five hours. Their friendship soon blossomed into romance. Mr. Perry described Ms. Nash as the greatest thing that ever happened to him.

“I was loved by a lot of people, but I didn’t really feel it as much as I did when Kellie said it,” he said. “Because she’s got better things to do than waste her time with those words.”

They were together for a year and a half. They made each other laugh and talked each other to sleep at night.

In the fall of 2012, Ms. Nash began experiencing headaches. An MRI revealed that the cancer had spread to her brain. One night not long afterward, Ms. Nash asked Mr. Perry to make her a promise.

“She said, ‘If something were to happen to me, promise me you won’t go back into isolation,’ ” Mr. Perry said, “because that would make this all for naught.”

At this point in the story, Mr. Perry asked for a moment and began to cry.

Ms. Nash died on Dec. 14, 2012, at 40. Two years later, Mr. Perry showed up to Eels rehearsal with his own microphone, ready to make good on a promise.

TIME HAS ADDED a husky edge to Mr. Perry’s angelic voice; on “Traces,” he hits some trembling high notes that bring to mind the otherworldly jazz countertenor “Little” Jimmy Scott. The tone suits the songs, which occasionally rock, but mostly feel close to their origins as solo demos Mr. Perry cut with only loops and click tracks backing him up.

The idea that the album might kick-start a comeback for Mr. Perry is one that its maker inevitably has to hem and haw about.

“I don’t even know if ‘coming back’ is a good word,” he said. “I’m in touch with the honest emotion, the love of the music I’ve just made. And all the neurosis that used to come with it, too. All the fears and joys. I had to put my arms around all of it. And walking back into it has been an experience, of all of the above.”

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Former Frontman Steve Perry Will Never Reunite With Journey — Here's Why He Left

Updated Aug. 29 2023, 3:51 p.m. ET

The American rock band Journey has cemented their legacy in the world of classic rock music . With power ballad songs such as "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully," the lyrics continue to be sung throughout generations.

Initially formed in the early '70s, Journey reportedly hit its commercial peak between the late 1970s through the late '80s.

In 1987, frontman Steve Perry decided to part ways with Journey. Given the impact the band had, many were shocked when they learned ties had been severed. So, why did Steve leave Journey? Keep reading to find out more.

Why did Steve Perry leave Journey?

According to iHeartRadio , Steve left Journey in 1987 and pursued a solo career, though he never reached commercial success as an individual artist. In the mid-90s, Steve reunited with bandmates and prepped for an upcoming tour. However, those plans changed after Steve found out he had a hip condition that would require surgery. But, he wanted to try alternative treatments.

“They wanted me to make a decision on the surgery,” he told Rolling Stone in a 2018 interview. “But I didn’t feel it was a group decision. Then I was told on the phone that they needed to know when I was gonna do it ’cause they had checked out some new singers.” 

Though he asked his bandmates to reconsider, they did not. “I said to them, ‘Do what you need to do, but don’t call it Journey,’” he said, adding, “If you fracture the stone, I don’t know how I could come back to it.”

The band found a new singer and the group continues to tour today. While the former lead singer was present during Journey's 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, he has not performed with the band since then.

“What they do is none of my business,” the 71-year-old told the outlet. “When I walked away from it, I did not go to any of the shows, nor did I listen to any of it.”

So, what did he do after leaving behind his music career?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Steve Perry (@steveperrymusic)

Rumors surfaced that Journey's Steve Perry was a recluse.

After parting ways with the band, Steve took a step back from the spotlight and music. “I didn’t sing in those years,” he explained to Rolling Stone . “I didn’t write music. I must have gained 50 or 60 pounds. I got a butch haircut. I just said, ‘I’m going to just become a plump kid in my hometown again.’ I’d already lived the dream of dreams and didn’t know how I could come close to being anything like what I was before.”

View this post on Instagram One late night, I was sitting in my room thinking about so many things. This song came into my mind, and it brought me some comfort. I hope it does the same for you. Stay safe, Steve A post shared by Steve Perry (@steveperrymusic) on Apr 17, 2020 at 9:02am PDT

The singer revealed that rumors started to surface of the former frontman being a "recluse with long nails." 

Finally, after several decades, Steve decided to release his third studio solo album "Traces," which was a project five years in the making.

As for fans holding out that Steve will one day reunite with his former bandmates, don't hold your breath. The singer told the outlet, "I left the band 31 f--king years ago, my friend. You can still love someone, but not want to work with them."

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The Reason Steve Perry Decided To Leave His Journey Band Members

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Key Takeaways

• Steve Perry left Journey the first time due to feeling burnt out after their final show in 1987.
• Perry left Journey a second (and final) time because of debilitating pain caused by a reported hiking accident.
• Journey continued without Perry though, finding other lead singers before ultimately reuniting and releasing new music.

Throughout the '80s, the band Journey enjoyed plenty of success. The band, which consisted of various members depending on the year and pending lawsuits, welcomed Steve Perry in 1977.

At the time, the other members of Journey included Neal Schon, Ross Valory, George Tickner, Prairie Prince, and Gregg Rolie. Though many band members came and went over the years, Steve Perry always seemed like a staple, one of the central attractions as far as drawing crowds (and rounding out the group's vocals).

But by then, Perry had launched a solo act, and at that point, he and Schon weren't getting along very well, either. That resulted in Steve leaving the band (for the first time).

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Updated April 2024: Many fans were unaware that Steve Perry left Journey because he was dealing with a debilitating degenerative bone condition . It made it hard to do daily routine activities, let alone tour. But, many fans thought that Perry was kicked out of the band so that he could be replaced by Steve Augeri. A fact that the remaining members of Journey denied. They simply believed the music was "bigger than them" and wanted to continue to tour. These days, Journey is still touring, without Perry, with Arnel Pineda on the lead vocals . Tickets are available for their tour, currently taking place in North America.

Why Steve Perry Left Journey The First Time

Steve perry left journey because he was burnt out.

As iHeartRadio explained, Perry was feeling burnt out. He said that he had "an amazing time in an amazing band," but that his last show in February of 1987 with the band had been a turning point of sorts. Setting out on his own, Perry went on to rediscover himself in a way, while his former bandmates went another direction.

Steve did come back later, however, in the early '90s. The guys reconciled, buried the hatchet, and were working on another album together. The band was even about to start touring again when Perry left the group for good.

Why Steve Perry Left Journey A Second Time

Steve perry was dealing with debilitating pain, leading him to leave journey a second and final time.

So what happened that caused Steve Perry to leave Journey a second time, this time for good? He had a good reason: UCR says Steve got hurt during a hiking accident . Rather than undergo hip surgery so that he could get back on stage (and on tour), Steve opted to quit the band. The way UCR tells it, Steve "refused" the surgery and "dredged up" memories of his leaving the band before.

But the way some fans saw it (and clearly the journalists at UCR as well), the move was a power play akin to the one Perry apparently made back in the '80s. His leaving the band at that point was a way to control Journey's fate, the publication suggested. So the second time around, the band cut ties with Perry rather than letting him drag them down.

Is Steve Perry Still Feuding With The Rest Of Journey?

The former singer has been at odds with the rest of the band for years.

Perry later related that he was both physically ill and "burnt out," noted iHeartRadio , and that after both an illustrious career as a member of Journey and a successful solo run, he was just finished. For the band's part, they soon replaced Perry with a 'soundalike' who did the job well enough, but never propelled the band to the notoriety or net worth of The Beatles .

Journey Got Back Together Without Steve Perry

Journey got back together with steve augeri and steve perry put out new music.

In 1998, the band officially announced that Steve was no longer part of Journey. After that, it would be decades before Steve got back into music again. As iHeartRadio quoted him a few years ago, "I rediscovered my love for music."

Steve released a new album in 2018, including original songs he'd written over the past 30 years. He even included a "reimagined cover" of a Beatles hit, but it wasn't the one John Lennon hated .

Has Steve Perry's Bad Blood With His Former Journey Bandmates Stopped Them From Speaking?

Former Journey lead singer, Steve Perry, has had a complicated relationship with his fellow bandmates, here's if they are on speaking terms.

After Steve Augeri replaced Perry for eight years, he too called it quits with Journey. That has not stopped the band from touring, however. The band is currently doing a North American tour with Arnel Pineda on the lead vocals. Tickets are available for purchase for dates around the US.

Source: iHeart Radio

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25 Years Ago: Why Steve Perry Left Journey for Good

Journey  lost singer Steve Perry  for a second time on May 7, 1998. The first time, back in the '80s, Perry's exit had been voluntary – the result of recent solo success and growing indifference toward the band.

Left to their own devices at the time, former bandmates Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain formed Bad English with singer  John Waite . (Perry had fired founding bassist Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith during the sessions for 1986's Raised on Radio .)

A decade mostly gone from bright arena spotlights paved the way for Journey's triumphant mid-'90s reunion. The resulting Top 20 album, 1996's Trial by Fire , swam against the current of the era's reigning alt-rock. Three charting singles, a Grammy nomination and plans for a successful comeback tour made it seem just like the good old days.

Unfortunately, those touring plans were derailed when Perry suffered a hiking accident and refused to undergo the hip surgery necessary to get him back onstage. This opened the door to renewed ill will and undoubtedly dredged up memories of the singer's late-'80s power grab for Journey's fate.

Instead of bending to Perry's whims this time, the other members of Journey banked on their fan base's renewed support and unquenchable hunger for tour dates by recruiting a Perry soundalike Steve Augeri in order to get on with business.

The band's decision appeared to have been vindicated by a successful decade-plus of touring and recording with Augeri and, later, Arnel Pineda. Perry, for his part, maintained a relatively low profile, seemingly satisfied belting out "Don't Stop Believin'" from the bleachers of his hometown San Francisco Giants' baseball stadium, and occasionally showing up as a guest singer. He's only put out one proper solo album since, 2018's Traces . (Perry released a different version of the same LP in 2020, followed by The Season , an album of Christmas standards, in 2021).

Journey joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 . Before the ceremony, Schon said he hoped Perry would perform with him again. Instead, Perry ended up taking part only in the acceptance speeches, simply commenting : "I am truly grateful that Journey is being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

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13 Things We Learned Hanging Out With Steve Perry

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

It’s a punishingly hot August day and Steve Perry is tucked into a corner table at a Lower Manhattan Italian spot taking a quick breather between a long round of radio interviews promoting Traces , his new comeback album that he spent the last five years recording in such secrecy that he made everyone on his team sign strict NDAs. He’s no more than two minutes into our conversation, barely enough time to dip a single piece of bread into olive oil and take a bite, when he stands up and announces he has to leave at once. There’s loud dance pop playing on the radio and it’s driving him crazy.

“This is very distracting,” he says, as a large, tattooed bodyguard and two publicists perched near the bar look on. “I’m hearing drums and rhythm. I have a very ADD, multi-track mind and I can’t listen to two things at once. I just hear these electronic drums. Let’s go outside even though it’s going to be a little sticky.”

With the bodyguard in tow, we head onto the street towards a park overlooking the Hudson River. It’s a complete shift from our plan for the afternoon, but Perry has never been one to stick to a script. Ignoring the desperate pleas of his bandmates, management team and fans, he walked away from Journey near the pinnacle of their success in 1987 to live a quiet life free from screaming crowds and record executives thirsty for another hit. And even when Journey-mania returned again in the mid-2000s and “Don’t Stop Believin'” became absolutely inescapable — used everywhere from the The Sopranos finale to Glee  — he refused to emerge from hiding in any way, allowing his former bandmates to reap the hefty rewards by playing about 70 shows a year with a soundalike they plucked from YouTube.

Dressed head-to-toe in black, Perry walks down the city streets, past throngs of tourists that don’t give him a second look, and attempts to explain why he turned in his rock star card over 30 years ago. “It seemed like the only thing I could do to stop some of the badness in my heart and the lack of passion for singing,” he says. “I just had to stop. I was feeling like a forced version of myself, getting into some bad habits and not connecting to my heart. I was completely deep-fried.”

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Rolling Stone published an extensive feature on Perry’s life earlier this month, but there was still a lot we learned that didn’t fit into the piece. Here are 13 of them.

1. He became interested in spiritual matters during his lost years. “I don’t attend any religious practices and I’m not religious,” he explains. “But I’ve devoted a lot of time to people like Joseph Campbell who opened the doors to all the theologists that I have opinions about now. It took a lot of open-mindedness to rewire my thinking about so many things. It needed to happen. They say that every seven years your body completely changes, that every cell in your body is no longer the same. There’s a metamorphoses. And right now, I’m more open-minded to the idea of not knowing the answers to all things.”

2. He has a crystal-clear memory of the moment they wrote “Don’t Stop Believin.'” “I know everyone has their own opinion about this,” he says. “I don’t know what Jonathan [Cain] thinks, but I remember it starting out in a warehouse in Oakland where we had a rehearsal space. I suggested we needed something with eighths on the piano because I always liked songs that began like that. It flowed from there. We were all in the room. It was me, Jonathan and Neal [Schon]. It was a true group effort. Then I went to Jonathan’s house and we wrote the lyrics together. There’s no one genius to any one moment. If you’re in a band, what you do is a group effort.”

3. Contrary to widespread rumor, he’s never suffered any vocal issues. “I have my vocal box checked all the time,” he says. “I have no nodules on it. I have a really good doctor. She sticks a camera down my nose. I call it the garden hose. It goes down to the vocal chords and then she grabs my tongue and I have to go, ‘Eeeeeee.’ She’s really able to see them well and, knock on wood, nothing wrong with my voice. The only thing is I didn’t really use if for a while, but it’s like working out when you begin using it again.”

4. His mother pushed him return to Journey in 1985 after he’d taken a long break to focus on his solo career. “I was ready to leave the group because she was so sick,” he says. “She couldn’t speak because she’d had so many strokes. She was also pretty quadriplegic at that point, but she loved my music. I asked her what she thought about it, whether I should make another solo record or go back to Journey. She said one word: ‘Journey.’ I went, ‘Are you sure? Mom, this means I won’t be around you much. Again she just said, ‘Journey.’ Then she died during the making of the record. I dedicated it to her.”

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5. The “corporate rock” label that Journey was stuck with still baffles him. “That was amazing to me,” he says. “Any band that came to America, whether it was Led Zeppelin or anybody, would incorporate in order to create a tax shelter and not leave penniless. The way to do that legally is to form a corporation. Everybody did that, but we got stuck with the label. Isn’t that fascinating?”

6. He enjoyed meeting Arnel Pineda at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2017. “He’s a sweet kid,” he says. “We talked for a while backstage. It was really fun.”

7. But he never even considered singing with Journey at the Hall of Fame. “I heard a rumor that the invitation was open,” he says. “But I’m not the singer in the band anymore. Arnel is. He’s been in the band for ten years. I just wanted to come and thank everybody for everything, including Arnel.”

8. He was the last one in Journey to give his approval for The Sopranos to use “Don’t Stop Believin.'” “I wasn’t too excited by the possibility that it might be used when someone is whacked,” he says. “Everyone else was okay with it, but I wanted to know more. So the girl who sub-licenses my music kept on asking David Chase’s people if they could tell us a little more. But since it was the last sequence in the entire show, they were a little tight with information. I told them I wouldn’t say yes unless they told me that nobody got whacked, which is how [Martin] Scorsese would have used it. So I just waited and Thursday afternoon my girl calls and says she just spoke to David Chase’s people and they told me how it ends, but I couldn’t tell anybody. They didn’t tell me the screen turns to black, but they told me everything else. And I said okay that Thursday and it aired on Sunday.”

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9. Baseball gives him the same sort of satisfaction today that he used to get from music. “The electronic aspect of music just started wearing me out,” he says. “There’s not a lot of live musicians being played on the radio anymore. But when I’m watching baseball, these guys walk out there and hit, play, catch, run…I mean, they’re just killing it. There’s no auto-tune for baseball. They have to play. The musicianship of the music industry used to be that way.”

10. If he does tour, expect to hear a lot of Journey songs. “I don’t know if a tour will happen,” he says. “Right now it’s premature to even guess. But there would be no way in the world I’d go out there and not sing Journey music too. It would be solo and Journey together. But those songs are vocally challenging. They’re challenging for Arnel and everyone else. They’re not easy. They were challenging for me when I wrote the damn melodies, but back then I was young and in my olympic singer mode. [Barbra] Streisand lowers the keys when she does her old songs. There’s nothing wrong with lowering a key We’re not spring chickens.”

11. His time out of the spotlight after he left Journey in 1987 reinvigorated him . “I went back to my hometown and reconnected with old friends,” he says. “I bought a Harley Davidson and rode it around the country roads of my youth. I let the wind hit my face and my hair blowed behind me. There were no helmet laws back then. I disappeared. I went to the fair in the summer. I went to movies. I had dinner with friends. I had relationships. I lived.”

12. Money was never really an issue after he left the band. “I wrote every single song with members of the band with the exception, I think, of one,” he says. “And those songs kept selling. I don’t eat out a lot. I only drive one car a time. I live kind of small, so financially I never really had to work. There were certainly some sweet [royalty] checks as the years went by, but I’ll tell you something else: I was probably one of the only guys who saved his money. A lot of people were living very extravagant lifestyles. I was not raised that way. My grandfather said to me when I was very young, ‘It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you save.’ So I lived small and saved my money.”

13. When pushed, he refuses to make a Shermanesque statement that he’ll never, under any circumstances, return to Journey, even though it’s highly unlikely. “The only thing I’m willing to be definitive about is that at this age I am right now, I have to do things that I feel really great about, that feel life-sustaining and give me passion,” he says. “I really want to continue to move forward. I’m not too excited about going backwards. I’m more excited about moving forward to what is next. I’ve already written a lot more new material, in fact.”

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Journey’s Jonathan Cain recalls frontman Steve Perry leaving the band for good: ‘He was fragile’

The iconic '80s rock group, currently celebrating their 50th anniversary, are the subject of a new documentary, 'journey: a voice lost . . . and found'.

Journey's Jonathan Cain reflects on rock band's struggles with fame in doc: We weren't in a good place

The legendary American rock band that dominated the music scene in the '80s is now the subject of a new documentary premiering on Reelz titled "Journey: A Voice Lost . . . and Found."

Jonathan Cain was not surprised when his bandmate Steve Perry wanted out of Journey – for a second time.

It was 1998 when the frontman, known as "The Voice" due to his powerful pipes, left the band for good. The group had soared to stardom during the 1980s with epic, sweeping tracks like "Don’t Stop Believin’," "Faithfully" and "Open Arms." 

"He was fragile," the keyboardist, 73, recalled to Fox News Digital. "When we got back together, I could tell he was in a fragile place. Physically, he was starting to get aches and pains. His voice wasn’t quite where it was years ago. He was a little leery. I think it had all taken a toll on him, after all those years."

The band is the subject of a new documentary airing Sunday on Reelz, titled "Journey: A Voice Lost . . . and Found." It explores how the group dominated the American music scene with their arena anthems and power ballads – and how Perry walked away at the height of their success.

From left to right, Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Neal Schon, Ross Valory and Steve Smith of the rock band Journey pose for a picture. (© Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG via Getty Images)

The burned-out singer, yearning to be out of the glaring spotlight, originally left in 1987, The New York Times reported. In 1996, he reunited with his bandmates, resulting in a radio hit with the Grammy-nominated romantic ballad "When You Love a Woman."

Steve Perry originally walked away from Journey at the height of their fame. (Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

A tour was planned. A second act for Journey looked promising, but that all soon changed.

It was around that time that Perry took a long hike in Hawaii and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hip while reaching the top of a mountain. The singer, then in his mid-40s, learned that he had a degenerative bone condition that required hip-replacement surgery, Rolling Stone reported. According to the outlet, Perry attempted alternative treatments to avoid going under the knife, but he was still struggling.

JOURNEY CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY: ROCK BAND MEMBERS THEN AND NOW

Steve Perry was suffering from physical ailments after he reunited with his band. (Tim Mosenfelder/ImageDirect)

Perry claimed to the outlet that the band wanted him to make a decision about the surgery quickly. Journey eventually hit the road. Perry returned to living a private life as he focused on his health.

"I think we made a really good record, ‘Trial By Fire,’" Cain reflected. "We had some great moments. But I could tell he wasn’t gung ho to go out there again. He only just wanted to do four shows and call it a day. I think [guitarist] Neal [Schon] was the one who convinced him to do a whole album. And he had a wonderful time at the studio. But when it came time to talk about touring, I could tell he was not up for it, physically and emotionally."

Steve Perry, left, and Neal Schon performing in San Francisco, circa 1978. (Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images)

For Journey, the show had to go on. They recruited Steve Augeri as a replacement for Perry, unleashing fury among die-hard fans. In the documentary, Cain said he received threats from those who insisted Perry was irreplaceable.

Journey singer Steven Augeri performs at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, on Aug. 10, 2001. (Tim Mosenfelder/ImageDirect)

"It was a big blowback," said Cain. "Some felt Journey wouldn’t be Journey without Steve Perry. That’s certainly one of the opinions that’s out there. But you know, I felt that the music was bigger than us. . . . But the fans objected. . . . They had to see it to believe it. And Steve was game for the job. He showed up and did an admirable job. He was a great entertainer and gave us eight solid years. And the ladies loved him. But in the back of my mind, I wondered, ‘What if something horrible happened? What if somebody brought a gun?’ They would leave nasty messages on my phone machine."

Jonathan Cain said he received threats from angry fans after word got out that Journey would replace Steve Perry. (Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

"I had to change my number three times," he continued. "There was a lot of anger. The fans thought we kicked Steve out, which was not true. . . . He just didn’t want to do it anymore. He was going through physical pain. . . . And it can be excruciating. All that extreme traveling and lifestyle just drains your body from the ability to heal. I think with years of touring, you pay a price for it physically. . . . It can take a toll. . . . I think Steve felt it was time to get off the train. And he’s a personal guy. He likes his personal life."

The fans needed plenty of convincing, Cain admitted.

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Jonathan Cain, left, said he supported Steve Augeri, right, as a replacement for Steve Perry. (Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage)

"Change Is hard," said Cain. "If change was easy, it wouldn’t be worth it. And at the time, our manager was very confident that we could be Journey without Steve. Neal and I had written these songs that really sounded like Journey, and Steve Perry was nowhere to be found. We wanted to prove ourselves. It just took time to get there."

Looking back, Cain said there are no hard feelings.

"I don’t have anything bad to say about Steve," he said. "He might have his difficult ways. He’s eccentric in a lot of ways. But he wanted a private life. And he was always fair with me. He was a great bandmate and a great band leader."

From left to right, inductees Neal Schon, Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain of Journey accept an award onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017, in New York City. (Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

Cain said the last time he and Perry exchanged words was at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, when Journey was inducted. Perry, now 74, did not sing.

The quest for a new singer resumed after Augeri's departure. While scrolling through YouTube videos, Schon came across Arnel Pineda, a 45-year-old Filipino club singer who did Journey covers. A stunned Pineda was flown to the U.S. from Manila to join Journey. He perfected his English by reading newspapers and using a dictionary to look up words he did not understand. In 2007, Journey announced Pineda as their new singer. He soon won over skeptical audiences.

Arnel Pineda was discovered on YouTube. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

"You could tell he had the pipes," said Cain. "[But] . . . he had to learn 20 years of Journey and sing it in a couple of weeks. He didn’t have a lot of studio chops. But he stepped up to the game. . . . I coached him through it. I made sure he was going to the gym every day to get that lung power. I got him a dialect coach. He studied the lyrics, and we sang in the evenings. We changed a lot of things about his approach to singing Journey. And then we threw him in the lion’s den, so to speak, for his first performance. And he did an exceptional job."

FORMER JOURNEY FRONTMAN STEVE PERRY REVEALS WHY HE LEFT BAND AT ITS HEIGHT

Arnel Pineda, left, and Neal Schon perform during Journey's 50th Anniversary Tour at Moody Center on Feb. 22, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (Rob Loud/Getty Images for Journey)

Today, Journey are celebrating their 50th anniversary and have been touring with Pineda, 55. In 2018, Perry released a solo album, "Traces," with a deluxe version debuting in 2019. In 2021, he released a Christmas album, "The Season." This year, he announced that he would be singing background on Dolly Parton’s new album .

"’Don’t Stop Believin’’ is about getting on the midnight train, and you can go anywhere – everything is possible," Cain reflected. "That’s what we accomplished together. We soared, and we made it work. We did the best that we could. And I’m proud of what we’ve done, all of us."

"Journey: A Voice Lost . . . and Found" premieres June 25 at 9 p.m. on Reelz. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.

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When and why did Steve Perry leave Journey?

Journey helped set the soundtrack for the 1970s and 1980s, with hits that are still remembered as some of the best songs ever written. However, the band couldn’t count on lead singer Steve Perry for most of their existence.

Journey was formed in 1973, a union of several experienced musicians trying to create a new sound experience. As the jazz fusion project didn’t work as well as Journey had hoped, the band was forced to experiment with new genres and invite new members. The version of Journey we all know and love began in 1977 when Perry joined as the band’s lead singer and songwriter. As the frontman, he made history, using his vocal talents to turn hits such as “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Open Arms” into the anthems of a generation.

Though Journey’s explosive success established them as one of the biggest musical influences of the 1980s, Perry left the band in 1987. It would be the first time, but not the last, that Perry and Journey went in different directions.

Why did Steve Perry leave Journey in 1987?

In 1987, Journey was at the peak of its success. Since Perry joined the band, they released hit after hit, attracting millions of fans to their live performances worldwide. However, to fans’ despair, Perry left Journey to pursue a solo career. 

The lead singer position gave Perry the attention he needed to ensure he would succeed in his solo career. Furthermore, since Perry had creative differences with Journey, he could focus his creative energy by flying solo without making concessions or negotiating with other band members. In addition, things were somewhat tense within the band before Perry’s departure, with the lead singer firing founding bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith during the recording of 1986’s Raised on Radio — the two would return to the band in 1995. Hence, his departure wasn’t entirely shocking. Still, Perry’s absence impacted Journey.

Journey would remain popular without Perry, but they never repeated the success of their 1980s run. Likewise, Perry is mainly remembered for the songs he wrote or co-wrote for the band, not for his solo career. Unsurprisingly, though, he would rejoin the group in 1995, a new partnership that lasted only three years.

Why Steve Perry and Journey parted ways in 1998?

With Perry back in the folder, Journey launched a new studio album in 1996, Trial by Fire . The album got three charting singles and a Grammy nomination , with fans eager to see the band hitting the road again for a new world tour. The tour plans derailed after Perry’s ski accident in the same year. He needed hip surgery to get back on stage in time for the tour, which he refused to get. His Journey companions waited for him until 1998, post which they decided the band’s future was more important than the selfish decisions of a single person.

The same year Journey hired voice-lookalike Steve Augeri, forging a successful partnership until 2006. In 2007, singer Arnel Pineda became the band’s lead singer, a role that is still his. As for Perry, he showed up on a few special presentations with the team but has primarily remained in the shadows. His story is a bitter reminder that a band is bigger than its frontman, no matter how important they think they are.

Source disclaimer : The article above is partly based on the book The Untold Story of Journey by Neil Daniels.

Steve Perry Explains Why He Disappeared After Leaving Journey

By Andrew Magnotta

August 26, 2018

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has been something of a white whale in the world of classic rock for the last 20 or so years.

While Perry hasn't necessarily been avoiding the public eye, he hasn't sought it out either. Since leaving Journey officially in 1996 due to a crippling hip injury that prevented him from touring, Perry has been surprisingly absent from music.

His lack of creative output was a stark change from his time in Journey, a band that was seemingly either on tour or in the studio for the entirety of the 1980s. 

Perry has done few interviews over the last 24 years, but as the singer prepares to revamp his career with, Traces , his first solo album since 1994, he's taken the added step of explaining himself — he was physically unwell and burnt out.

“The truth is, that I thought music had run its course in my heart,” Perry explains in a statement on his website . “I’d had an amazing time in an amazing band, and then the chance to express myself as a solo artist too. But I had to be honest with myself, and in my heart, I knew I just wasn’t feeling it anymore.”

Just hearing music brought back the feelings of exhaustion and lack of control he felt at the end of his tenure in Journey, Perry says. 

"For a long time, I could barely even listen to music," he said. "My last show with Journey was February of 1987. Then one day, it hit me that I couldn't do this anymore. I felt as if I had to jump off this merry-go-round — this big beautiful mothership that we had all worked so hard together to build."

But his love for music has returned as strong as ever. Perry says Traces is the last "30 years into 10 songs," and he began writing with no expectations. 

"I   started writing and recording these songs with the creative freedom that I was the only one who would ever hear them," he says. "Along the way, I rediscovered my love for music. Each track represents traces of my past, but is also a hopeful look into the future. I invite you to listen with an open heart.” 

Nine of the songs on Traces are originals. The tenth track is Perry's reimagined cover of The Beatles ' "I Need You."

The album is due out October 5. Fans can pre-order it   here .

Listen to the lead single, "No Erasin'" below.

The singer has yet to announce a tour or any live performances. But after so many years off the road, you can't blame him for dipping his toes in the water before diving in. 

Photo: Getty Images

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Why Did Steve Perry Leave Journey?

Best known as a pop-rock super star, Steve Perry was the face of Journey. From 1977 to 1987 as well as 1995 to 1998, they had their most successful period with songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Any Way You Want It”, “Faithfully”, “ Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) ”, “Wheel in the Sky” and so much more.

Escape , their seventh and most successful album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and included some of their most popular singles like “Open Arms”. In 1983, their second most successful album was Frontiers (and my personal favorite), which also reached No. 2 and made them more successful in the UK.

Up until 1987, Steve has been in and out of the band, which seems outrageous because they all fit together so well. Why would a band so successful break it off? Well, despite what everyone wants and what seemed like fate for them to stay together until the end of time, life had other plans.

Why Steve Perry Left Journey

Before diving into the details, you should probably know Steve Perry left Journey first in 1987 and then again in 1998 for good. So there are actually two reasons and two times he left the band.

He first left in 1987 to pursue a solo career and again in 1998 after feeling pressure to undergo a hip replacement surgery by his bandmates so they can go on their Trial by Fire tour.

Why Steve Left in 1987

Steve originally left Journey in 1987 to pursue a solo career. He did come out with “Oh Sherrie” and “Foolish Heart” in 1984, which were incredibly successful as the music video for “Oh Sherrie” played on   MTV ‘s heavy rotation.

But Steve’s is mother became ill and passed away during the production of the Raised on Radio . Can you imagine trying to put together an album on the other side of the country while your mother is sick? So just after their tour to promote the album, Steve decided to leave Journey, mentioning “he didn’t feel the passion” for writing and recording music.

In 1988, Steve started working on another solo album called Against the Wall, which was never finished but there were several songs that made it on his 1998 solo compilation Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased ). He also worked with Bon Jovi to perform Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me” and the Four Tops’ “Reach Out”. He also reunited once with Journey at the Bill Graham tribute concert, “Laughter, Love and Music” on November 3, 1991 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, performing “Faithfully” and “Lights”. But it would be seven years before Perry entered the spotlight again.

On July 19, 1994, he came out with his second album, For the Love of Strange Medicine . It was certified Gold by the RIAA in September 1994 with the first single “You Better Wait” received radio air play, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and making No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Steve Perry Rejoined Journey in 1995

When the public found out that Steve had rejoined Journey in 1995, it was a dream come true! In 1996, they recorded Trial by Fire , which was highly successful, entering the Billboard charts at No. 3 and going platinum before 1997. But shortly before their tour, Perry suffered a hip injury while hiking in Hawaii and deemed unable to perform. He was then diagnosed with a degenerative bone condition which required a hip replacement. Hesitant to rush into surgery, Steve decided to postpone the tour.

Why Steve Perry Left Journey in 1998

After waiting 17 months after Steve’s injury, the bandmates were done waiting and members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon approached him with an ultimatum. If he didn’t undergo hip replacement surgery so they could proceed with the Trial By Fire tour, they would find a replacement singer.

Still hesitant to undergo the surgery and taken aback by his bandmates, Steve Perry permanently left Journey in 1998. He said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2018, “They wanted me to make a decision on the surgery. But I didn’t feel it was a group decision. Then I was told on the phone that they needed to know when I was gonna do it ‘cause they had checked out some new singers…I said to them, ‘Do what you need to do, but don’t call it Journey.’ If you fracture the stone, I don’t know how I could come back to it.” And that was it.

Steve Perry’s Career After Leaving Journey

Journey’s lead singer was replaced by Steve Augeri of Tall Stories and they began their tour.

But this didn’t mean Perry was sitting at home like a bum. He released his own album Greatest Hit + Five Unreleased compilation album on December 15, 1998, which included an original Alien Project demo as well as some songs from his unfinished Against the Wall album.

He also recorded two songs for the Warner Bros. movie Quest for Camelot. In 2001, during an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music , he stated that he “never really felt like [he] was part of the band”. His former manager, Herbie Herbert, reacted by saying “That’s like the Pope saying he never really felt Catholic.” Sad, right?

2000 and Onward

Steve Perry appeared on two songs by Kauai, Hawaii, artist Tommy Tokioka’s album Happy to Be Living where he sang backup vocal on “I Wish You Were Mine” and “An Angel Above Me” in 2000. He also collaborated with the musician Jeff Golub on a song entitled “Can’t Let You Go” for Golub’s Soul Sessions album that was released in 2003. Perry provided vocals on the mostly instrumental jazz track.

On January 21, 2005, Steve appeared with the other members of Journey at a ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, after previously saying it wasn’t likely he would ever stand with the band again. He said that it was a good experience and that it was unlikely he would rejoin. He also said, “never say never, unless you mean never, nevertheless” when the issue of returning to Journey was mentioned.

Steve also co-produced “A Brand New Start”, which was a track on a solo album for former Ambrosia lead vocalist David Pack in 2005. He also provided co-vocals and background vocals for the track, which was among many songs he and Pack wrote together shortly after 9/11.

Steve’s two solo albums, Street Talk (1984) and For the Love of Strange Medicine (1994) as well as his Greatest Hits CD were remastered and released on October 3, 2006. Sony Legacy also released Playlist: The Very Best of Steve Perry on January 13, 2009.

In 2014, Steve joined the indie rock band, Eels , during the encore and sang several songs at three concerts in 2014.

On April 7, 2017, he appeared alongside Journey ex-bandmates for the first time since 2005 at their induction into the rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He gave an acceptance speech, but chose not to perform with the band out of respect for their lead singer Arnel Pineda.

On October 5, 2018, Steve released another album, Traces and a US Deluxe Edition was released at Target and has five bonus songs. He described the album as “cathartic” and an “emotional expression” about the loss of a loved one.

On December 17, 2018, he released a cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

Most Recent Work

Steve Perry’s most recent work was on December 4, 2020, where he released an acoustic, stripped down companion album to Traces . It was titled TRACES ( Alternate Versions & Sketches) , which features re-worked acoustic versions of eight of his favorite songs from Traces , but with a bigger focus on his vocals.

What Do You Think of Steve Perry?

As sad as it was to hear Steve leave Journey in 1987 and again in 1998, I give him credit for doing what he needed to do. Because even if he had stayed, the popularity of the band probably would have declined because his heart and soul wasn’t in it, like he said. So I do think he made the right decision by leaving, or he might have devastated the other bandmates’ futures.

Personally I don’t think Journey was the same without Steve Perry, but it will always be one of those, “it was good while it lasted” kind of situations, kind of like Van Halen . I support Steve in all his endeavors and decisions and enjoy watching him come out with new tracks on social media!

So what do you think of Steve Perry? Was he wrong for leaving or do you support his decision too? Let me know in the comments below!

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Rock And Roll Garage

Why steve perry left journey and what he has done since then.

Steve Perry was born in Hanford, California in 1949 and started his career in music in 1970. He first achieved fame as a member of Journey, band he joined in 1977, four years after the band’s foundation and after they had already four albums released.

“Infinity”, the first album he did with the band, released in 1978 changed completely not only his life but also the future of the band. In following years they released some of their best-selling albums and became one of the biggest bands in the world. They stayed together until 1987 when the band entered a hiatus, returning in 1995. However, after three years Steve Perry decided to leave the band for good.

But why did the singer decide to leave the band and what he did in the meantime until he returned to music in 2018?

Usually when a musician leaves a band, the most frequent reasons are fights, money or to pursue a solo career. But Steve Perry simply decided to leave Journey because he felt like he had lost his passion for music and singing. The musician felt like nothing in his professional career made sense anymore. He was still dealing with the loss of his mother and felt like he needed to reconnect again with who he was.

He recalled that in an interview with AXS TV in 2020 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). “Well, it was a combination. The passion for music had left me, I could not find the honest passion for singing and because of that I was stepping into some, dare I say ‘party behaviors’ to argument my frustrations. Then I think my voice was also suffering. Everything started to suffer for me and it did not help restore my passion for music.”

“So eventually the feeling just got very clear to me that I needed to just stop. I didn’t know where I was going. I didn’t know what I was going to do or where I was going to go. All I knew was that I couldn’t keep doing what I’m doing. I need to just stop, because this is not going anywhere good. Certainly drugs and drinking were part of it, of course. I mean, that came with the times.”

He continued:

“It’s a funny thing about success, when you do get a chance to finally live that dream that you wanted when you were 8, 9, 12 years-old. I’m not complaining, I’m just telling you my heart. When you finally get that and you’re loving it, it’s kind of at some point a little bit of a luster and starts to wear off over and over again. You keep touring and keep turning the same wheel over and over again. I think it leaves room for the opportunity of other enhancements, dare I say, to replace some of the lack of luster that it once had. (So) I walked away,” Steve Perry said.

What Steve Perry did after he quit Journey?

He became a recluse person, living in his hometown. He first bought a motorcycle and decided that it was going to be his new passion. “(After that) I bought a Harley-Davidson in Visalia, California, because my hometown was Hanford, California, about 18 miles away. I would drive that Harley in the summertime. (I haven’t been into motorcycles before), I decided that was going to be my new passion. So I bought this Harley and there was no helmet law back then and my long hair would be flying 20 feet in back of me, you know (laughs).”

“I rediscovered parts of my life that I completely forgot about. So I was reconnecting with my childhood and actually reconnecting with the loss of my mother, that I lost, she died before. I went out to visit other departed relatives pretty regularly. Just to try to reconnect with my life where it is right at that time. Because when you re-enter the earth’s atmosphere of your life after a ride like that you gotta do something. You got to ground yourself somehow. So I did a lot of that,” Steve Perry told AXS TV.

A promise made to his late girlfriend made him return to music

He didn’t sing, recorded or wrote any music for years. It was only after meeting Kellie Nash, a psychologist who would become his girlfriend that he decided he would go back again to music. They met in 2011 and quickly fell in love. He first saw her on TV, in a show one of his friends worked on. One day when they were hanging out he asked who was the woman who had appeared on the show that day and asked for her e-mail. After that they went out to dinner and had a deep connection. As he told Good Morning America in 2018 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage),  “It was more than love, it was inseparable. I never experienced the word connection before honestly. It was beautiful.”

In an interview with 106.7 in 2018 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), he talked about the promise Kellie asked him to make. She didn’t want him to be isolated again if something happened to her. “This is a deep thing, honestly. Kellie and I had conversations that were the types that I never had in my life. When we got together she already had been fighting breast cancer for three years but you would never know. She looked amazing, ‘stunning’ is the word. So I just had a connection with her that I never had before in my life. So there were conversations that were pretty intense, like one night she said: ‘Honey, I need to ask you something. I need you to make me a promise.”

Steve Perry continued:

“If something ever happens to me, make me a promise that you won’t go back into isolation. Because when I met her I was pretty isolated though (I was) riding my motorcycle, going to movies and the fair comes to town every summer. I was living life but wasn’t talking to people like yourselves, recording, singing, wasn’t writing music. I didn’t miss it (those things) because I wasn’t doing it,” Steve Perry said.

She sadly passed away, a victim of cancer, one year later in 2012. In 2017

Journey reunion and Perry’s return to music

Journey briefly reunited on stage when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Steve Perry was present at the ceremony with the band but he did not perform with them. However, one year later, in 2018 he released “Traces”, his first solo album in 24 years.

Many songs were inspired by the loss of Kellie and since then he released two more albums. One is an alternative version of “Traces” (2020) and in 2021 “The Season”, a Christmas album was released. He had already released a Christmas EP called “Silver Bells” in 2019.

I'm a Brazilian journalist who always loved Classic Rock and Heavy Metal music. That passion inspired me to create Rock and Roll Garage over 6 years ago. Music has always been a part of my life, helping me through tough times and being a support to celebrate the good ones. When I became a journalist, I knew I wanted to write about my passions. After graduating in journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, I pursued a postgraduate degree in digital communication at the same institution. The studies and experience in the field helped me improve the website and always bring the best of classic rock to the world! MTB: 0021377/MG

STEVE PERRY Discusses Leaving JOURNEY - "I Could Not Find The Honest Passion For Singing, I Was Stepping Into Some Other Party Behaviours To Augment My Frustrations"; Video

March 6, 2023, a year ago

news classic rock steve perry journey

In the video below from AXS TV, former Journey singer, Steve Perry, talks about what pushed him to leave the band. For the best odds visit  Bet Winner .

Steve Perry is among the artists scheduled to appear on Dolly Parton's new album, entitled Rock Star, and due for release in the fall of 2023.

It was previously announced that Rock Star will include Dolly's take on Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven", The Rolling Stones' "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction", Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird", Prince's "Purple Rain", and Journey's "Open Arms".

Speaking about the new record on daytime talk show, The View, Parton revealed that guests on the album will include The Beatles legend Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, John Fogerty, Pink, Brandi Carlisle, Cher, and Perry.

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The Real Reason Steve Perry Is Getting Paid Not To Sing For Journey

Life is a journey, not a destination. But the band Journey always seemed destined to succeed with Steve Perry at the helm. As Rolling Stone recounts , prior to his joining the group, Journey released three albums that didn't get very far commercially in the 1970s. But Perry had an otherworldly set of pipes that could make listeners turn on the waterworks. His first album with the band , 1978's Infinity , resulted in their first hit, "Wheel in the Sky." From there, the sky seemed like the limit.

Throughout much of the 1980s, life became a highway run into the midnight sun, thanks to schmoopy classics like "Faithfully" and "Open Arms." Rolling Stone writes  that that band "basically invented the power ballad." Naturally, Perry's voice supplied much of the power. Journey sailed on together but drifted apart, and Perry left the group in 1987. His solo career seemed destined for disappointment, and in 1996, he returned to Journey. With the magic rekindled, the group got nominated for a Grammy. Then life took an awful turn.

Journey stopped believin' in Steve Perry

Not long after Steve Perry came back to Journey with open arms, another body part got in the way. While hiking in Hawaii he experienced horrendous pain in his hip. He soon discovered he had a degenerative bone disorder and needed hip replacement surgery. Afraid to have an operation, Perry put it off in favor of ineffective alternative treatments. The band began to get impatient. Speaking with Rolling Stone , Perry recalled , "They wanted me to make a decision on the surgery. But I didn't feel it was a group decision. Then I was told on the phone that they needed to know when I was gonna do it 'cause they had checked out some new singers."

As another goodbye loomed, Perry asked the band not to call itself Journey when they replaced him. But the group kept its name and moved on with "Perry soundalike" Steve Augeri. That marked the end of Steve Perry's journey with Journey but not the end of his profits. Ultimate Classic Rock explains  that when Perry parted ways with the band in 1997, certain stipulations were added to their contract.

Guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain took over the rights to Journey's name, but Perry would receive "50 percent of the net income due Schon or Cain, whichever is higher, from the first two post-Perry Journey albums." For the third album, Perry would receive 25 percent, and for every album after he would get 12.5 percent. Moreover, Journey couldn't claim "less than 20 percent of the total amount earned" as net income. And just to be sure fans knew what they were missing, album labels had to indicate that the band had a new lead singer.

Steve Perry Is Still Making Millions From Journey, Even Though He Quit The Band In 1998

• Steve Perry continues to make money from his association with Journey even though he left the band years ago.
• Perry received a lucrative sendoff from Journey when he left, earning a percentage of the net income from post-Perry albums and live appearances.
• Steve Perry's net worth is estimated to be $70 million, although it is unclear exactly how he earned that money.

Steve Perry, charismatic former frontman for Journey, had a stellar career with that band from 1977 to 1998. His vocal talent and down-to-earth stage persona made him and their hits such as "Open Arms" and "Separate Ways" extremely popular. Rolling Stone ranked Perry 76th among its greatest 100 singers ever. He won more kudos from a former bandmate. According to Biography , "Other than Robert Plant, there's no singer in rock that even came close to Steve Perry ," commented Randy Jackson, previously an American Idol judge and Journey bassist ( he's also been very busy since both of those gigs ).

Perry made his exit from Journey long ago, allegedly because he was "feeling burnt out." What many fans of his may not realize, however, is that he continues to make money — lots of it, reportedly — from his association with the band even though he left it years ago. What arrangement does Perry have from his long and successful connection with Journey that still adds to his net worth?

Related: The Real Reason Howard Stern And Journey's Steve Perry Absolutely Hate Each Other

Steve Perry Helped Make Journey Famous With Hits Like "Don't Stop Believin'"

Born on January 22, 1949, in Hanford, California, Perry developed an interest in music and singing as a teenager. He headed for Los Angeles at 18, determined to make his reputation as a vocalist .

Perry didn't hit it big right away, though. He got in at the ground level of the music industry, singing for television ads and radio and latching onto some little-known bands. It was a real, albeit very modest, start. Nevertheless, Perry began to despair that his dream of big-time rock stardom would ever materialize.

His mother did not give up on him, however. She urged Perry to hang in there a little longer. Her faith in him proved justified when Journey's manager at the time invited him to audition for the band's lead singer role. As music history proved, he and Journey were a terrific fit.

They reeled off a string of hits that seemed to define the era; "Oh Sherrie," "Send Her My Love," "Who's Crying Now," and "Any Way You Want It." But one tune became Journey's classic anthem- "Don't Stop Believin'." Its toe-tapping rhythm and upbeat message have made it a perennial fan favorite.

It had humble beginnings. According to New York Magazine via Songfacts , Perry reportedly said that he came up with the lyrics while he was sleepless in a hotel room in Detroit one night. The song gained traction, eventually turning up in the film Monster (2003), in a slew of TV shows like South Park and King of the Hill , and perhaps most memorably, in the last episode of The Sopranos in 2007.

Related: 10 Celebs Reveal Their Favorite Rock Bands

Steve Perry Left Journey In 1998, But He Didn't Leave Empty-Handed

When Perry left the band, he sounded downcast, relating that he felt "wrung out" and really empty of music post-Journey , something that scared him. But Perry's lucrative sendoff from Journey may have eased his angst.

In 2020, an agreement between Perry and two members of Journey, Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon, was reported by UltimateClassicRock.com. The three rockers apparently "licensed the Journey mark," per a 1986 deal between them. When Perry decided to leave the band, he was let out of that agreement at a price that made him far richer.

According to the outlet, Perry received "a sum total of 50 percent of the net income due Schon or Cain, whichever is higher, from the first two post-Perry Journey albums." He was reportedly also slated to rake in 25 percent of the income from Journey's third album sans Perry, and 12.5 percent of the income from each Journey LP thereafter.

Related: Lindsey Buckingham Claimed This Fleetwood Mac Album Was A Disaster To Make

Perry also allegedly nabbed a piece of the money from Journey's live appearances, too, earning half the net income from the first two tours post-split, with a fraction of subsequent tours, too (a tenth tour, for example, would still net Perry 12.5 percent, per various sources.

Arrangements were reportedly put in place to pay Perry a slice of the "net income" from Journey's tours, which encompassed "tour merchandise, tour sponsorship income and any tour support payments." Altogether, it totaled an enviable payday for the legendary singer.

Steve Perry Is Worth $70 Million Today, And Makes Multiple Millions Per Year

Steve Perry's whopping net worth has been gauged at $70 million , according to Celebrity Net Worth. It's not clear exactly when or how he made that money. Fans can assume that most of his wealth stems from his time with Journey, although exactly how much is uncertain.

His numerous money-making endeavors reportedly include acting, investments, endorsements, licensing, and merchandise sales.

He has made a handful of solo records and clearly seems not to have forsaken music, even though his glory days fronting Journey are long past. What Perry does next musically is anyone's guess, but he told Forbes in 2018, "The only compass I have is the one in my chest and that's the one I listen to." Hopefully it will lead Steve Perry to produce more phenomenal music.

Def Leppard, Journey and Steve Miller: Older, rawer and 100% banging

Def Leppard, Journey and Steve Miller Band ruled the airwaves of their day with three different approaches to hitting the mainstream where it lived, each one earning a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as quintessential people’s bands for slightly different people.

And those differences were plain as day in downtown Phoenix when their co-headlining Summer Stadium Tour hit Chase Field for an all-star hit parade on Friday, Aug. 23, that presented the acts in order of appearance on the pop charts (if perhaps by sheer coincidence).

It started with Steve Miller Band, a psychedelic blues-rock combo out of San Francisco who started making waves in 1968 with “Living in the U.S.A.” before taking the mainstream by storm with a string of timeless rock hits in the ‘70s after topping the pop charts with “The Joker,” their first of three chart-topping entries on the Hot 100, two of which were brilliant.

Miller’s hit years overlapped a bit with Journey’s, to be fair. And Journey’s second-biggest album, “Frontiers,” hit the streets in 1983, the year Def Leppard stormed our shores as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal boys most likely to succeed with “Photograph,” the first of three Top 40 hits from “Pyromania.”

Not only did the songs get newer as the night progressed, the bands got louder as we made our way from Miller's unassuming old-school rock ‘n’ roll revival moves to the glam-metal stripper-pole anthem that brought the concert to a rousing climax, “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” with Journey as a sort of stepping stone between the two.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

And yet, it all made sense, to an extent, as a nostalgic trip down memory lane for anyone whose tastes were shaped by what rock radio was playing from those early Miller singles to when Journey and Def Leppard had their final mainstream pop hits, back when rock ‘n’ roll was still the people’s music, which it hasn't been in far too long.

Here's a look at all three acts.

Steve Miller still rock'n me, baby, decades after 'The Joker'

Steve Miller got the party started with a hit-filled set that opened on a very trippy note with "Space Intro," the keyboard-driven headphone-music masterstroke that welcomed unsuspecting listeners to "Fly Like an Eagle," Miller's biggest-selling studio release.

From there, he made his way through nearly every song on "Greatest Hits 1974-78," including "Rock'n Me," "The Joker," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Swingtown," "Jungle Love," "Take the Money and Run" and "Jet Airliner."

Miller sounded as good as he looked in his blue dinner jacket and frosty white hair, his phrasing of the lyrics somewhat looser than it was on "Greatest Hits" if no less focused on getting the lyrics across, from "Feed the babies who don't have enough to eat/ Shoe the children with no shoes on their feet/ House the people livin' in the street" to "I really love your peaches/ Wanna shake your tree."

And his guitar work was just as impressive, from the psychedelic majesty of "Serenade" to the gritty post-Chuck Berry approach of "Take the Money and Run." The man remains a criminally underrated lead guitarist. He's got it all — character, phrasing, tone and chops.

He also proved to be a charming presence in his interactions with the crowd, especially when he shared the story of a phone call he received from Eminem, who recently interpolated the Miller hit "Abracadabra" on a song called "Houdini."

His wife took the call.

"Maybe I'm in some kind of beef with Eminem," he recalled thinking. "These young people, they have beef."

His set lasted just over an hour, but could've gone longer, allowing time for — if I may — "Space Cowboy," "Heart Like a Wheel" and "True Fine Love" at the very least. See also: "Wild Mountain Honey" and "Dance, Dance, Dance."

Journey rise above the drama to deliver a hit-filled set

There's so much drama going on in Journey at the moment with founding guitarist Neal Schon publicly feuding with Jonathan Cain, the Babys' keyboardist who joined the fold in 1980 and contributed such Journey classics as "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully" to the mix, it's amazing that they made it through the set.

Cain recently filed a lawsuit against Schon over the use of Journey's credit card.

Schon responded with a statement this week, as reported by Stereogum , that read, in part, "I am determined to take the high road and push all this aside for the moment to focus on our fans, the tour and all who give so much to make things happen."

Whatever lingering resentment may exist between the two, which one imagines is just north of insurmountable, you never would have guessed there was dissension in the ranks as they made their way through a bevy of classics in Phoenix.

I'm not saying there was anything resembling chemistry between the warring factions, but they handled it like pros. Schon's playing on the songs that were clearly important to Cain was beyond respectful, faithfully recreating the parts he played on the original recordings when it mattered most and never doing anything that really felt like showboating.

He had plenty of other opportunities to flex his chops and he took full advantage of those opportunities, as he should. He's a brilliant guitarist and the only member of the band who's been there all along, through all the changes. I would pay to see him solo with no promise of an actual song.

The other recent drama in the Journey camp has been the recurring reports that their singer, Arnel Pineda, who joined in 2007 after being discovered on YouTube in a Journey cover band, isn't singing the way he was in 2007.

He was far from flawless Friday night in Phoenix. There were times when he was clearly struggling with his pitch, a situation made worse by the technical difficulties that caused him to stop singing, three songs in, on "Stone in Love," which then evolved into a lengthy jam as Pineda tried to figure out what happened.

But Journey recovered because that's who they are. Among the highlights of their set was drummer Deen Castronovo (whose drum fills were fantastic) stepping in on lead vocals on "Lights." And when Pineda was actually firing on all cylinders, which was frankly more often than not? The man was every bit as awe-inspiring as he was 2007, when he made it feel like Journey could perhaps survive without Steve Perry.

He's 17 years older now, but aren't we all?

Def Leppard Summer Stadium Tour setlist: Every song they played in Phoenix

Def Leppard treat the fans to Rock of Ages

Def Leppard followed Journey with a set that made it clear that we were dealing with the day's first proper heavy metal band, a point made abundantly clear from the opening strains of "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)," the first of seven songs they played from "Pyromania."

As Joe Elliott told the crowd before following "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)" with "Rocket," "Tonight, we're gonna celebrate an album that just passed its 40th birthday, 'Pyromania.'"

Before the night was through, they'd made their way through seven songs from "Pyromania," including "Photograph," "Rock of Ages," "Foolin'" and "Too Late for Love."

Their sound was massive, muscular and well-equipped to get you through the fact that Elliott can't always hit the notes he hit in 1983 the way he hit those notes in 1983.

It's just a harsh reality of singing really high on records that define you. When I spoke to Sammy Hagar just the other day about this very thing, he told me he needed to tour on the songs he recorded with Van Halen now because "I painted myself into a corner years ago singing these songs."

And that makes perfect sense. Joe Elliott, now 65, is clearly in if not the same boat then at least the same ocean. To be fair, I haven't heard him sound this good in years when he was on. His performance on "Love Bites," in particular, was stronger than it's been in years. And he remains a charismatic presence.

There were moments in the unplugged portion of the set that played directly to the strengths he now possesses, but the frequent attempts to turn those moments into rousing singalongs rarely generated the response he clearly thought they would, especially on "Two Steps Behind," one of their bigger '90s hits.

Still, they rallied in the end, bringing the set to a crowd-pleasing finish with the Broadway-worthy "Rock of Ages" and the far-from-faded "Photograph" before returning for an encore that ended, as you had to know it would, with "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

His bandmates rocked with the conviction you'd expect throughout, from the two-guitar army of Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen to powerhouse drummer Rick Allen, a true force of nature.

And Elliott proclaiming Campbell, Collen and bassist Rick Savage "three of the greatest voices in rock" may have been more sweet than accurate but the wall of harmonies they recreated on Def Leppard's greatest hits played a huge role in bringing those records to life in concert.

By the time Def Leppard brought the concert to a close with "Pour Some Sugar on Me," we'd heard 28 Top 40 hits spanning two decades, from "The Joker" through "Don't Stop Believin'" to "Two Steps Behind." It was the "Rock of Ages" Elliott promised, still rollin', rock 'n' rollin'.

Steve Miller Band setlist: All the songs they played in Phoenix

Here’s every song the Steve Miller Band played on the Summer Stadium Tour with Def Leppard and Journey at Chase Field in Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 23:

• “Space Intro”
• “Swingtown”
• ”The Stake”
• “Living in the U.S.A.”
• “Fly Like an Eagle”
• ”Abracadabra”
• “Rock n’ Me”
• “Jungle Love”
• “Take the Money and Run”
• “The Joker”
• “Jet Airliner”

Journey setlist 2024: All the songs they played in Phoenix

Here’s every song Journey played on the Summer Stadium Tour with Def Leppard and the Steve Miller Band at Chase Field in Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 23:

• “Only the Young”
• “Be Good to Yourself”
• Guitar solo
• “Stone in Love”
• “Ask the Lonely”
• “Send Her My Love”
• “Faithfully”
• “Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'”
• “Open Arms”
• “Line of Fire”
• “Dead or Alive”
• “Wheel in the Sky”
• “Lights” (with drummer Deen Castronovo on lead vocals)
• “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
• “Don't Stop Believin'”
• “Any Way You Want It”

Def Leppard setlist 2024: All the songs they played in Phoenix

Here’s every song Def Leppard played on the Summer Stadium Tour with Journey and the Steve Miller Band at Chase Field in Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 23:

• “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”
• “Armageddon It”
• “Love Bites”
• “Just Like '73”
• “Comin' Under Fire”
• “Too Late for Love”
• “Die Hard the Hunter”
• “Two Steps Behind” (Joe Elliott solo acoustic)
• “This Guitar” (acoustic)
• “Bringin' On the Heartbreak” (acoustic/electric version)
• “Switch 625”
• “Rock of Ages”
• “Photograph”
• “Pour Some Sugar on Me”

Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on  Facebook  as Ed Masley. Email him at [email protected].