Journey Wouldn’t Exist Without This Classic ’60s Band

Gabrielle Moss July 30, 2024

Journey, group portrait, New York, 1978, L-R Aynsley Dunbar;Ross Valory;Steve Perry;Neal Schon;Gregg Rolie. — Michael Putland/Getty Images

In the 51 years since they first formed, Journey has accumulated gold, platinum and even diamond albums, with over 100 million copies sold worldwide. They’ve logged six top 10 hits, including 1981’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which was recently certified as 18 time platinum, and has remained popular for over 40 years, showing up everywhere from Glee to the infamous final episode of The Sopranos.

This would be a dream list of accomplishments for any band. But Journey’s incredible success is even more remarkable when you realize that they were actually formed from the ashes of a different bestselling band of all time.

Was Journey born from Santana?

In 1970, Journey cofounder Neal Schon was a teenage guitar prodigy. How much of a prodigy? Schon was so talented that, as a high school sophomore, he was offered spots in two bands: Santana and Derek and the Dominos. He passed on Clapton because, as he revealed in a 2016 Q&A session with Santana, “I wasn’t ready to move to London … and I got the feeling [Derek and the Dominos] would not be together very long.”

So he chose Santana. Instead of graduating, Schon jumped into touring and recording Santana III. “I went from high school, basically, to traveling the world,” Schon told AZCentral in 2016. “One day I’m in Ghana, Africa, playing with all these amazing artists, the next day, I’m all over Europe. It was just a very eye-opening, mind-expanding experience.”

Schon stuck with the band through 1971’s Santana III, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and 1972’s Caravanserai, which went platinum. But by 1973, Schon moved on. He, along with Santana keyboardist Gregg Rolie, formed a band called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section, under the guidance of Sanata-roadie-turned-manager Herbie Herbert. Though the band’s original intention was to back up other San Francisco musicians, that idea quickly fell away, and the band played their first concert at the Winterland Ballroom on New Year’s Eve 1973. Soon after, they changed their name to Journey and landed a deal with Columbia Records — though their early performances sound far more like Santana’s freewheeling jams than “Open Arms.” The band didn’t begin racking up hits until they joined forces with Steven Perry for 1978’s Infinity.

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And though Santana and Journey sound quite different, Schon’s time in the psychedelic rock pioneers taught him about the qualities that make a song truly connect with audiences — wisdom he’s put to good use in Journey’s half-century career. As he told Guitar Player in 2021, “Being in a group like [Santana] teaches you how to put people together in ways that will make musical sense. Sometimes you see cats try to put together superstar bands with famous players who all have chops beyond belief, but while the result doesn’t sound bad, it doesn’t make magic, you know?”

(L-R) American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, Neal Schon, English drummer, Aynsley Dunbar, American singer and keyboardist, Gregg Rolie, American singer and songwriter, Steve Perry and American musician, Ross Valory, of the American rock band Journey, pose for a group portrait circa August, 1978 in San Francisco, California

Oh, and don’t take my (and Eric Clapton’s, and Carlos Santana’s) word for it when it comes to young Neal Schon’s talent. Check out this recording of Schon jamming with a few other musicians, including Greg Errico, drummer for Sly & the Family Stone, when he was only 17. Sounds like more fun than taking the SATs, right?