Journey

1973
The original members of Journey came together in San Francisco in 1973.

They were originally called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section and were intended to serve as a backup group for established Bay Area artists

The band quickly abandoned the original "backup group" concept and developed a distinctive jazz fusion style. After an unsuccessful radio contest to name the group, roadie John Villaneuva suggested the name "Journey."

DEC [31] The band's first public appearance came at the Winterland Ballroom

Prairie Prince rejoined The Tubes shortly there after, and the band hired British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, who had recently worked with John Lennon and Frank Zappa

1974
FEB [5] The new line-up made their debut at the Great American Music Hall and secured a recording contract with Columbia Records

1975
APR [1] Journey released their eponymous first album

Rhythm guitarist Tickner left the band before they cut their second album

1976
Release second album Look into the Future.

The first two albums failed to achieve significant sales, so Schon, Valory, and Dunbar took singing lessons in an attempt to add vocal harmonies to Rolie's lead

1977
FEB The album Next is released. It contained shorter tracks with more vocals, and featured Schon as lead singer on several of the songs.Journey's album sales did not improve and Columbia Records requested that they change their musical style and add a frontman, with whom keyboardist Gregg Rolie could share lead vocal duties.

The band hired Robert Fleischman and transitioned to a more popular style, akin to that of Foreigner and Boston.

Journey went on tour with Fleischman in 1977 and together the new incarnation of the band wrote the hit "Wheel in the Sky."

But fans were lukewarm to the change, and personality differences resulted in Fleischman being fired within the year.[8]

In the fall of 1977, Journey hired Steve Perry as their new lead singer

1978
JAN [20] Their fourth album, Infinity, reached No. 21 on the album charts and gave the band their first RIAA-certified platinum album

AUG plus hit singles out of "Lights" (#68 U.S.)

and "Wheel in the Sky".

"Feeling That Way"/"Anytime"

Drummer Aynsley Dunbar did not get along with singer Steve Perry and did not approve of the new musical direction. He was fired in 1978 and replaced by Berklee-trained jazz drummer Steve Smith

1979
Perry, Schon, Rolie, Smith, and bass player Ross Valory recorded the album Evolution

APR [5] The album Evolution is released

"Just the Same Way"

which gave the band their first Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 single, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" (#16);

"Lovin' You Is Easy"

1980
JAN The compilation album In the Beginning is released

MAR [23] Departure is released and reaches No. 8 on the album charts

"Too Late"

and included the top-25 hit "Any Way You Want It."

"Walks Like A Lady"

"Good Morning Girl"/"Stay Awhile"

During the Departure world tour, the band recorded a live album, Captured.

They also recorded the soundtrack to the film Dream After Dream while in Japan.

Exhausted from extensive touring, keyboardist Gregg Rolie now left a successful band for the second time in his career

Keyboardist Stevie "Keys" Roseman was brought in to record the lone studio track for Captured, "The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love)," but Rolie recommended pianist Jonathan Cain of The Babys as the permanent replacement

1981
FEB The live album Captured is released

The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love),"

JULY [31] Journey released their eighth and biggest-selling studio album, Escape. The album, which has thus far sold nine times platinum, went to number one on the album charts that year

and included three top-ten hits: "Who's Cryin' Now"

"Stone In Love"

"Don't Stop Believing"

Capitalizing on their success, the band recorded radio commercials for Budweiser and sold rights to their likenesses and music for use in two video games: the Journey arcade game by Bally/Midway and Journey Escape by Data Age for the Atari 2600.

MTV even wanted to participate in Journey's ever growing success by videotaping one of their two sold out shows at the Houston Summit arena in Houston, Texas.

NOV [6] The concert in Houston, Texas was videotaped during the Escape tour in front of over 20,000 fans

1982
JAN "Open Arms". The latter is Journey's highest-charting single to date, staying at #2 for six consecutive weeks and ranking at #13 on Billboard's 1982 year-end Hot 100

"Still They Ride"

"Only Solutions"

1983
The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide gave each of the band's albums only one star, with Dave Marsh writing that "Journey was a dead end for San Francisco area rock." Marsh later would anoint Escape as one of the worst number-one albums of all time.

FEB [5] The single "Separate Ways" is released, which reached #8

[22] The album Frontiers is relaesed and continued their commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the album charts, selling nearly six million copies.

The album generated four Top 40 hits, ,

APR [16] The single "Faithfully" is released, which reached #12,

"Send Her My Love" US #23

"After the Fall", reached US #23

"Ask the Lonely"

During the subsequent stadium tour, the band contracted with NFL Films to record a video documentary of their life on the road, Frontiers and Beyond. Scenes from the documentary were shot at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than 80,000 fans in attendance

1984
The video documentary, Frontiers and Beyond is released

After the widely successful Frontiers stadium tour, Journey decided to take some time off.

"Chain Reaction"

Lead singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon both pursued solo projects between 1982 and 1985.

1985
The band released two songs previously intended for Frontiers--Only the Young, on the soundtrack to the movie Vision Quest; and Ask the Lonely, on the soundtrack to the movie Two of a Kind. "Only the Young" reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1986
Bass player Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith were fired from the band for musical and professional differences during the recording sessions for the upcoming album. Studio musicians handled the two vacant slots, including future American Idol judge Randy Jackson and established session player Larrie Londin.

MAY [27] Raised on Radio is released. The album went multiplatinum, selling over two million copies. It also produced four top 20 singles.

"Be Good to Yourself" (#9),

"I'll Be Alright Without You" (#14),

"Girl Can't Help It " #17

"Suzanne," #17.

The tour featured Jackson on bass and Mike Baird on drums, and was videotaped by MTV and made into a documentary, which included interviews with the current band members and concert footage of the Mountain Aire Festival show in Angels Camp, California. But with Perry unable or unwilling to remain actively involved, the band canceled the rest of the tour.

1987
"Why Can't This Night Go on Forever"

The band went on an extended, indefinite hiatus

1988
Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain teamed up with Cain's ex-Babys bandmates John Waite and Ricky Phillips, forming Bad English with drummer Deen Castronovo.

Steve Smith started a jazz band, Vital Information, and teamed up with Ross Valory and Gregg Rolie to create The Storm with singer Kevin Chalfant and guitarist Josh Ramos.

NOV [15] Columbia records released Journey's greatest hits album, which remains the band's best-selling record. According to the RIAA it has sold 15 million copies in the United States to date. It continues to sell 500,000 to 1,000,000 copies per year, and as of December 2008 was the 6th best selling greatest hits package in the United States

1991
The band briefly reunited to perform 2 songs; "Faithfully" and "Lights" at the tribute concert for concert promoter Bill Graham. This would later turn out to be the final time Steve Perry would perform live with the band.

The Ballade is released

Between 1987 and 1995, Columbia Records released three Journey compilations.

1992
The compilation album Time3 is released

1993
"Lights (Live)"

OCT Kevin Chalfant (of The Storm) performed with Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain at a roast for manager Herbie Herbert. After that, Schon, Cain, Valory, Smith and Rolie briefly considered reuniting the band with Chalfant as lead singer.[citation needed]

1995
Steve Perry agreed to a reunion on the condition that they seek new management. Herbie Herbert was fired and The Eagles Manager Irving Azoff retained

Perry, Schon, Cain, Valory, and Smith reunited to record Trial by Fire.

1996
OCT [22] The album Trial By Fire is released

hit single "When You Love a Woman" is released, which reached #12 on the Billboard charts andranked at #36 on Billboard's 1996 year-end Hot 100

The album also produced two top 40 mainstream rock tracks, "Message of Love" reaching #18 and "Can't Tame the Lion" reaching #33, and one top 40 adult contemporary hit, "If He Should Break Your Heart," at #23

1997
The song "When You Love A Woman" is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal

Plans for a subsequent tour ended when Perry injured his hip hiking in Hawaii in the summer of 1997 and could not perform without hip replacement surgery — which he for some time refused to undergo.

1998
MAR [24] The album Greatest Hits (Live) is released

Schon and Cain decided to seek a new lead singer, at which point drummer Steve Smith left the band as well

Journey hired drummer Deen Castronovo, Schon's and Cain's Bad English bandmate, and drummer for Hardline, to replace Steve Smith. The lead vocalist position was filled by Steve Augeri, formerly of Tyketto and Tall Stories.

Journey with Steve Augeri and Deen Castronovo recorded a track for the soundtrack to the movie Armageddon called "Remember Me."

2000
The band released their next studio album, Arrival, in Japan

2001
APR [3] The band released Arrival in the United States

"All the Way" became a minor adult contemporary hit from the album

"Higher Place"

"With Your Love"

OCT [16] The Journey Continues is released

The Essential Journey is released

The DVD, Journey 2001 is released

2002
NOV [26] The band released a four-track CD titled "Red 13," with an album cover design chosen through a fan contest.

2003
The DVD, Greatest Hits 1978-1997 is released

2005
The band was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Steve Perry surprised many attendees by showing up for the event.

Journey embarked on their 30th anniversary tour

The DVD, Live in Houston 1981: The Escape Tour is released

AUG [29] They released their twelfth full-length studio album, Generations, in which each band member performed lead vocals on at least one song

"The Place In Your Heart"

2006
JULY Steve Augeri was dropped from the band while they toured with Def Leppard, with the official statement citing a "chronic throat infection." Augeri had been suffering from vocal attrition problems since 2003 and Journey had been using pre-recorded lead vocals.

DEC The band hired singer Jeff Scott Soto from Talisman to fill in, and Soto officially replaced Augeri as Journey's lead singer

2007
JUNE [12] Journey announced that Soto was no longer the lead singer, and said that they were looking to move in a new direction

DEC Journey hired Filipino singer Arnel Pineda of the cover band The Zoo after Neal Schon saw him on YouTube singing covers of Journey songs.

2008
FEB Journey debuted their new lead singer in Chile

JUNE [3] Journey released the album Revelation. Revelation debuted at #5 on the Billboard charts, selling more than 196,000 units in its first two weeks and staying in the top 20 for 6 weeks

SEP [20] Journey also found success on the billboard's adult contemporary chart where the single "After All These Years" spent over 23 weeks, peaking at number 9 on this date

"Never Walk Away"

"Where Did I Lose Your Love"

Receipts from that summer's tour, featuring Heart and Cheap Trick, made Journey one of the top grossing concert tours of the year, bringing in over $35,000,000

DEC [18] Revelation was certified platinum by RIAA

In 2008 and 2009, Journey recorded concert footage in preparation for a DVD release scheduled for December 2009

2009
Neal Schon announced that the band was spending 2009 working on a new album due out in 2010 and completing the second leg of the Revelation Tour