The MOST BADA$$ Rock Song of 1983 Also Had THE WORST MUSIC VIDEO of the Decade! | Professor of Rock

0:00 it's the voice that saved an underperforming jam band and kicked off an arena Rock Revolution after three hitless albums in the 70s this legendary band they're on the chopping block but the addition of an unknown singer it changed everything it transformed them into one of the biggest rock acts of all time from Stadium shaking anthems to soering ballads their music it dominated Airwaves and it defined an era becoming the soundtrack of a generation in this Evolution episode you got a song that broke every rule in the book and is now the number one song ever as well as the most epic rock song to be made into the most cringeworthy music video and the song that almost made this guitarist puke and it became their band's biggest

0:45 hit ah the band is here to tell the stories with me coming up next on professor of rock hey music junkies professor of rock always here to celebrate the greatest artist and the greatest song of all time you know if you ever ate a bowl of Mr tea cereal you're going to dig this channel of deep musical Nostalgia a pity the fool make sure to subscribe below right now I know that you'll find something to dig on here also go become a member at professor of rock.com to get exclusive videos full interviews and to participate in my live streams so it's time for another episode of our series Evolution on this show we tell the story of a band's career through five defining tracks these may not be the band's most

1:31 popular songs and they may not even be my personal favorites but each of these songs will take you from the beginning to the end of a band's journey and showcase the evolution of their sound and their artistic Direction speaking of Journey today we're featuring that band one of my favorites with an emphasis on the career of the legendary voice himself Steve Perry with interviews with a band we're going to get right into it here we go the story of Journey's Evolution begins in 19 1973 in San Francisco when a group of EX Santana members guitarist Neil sha and keyboardist Greg Ry they formed a band with guitarist George tickner basis Ross Valerie and drummer Prairie Prince originally called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section the group rebranded themselves journey by the end of the year this

2:17 early version of the group featured a jazz infused progressive rock sound heavy on improvisation and instrumental solos now joury dropped their stitle debut album in April of 75 it sold a modest 100,000 copies then their next album look into the future that followed in 76 and next in [Music] 1977 sales for all three albums were really disappointing though so far the band had faed the land a single in the H 100 so by 197 77 Journey label Columbia Records they were losing patience and

3:03 they demanded the band that they bring on a high octane frontman to help kick it up a notch now joury briefly hired Robert fman but the chemistry wasn't just right and Robert fman they actually brought in Steve Perry when Flashman was still with the band Steve Perry had to go undercover as a roie but you know what Steve Perry would end up being a GameChanger marking a pivotal shift in Journey's trajectory for sure the man's voice was the start of a revolution equal parts power and vulnerability Perry was poisoned to become of ir Rock's most captivating frontmen but adding Steve Perry that wasn't the only change in Journey if they were going to survive as musicians they needed to reach a larger audience this meant that they needed a musical overhaul they had

3:50 to go commercial said Neil sha and I quote we wanted to be successful we weren't copping out we were just trying to make money so Journey pivoted from jazz fusion to a more radio friendly fair to do this they brought in Fame Rock producer Roy Thomas Baker who of course worked with Queen the resulting album was 1978's triple platinum Infinity okay so with my first evolution pick I'm already going to break the rules here I've got kind of a two for one deal I want to go with the two tracks from Infiniti that showcase just how much Steve Perry elevated the band and uh two tracks that showed the double fisted attack the journey would take to the stadium iums tracks One and Two from the album lights and feeling that

4:35 way [Music] whens Perry who was also a talented Lyricist co-wrote both of these songs he did lights with Neil Shawn and feeling that way with Greg Ry and Angley Dunbar lights was one of the first songs written by joury with uh Steve Perry and Neil Shawn after he joined the band song is of course a love letter to San Francisco capturing the city's Ambiance and his personal connection to [Music] it although it actually started out as an Ode to Los Angeles but after Steve Perry moved to San Francisco to join up with journey he rewrote the lyrics to be about the city by the bay but Neil Shawn said it was always about San Francisco

5:21 here's what he told me about lights we were at Greg's house uh Greg had a music room downstairs it was like two level house and there was some Bean bag sitting around there a musical instruments that we would jam once in a while and I had it you know a strat down there a guitar and um Steve started singing the chorus and some of the verses and so I just you know I started like rapping some like Jimmy chords around it his Melody uh and it all kind of just fell out and then I came up with the bridge and and um and then the guitar solo and it was like it's literally like you know 25 minutes just it was done and so he had a lot of it in his head and it definitely was

6:08 about San Francisco not La now let's talk about feeling that way for a second the song marked a pivotal moment in Journey's transformation I mean I love how you get this smooth and pretty vocal from Greg relly am I just a fool and then all hell breaks loose when step Perry goes off like an Adam Bomb I mean everyone watching that performance on TV was knocked in the next week an omen of things to come for sure now according to the liner notes of Journey's time three compilation Journey typically reworked ideas and recordings until they were satisfied with the

6:53 results you know before committing them to vinyl so here's what happened they had an early instrumental track called velvet curtain it hadn't made the cut um this was called velvet curtain but Greg Ry took it down and he reworked it into a song called let me stay which was almost included on the next album however he pulled it off at the last moment and then when steep Perry came aboard he rewrote the track again adding a fresh chorus and shared lead vocals with Raley on that version that finally made it onto the record feeling that way in lights were released as back-to-back singles marking the world's introduction to the vocals of one Steve Perry feeling out way was a promo while lights peaked at number 68 on the billboard Hall

7:39 [Music] 100 so after the success of Infinity Journey returned to the studio later that year to record the appropriately named album Evolution only without drummer Angley dumbar who felt like the bandag gon to commercial he was in turn replaced by the great Steve Smith released in March of 1979 the record contained another notable journey classic loving touching squeezing touching squee but as good as this one is for my second evolution pick I got to jump ahead to Journey's number six studio album departure in the stadium Rock Anthem any way you

8:25 want the way need it any way you want it released his departure as lead single any way you want it was the next logical step for Journey they'd already developed a more Commercial Sound and mastered The Ballad that's for sure but now they need a Bonafide Rock Anthem and with any way you want it they wrote a perfect [Music] one anyway you want it was a collaboration between Steve Perry and guitarist Neil Shawn and the two together magic the chemistry between these two just legendary now any way you want it was directly inspired by Thin Lizzy according to sha the song was written after the band toured within Lizzy in

9:11 1979 here's exactly what he told me about it there's not a much to the song it's very simple and it's actually very similar to what a lot of people do nowadays instead of having a bridge and you know this section and a chorus and a verse and there is a verse loves to laugh she to sing shees everything there is a [Applause] course was a guitar solo but really we were on tour uh with then Lizzie at that time and you know they were playing you know

9:58 jailbreak you know that kind of jaggedy kind of guitar and I loved Phil lyette and Scott and all the guys and I used to hang out with Phil a lot I ponis release any way you want it became one of Journey's first hits of the 80s it reached number 23 on the Hot 100 as for departure it became Journey's first top 10 album going all the way to number eight on the billboard 200 it was a good way to break in the new decade and um really a sign of things to come but this was still only the beginning of more good things my third evolution pick I'm going big there's no bigger song in Journey's catalog than Don't Stop Believing I don't care how many times you've heard

10:43 it don't [Music] stop according to a recent discovery there's no bigger song in the history of a IR Rock Forbes recently estimated that dsb Don't Stop Believing is the biggest rock song in history I mean it could have gone with pretty much any song off the Perfect album Escape Who's Crying Now open arms Still They Ride Stone In [Music] [Music] Love and actually I have to sneak in an honorable mention for open arms uh this

11:29 song is a perfect demonstration Steve Perry's otherworldly vocal power and Flawless control I mean the Dynamics of his range and how he envelops a listener's heart and soul it's perfect on this song but the thing is no song really captures the essence of Journey's Legacy better than don't stop believeing again no matter how many times it's played sure it's overplayed it's because it's a perfect song just a when the song Blends Powerhouse vocals an unforgettable piano riff and soaring guitar solos resulting in a sound that's both epic and [Music]

12:16 intimate perfecting Journey's two-fisted attack of ballad and Anthem perfectly in one Perfect song they do both here again it breaks every rule guitar solo in the first minute the course of the song doesn't show up until the last 40 seconds I wanted to give Neil and Jonathan Kane's take on both Don't Stop Believing here and my honorable mention Open Arms here it is this song is ingenious you know not knowing back then how ingenious musically lyrically you know it was highly unusual arrangement for a song to go on AM radio and FM you know and and be of that structure what the time time Jonathan's dad told him you know Don't Stop Believing son and so

13:03 he had that in the back of his head and he said that's my idea and he started playing arguably one of the most iconic opening piano parts in history love it oh thank you I mean every time you hear you know exactly where it's going it's it's that song well my favorite thing is when kids say I learn how to play the piano because of your song down oh that's pretty cool you know we're playing a group and I just started playing you know the arpeggiated thing really tightly and in time and then sped it up and they and they gave them the choo choo [Music] train that's like a symphony part yeah you hear if you listening to Symphonies you hear violins all the time going like

13:50 that same signature that's probably just for me listening to Symphonies and something that that rubbed off of me and nobody thought of playing on guitar that song it came in and we played it and we did the arrangement that that John had uhhuh and it was really like no guitar and I'm like why am I doing this you know so was a turning point you know and and frankly I didn't even I I didn't hear the song I didn't get it and I didn't want to play it live you know yeah Perry loves the story he loves to tell this story because that was wrong and so the the the joke goes like

14:35 after that like okay so that's our first number one single right I believe so the joke went after that whatever song Neil doesn't like that'll be our hit single so you know but I remember we were out on tour and we're like you know sold out everywhere an Escape Tour and um we never played the song live and Steve goes I want to play that song tonight and John they both wanted to play it because they both you know wrote it and or John wrote it with them and and I was uh really where are we going to put that thing you know and so we stuck it in the set and the place came on [Applause] [Music] glued and I went

15:23 like and Don't Stop Believing by the time the chorus finally hits at the end of the song It's a moment of pure Triumph the song structure not only sets the song apart from more formulaic hits of the time but it also contributes to its Anthem like quality Journey's ability to sustain the song's energy without the immediate chorus Hook is a testament to their songwriting and really their Arrangement skills Keeps The Listener engaged and really invested throughout the entire song it also helps that there are so many hooks that lead to the main hook right the chorus hook on and on all it's also a cool story that Jonathan Kane offered Open Arms to John weight and the babies and it was rejected so he

16:08 showed it to joury you know when he joined up and Steve Perry he made it Journey's biggest hit even though Neil hated it it's been said that Neil actually wanted to puke when he had to play it live great stories I love [Music] it next up we're moving ahead to Journey's 1983 album Frontiers almost as good as escape and escape's perfect this was another huge LP for the band featuring Sonic singles like Center my love faithfully and my fourth Evolution pick separate ways Worlds [Music]

16:56 Apart now here again I got a give another honorable Mansion shout out this time is for Faithfully another perfect ballad you know separate ways Worlds Apart this is joury signature rocker it's a serious scorched earth rock classic as far as the tracks Origins you know at this point in Journey's career life on the road and the pressures of stardom were taken a toll on the band and on some of the man's marriages band members marriages Steve Perry and Jonathan came watch as their band mates Neil Shawn and Ross Valerie both went through abrasive divorces and while on the road during the Escape Tour the songwriters sought to provide their

17:42 bandmates with some Solace so they sat down in a hotel room with Kane's Casio keyboard and they wrote the basic structure for separate ways Worlds [Music] Apart the song's theme centered on severed relationship and broken promises when St Jonathan presented it to the band the next day the guys quickly fleshed it out they created a track with urgent energy that they needed for their life set fact jurny was so excited about separate ways they actually put it in their set for the performance that very same night even with Perry stumbling through the unfamiliar lyrics the audience's reaction was incredible and

18:28 journey knew they had a hit for the next [Music] record Steve Perry's vocals on the track are just electrifying fiery and ferocious this is Peak Perry a Showcase of raw intensity that only a handful of singers in pop music history have ever achieved especially towards the end of the song Perry delivers a punch to the [Music] gut it's an emotional breakdown really holding nothing back he pours every ounce of feeling that he has into this song and we feel it as listeners then there's the infamous music video When separate ways dropped in January of 83 I mean MTV was already on the rise however the band members weren't all that

19:14 comfortable filming music videos at the time so it took some convincing unfortunately for them director Tom buckled had the band pretending to play their instruments on a fishing WARF in New Orleans this is what Neil said about the video the video was so big where did that it got so big cuz it was so [Laughter] [Music] bad it was like one of your original $3,000 videos I forget what we spent on that video but it was really ridiculously cheap and that's why it looks so cheesy it was that it was a Steve Perry black and Checker man it's like muscle shirt all those

19:59 videos that they kept trying to do these videos with a theme to it where everybody's playing a part or [Music] acting they were all cheese man just terrible that's where the band lived was like live there was nothing cheesy about it but you Tred to stick us in a room and make everybody play a role and act it was like terrible but all that wasn't enough to stop separate ways worlds apart from becoming Journey's goto rock song The Single peaked at number eight in the Hot 100 back in ' 83 and just like Don't Stop Believing it's continued to live on through pop culture decades later the way they use it in stranger

20:44 things incredible so after the release of Frontiers tensions in the band were on the rise by 1984 Steve Perry needed some separation during this time Perry uh recorded solo debut Street Talk the album produced the hits oerry and foolish art great songs uh Foolish Heart went to number 18 oer went to number three Street Talk reached number 12 on the billboard albums chart and it went double Platinum here in the [Music] states afterwards Perry came together with journey in 85 to record their ninth studio album Raised on Radio this time

21:32 Perry was in the producer's chair this one also went double platinum and it scored Journey for top 20 hits including the number 10 be good to yourself and also the underappreciated hits I'll be all right without you and The Girl Can't Help [Music] It Without You girl can help me [Music] but then just like old times conflicts arose between Steve and the rest of the band by the end of the Raised on Radio 1987 Tour Journey had reached really a Breaking Point Steve Perry was physically and emotionally drained he actually refused to finish the tour's remaining dates he then told the ban

22:18 that he was leaving Journey for good now by this point only Neil sha and jonthan Kane were left period fired basis Ross Valerie and drummer Steve Smith during the Raised on Radio sessions so now down to just Shawn and Kane Journey disbanded and the two formed the super group bad English with singer John weight they scored a number one hit with one I See You Smile uh 1989 and another huge hit with the prize of love when I see you smile that's the pr of Love Now Steve Perry for his part he disappeared from the public for seven years taking a much needed break then in 1994 Perry released his second solo LP for the love of strange medicine right in the middle of grunge had some great

23:05 tracks on it including you better wait and young hearts forever go back and listen to that one it sounds like a journey song from 94 feeling and desire to perform again a reunion with journey it seemed possible and in 1995 Perry Shan Kane Smith and Valerie all came together to work on Journey's 10th Studio album trial by fire and here we come to my final evolution pick the song is the album's lead single the Soulful ballot when you love a [Music] woman now even though I feel like there are a lot better songs in Journey's catalog even on that album I had to include this one because as we'll see in a minute it closes out Steve Perry's

23:52 career with journey so far it's a swan song with the band [Music] no matter what you say about the song now when you first heard this song in 96 first time you heard it I mean the first time I heard it I was freaking out to hear that piano and to see the music video with Steve Perry just freaking out and singing and nil Sean playing it was incredible now according to the album's producer Kevin Shirley since the band hadn't played together in nearly a decade he insisted that they rehears the album in pre-production for a few weeks you know before recording he wanted the guys to ReDiscover their live chemistry

24:38 because of this extra effort when Journey did go into the studio to record they cut When a Man Loves a Woman in one live take including that incredible Neil Shan guitar [Music] solo when you love a woman reached number 12 on the Hot 100 but it went to number one on the US adult contemporary chart for quite a while it would be their highest AC chart hit of all time beating out former AC top 10 hits like open arms and Who's Crying Now and despite Decades of Prior hits when you love a woman actually earned Journey their first and only Grammy nomination what for best pop performance by a do or group of vocals Grammys man that's when they were starting the [Music]

25:25 downfall with the Platinum success of trial by by fire it seemed like Journey's Glory Days were on the verge of returning I mean how excited were you about a Journey tour I was getting ready for it then disaster struck Perry was injured in a serious hiking accident in Hawaii and his doctor's recommended hip surgery Perry however hesitated to undergo the procedure the rest of the journey on the other hand they were eager to tour and capitalize on this recent success but Perry's reluctance to take the steps to return to the stage reopened Old Wounds with band refusing to delay the new tour any longer the band made the decision to move forward without Steve Perry they replaced him with Steve Oar who was working at the Gap at the time it's crazy Journey then enjoyed a decade of successful tours and

26:12 two additional albums after aary was let go in 2006 Neil Shawn found a new front man online in Arnell pan powerful vocals have helped the band continue to sell out arenas now while joury continued to rock on without him Perry stayed largely out of the public eye he made a brief return to the stage in 2017 for Journey's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction we were all hoping it would happen but of course he didn't perform uh he expressed his happiness for the band's honor but it was clear by now if it wasn't already that c Perry's time with journey was at an end though as I mentioned a short time ago there has been renewed speculation that they could come back together I mean time will tell I'm not

26:59 crossing my fingers anymore I really do hope I can amend this journey Evolution episode soon with a new pick for the number five but of course Perry has released uh uh a solo album some Christmas stuff great stuff uh here's the hoping that they can come together at least one last time if not for the fans for you repair some of those relationships I mean truly there's a magic between Steve Perry Neil sha Jonathan Kane especially Steve Perry and Neil Shawn in my opinion one of the greatest they deserve to be talked about in the great singer guitar Duos just like plant and page and uh and others I just

27:46 Journey ah Steve Perry nil sha here's hoping those are my Evolution picks what do you think what are your picks what are your five songs that you think uh define journey their evolution as a band let me know below let me know your memories of these songs and uh here's hoping that we can get a an interview with Steve Perry down the road uh he's definitely in my top five ever interviews I've already gotten three of those five let's see if I can get another one uh if you like her content we invite you to subscribe below we'd love to have you as part of our community until next time three chords and the truth difference [Music]