Guide To Journey’s Line Up Changes Through The Years

Steve Perry of Journey at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 3, 1981. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

For over 40 years, Journey has been one of the greatest classic rock bands of all time. The band has released 23 albums and 43 singles since 1975 and has achieved total album sales of more than 75 million worldwide.

But how did Journey originate? The San Francisco band was started in 1973. Santana’s former road manager Herbie Herbert recruited two of that band’s members (Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon) and former Steve Miller Band bassist Ross Valory to form the Golden Gate Rhythm Section. The band later became Journey.

The original members of the Journey band included Gregg Rolie on vocals and keyboards; Neal Schon on guitar and vocals; George Tickner on guitar; Ross Valory on bass and vocals; and Prairie Prince on drums.

Their first album was released in 1975 and established the band’s jazz-influenced progressive rock sound. After several personnel changes, Steve Perry signed on as lead vocalist, launching the band’s most commercially successful period, from the late ’70s to the mid-’80s. Many people remember Steve as the face of the band.

In 2005, the band (along with original members Schon and Valory) celebrated their 30th anniversary with the release of their 23rd album, Generations, and an anniversary tour, sometimes with some of the many former members of the group. In December 2006, Jeff Scott Soto replaced Steve Augeri as lead vocalist. Soto had been filling up for several months after Augeri was sidelined with a chronic throat infection. A month later, Soto was replaced by Arnel Pineda, lead singer of a Filipino cover band, who was hired as a result of a video which he posted on YouTube.

Band members changing through the years:

The band has been on a journey as it has evolved from previous members, including Steve Perry, to its current members.