Dave Spins: Journey!

Gonna roll out some girl rock for you today. Ladies and gentleman, raise your zippos: it's Journey.

Two things I just learned: Steve Perry's real last name was Pereira and his parents owned a radio station, KIGS, in Hanover, California, the building housing it the inspiration for the album cover above. Not that the the other guys in the band were happy about that. This record came at a time when Steve, flexing more muscle in the band, had kicked out two members and replaced them with studio cats, one of which was Randy Jackson in a wacky X-Men haircut, playing bass, years before American Idol, dawg. Perry had carried the band Journey from Bay Area splinter group of ex-Santana members to world conquering, stadium filling girl rock superstars. And now he was completing the band's transformation in Steve Lewis And The News.

Those this record had four top twenty hits, and today's song one of the highest charting for Journey on the charts ever, the writing was on the wall, a subsequent tour cancelled mid-way, Perry unwilling to participate any longer, the band went on hiatus till 1995, Perry then replaced by a teeny tiny Filipino guy who had Perry's voice and none of the difficulties.

So here we go, with a song from a band that sold 47 million records and, according to  AllMusic "one of America's most beloved (and sometimes hated) commercial rock/pop bands", it's today's-

-K-101.7 SONG OF THE DAY!   

P.S: Should Journey reunite with Steve Perry? The folks over at Ultimateclassicrock debate this issue. Click the pic below for the story! There's even a poll!