Steve Perry

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Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter.

He is best known as the lead singer of the rock band Journey from 1977 to 1987, as well as from 1995 to 1998.

Perry has also had a fruitful solo career, first between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, and then again in 2018, after returning to music in 2018. Perry's singing voice has received acclaim from influential musical critics and journals; he has been dubbed "The Voice," a term first coined by Jon Bon Jovi.

Ranked no. Perry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017.

Early life

Stephen Ray Perry was born in Hanford, California, to Portuguese parents from the Azores. He is the only child. Perry grew up interested in music as his father, Raymond Perry (Pereira), was a singer and co-owner of radio station KNGS. When he was eight years old, Perry's parents broke up. He and his mother then moved to their grandparents' dairy farm.

Perry's mother, Mary Quaresma, gifted her son with a gold eighth note pendant on his 12th birthday; Perry wears the pendant for good fortune. Perry discovered Sam Cooke's song "Cupid" on his mother's car radio, sparking him to become a singer at age 12.

Personal life

Perry dated Sherrie Swafford, for whom he wrote the 1984 song "Oh Sherrie" in 1980s.

Perry began a relationship with psychologist and breast cancer survivor Kellie Nash in 2011. As she battled a cancer recurrence, she died in December 2012.

Perry said in a September 2018 interview, "Things happened to me as a child that I can't talk about" – nothing to do with my parents, but it did happen." I guess a lot of kids were affected by it, but I found out that there was nowhere to talk about it, so I had to sing it out instead."

Perry underwent successful hip replacement surgery in 1998.

Perry had a mole removed in May 2013 that turned out to be melanoma. He underwent two surgeries to remove the cancer cells, but was told that the surgeries were fruitful, with no further intervention required.

The Chicago White Sox unofficial team anthem was adopted by Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" as their unofficial team anthem during the 2005 baseball season. Perry (a San Francisco Giants fan) was invited to the World Series and traveled with the White Sox to Houston, where the players met the players on the track and in the locker room as they celebrated their championship.

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Music career

Perry formed Perry in his early 20s and formed a band with 16-year-old future music producer Scott Mathews, who co-wrote, played drums and guitar, as well as sang. Ice's band, Ice, wrote original content and was poised to "make it" in the music industry. During the day of 1972, they recorded at the Record Plant studios in Los Angeles, California, while Stevie Wonder recorded his Talking Book album by night. When returning to Sacramento, Ice disbanded because the band had no leadership, Mathews was still in high school, and the recordings were still unheard. Perry moved to Thousand Oaks, California, where he formed Pieces with Tim Bogert (who had previously worked with Jeff Beck), Denver Cross, and Eddie Tuduri. The company was unable to sign a new contract and disbanded after a year and a half. Perry also attempted to replace Rod Evans in Captain Beyond, but it was also unsuccessful to replace him.

Perry ended up in Banta, California, just south of Tracy, California, where he fronted the band Alien Project in his mid-20s. Richard Michaels, the bassist of the band, was almost dead in a car crash, and he almost gave up music. Perry returned to Lemoore and decided not to continue his singing career, but Walter "Herbie" Herbert, the manager of the struggling San Francisco-based band Journey, received a phone call from his mother.

Herbert, the original Journey organizer/manager, had been shown a demonstration of an Alien Project track, "If You Need Me, Call Me," and producer Scott Mathews told him that the young singer would be a good substitute for then-current frontman Robert Fleischman. Fleischman had never signed for Herbert's business (preferring his previous manager) and was not fully up to the band's then-modern rock style. Perry was on tour to avoid alarming Fleischman was referred to as a roadie's Portuguese cousin. Perry surresfully performed a song with Journey when Fleischman was absent; soon after, Herbert informed the band members that Perry was the new lead singer.

Despite some groans from the band's current members and supporters of Journey's progressive rock sound, Perry brought a radically new, more pop-influenced style to the band's music. He made his public debut in San Francisco on October 28, 1977, at a mixed reception. Perry's debut on his first album with the band, Infinity, featured a song he wrote titled "Lights." The band's look had shifted dramatically, but Perry's arrival was completely accepted as Journey began to receive radio airplay and media buzz over Infinity.

Perry appeared on nine of Journey's albums: Infinity (1978), Evolution (1979), Dream, After Dream (1980, a Japanese movie soundtrack), Captured (1980, a live album), Escape (1981), which reached No. 9 on the charts. The Billboard chart (No. 1 on the Billboard chart), Frontiers (1983), Raised on Radio (1986), and Trial By Fire (1996) Escape's single "Open Arms" was their biggest hit single, with the single peaking at No. 4. Billboard Hot 100 is ranked No. 2 for six weeks.

Perry also performed backing vocals on several Sammy Hagar albums, including "The Iceman" (a nickname Hagar had for Scott Mathews) and "Run For Your Life"), as well as duetting with Kenny Loggins on the 1982 No. 102. "Don't Fight It" is a 17 hit song.

Perry's first solo album, Street Talk, was released in 1984, following the success of Frontiers and the tour promoting this project. (The album's name was taken from Perry's old name, Alien Project). The number of more than 2 million units was sold, with the hit singles No. 1 being the highest in the country. "Oh Sherrie," written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford. The 18th "Foolish Heart" is a film that depicts a young girl's growing uproar. On MTV, the music video for "Oh Sherrie" received a lot of attention. Among other things, "She's Mine" and "Strung Out" were also released as singles from this album, which included former Alien Project drummer Craig Krampf, guitarist Michael Landau, and future American Idol judge Randy Jackson on bass.

Perry, one of 21 singers on the United States in 1985, appeared on Africa's all-star charity song "We Are the World." For the We Are the World album, he also performed "If Only For The Time, Girl." This song was included in his album Street Talk's reissue. Perry appeared on their 1987 album Sirius, which was also during this period.

Though Perry was reunited with Journey, his mother became sick. As he often returned to San Joaquin Valley to visit his mother, who died during the album's production, Raised on Radio, which Perry was a musician, was a hit and a miss. On Journey, it took a long time for intermittent recording sessions and a singer who was not with the band much of the time. Perry became ill from the ordeal later on. After the Raised on Radio tour, the Journey went into hiatus in 1987.

Perry began working on Against the Wall, his second solo album, which he left unfinished, in 1988 (although several of the songs that were recorded for Against the Wall will appear on Perry's 1998 solo collection, Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased). Perry joined Bon Jovi on Sunday, 1989, in Mountain View, California, to perform Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me" and the Four Tops' "Reach Out." On November 3, 1991, he would also reunite with Journey at "Laughter, Love and Music," as the Bill Graham tribute concert, "Laughter, Love and Music" at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, featuring "Faithfully" and "Lights." Perry, however, has been missing from the public eye for seven years after being absent from the music business for longer than three years.

Perry's second solo venture, For the Love of Strange Medicine, was released in 1994. The album was largely due to the Strange Medicine world tour.

In 1996, Journey's legendary 1981-85 crew reformed to record Trial by Fire. The album was a huge success, debuting at No. 1 in Billboard charts. Despite being crowned platinum by the year's end, 3's triumph was short-lived. Perry suffered a hip injury while hiking in Hawaii and was unable to participate in the Trial By Fire tour before starting. Perry was diagnosed with a degenerative bone disease and a hip replacement, and although he was reluctant to rush into the procedure, Perry wanted to postpone the tour. The remaining members waited until 1998, nearly 17 months after Perry's death, before making a decision on Journey's future. Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon met with Perry, who was getting impatient and realizing the window of opportunity was closing. They gave him an ultimatum: If he did not have hip replacement surgery, the tour would continue as a result of his recovery, the band would have recruited a replacement singer. Perry revealed that he was permanently leaving Journey, being still reluctant to recover from surgery and now angry at his bandmates. Tall Stories' lead vocal duties were later assumed by Steve Augeri. Journey by Fire, which was released nearly two years ago, is now on tour.

Perry released his first hits + five unreleased compilation album on December 15, 1998; the unreleased tracks included an original Alien Project demonstration as well as selects from the recently released Against the Wall collection. Perry recorded two songs for the Warner Bros. film Quest for Camelot in 1998, which can be found on the motion picture's soundtrack. Perry said he "never felt like [he] was part of the band" in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music in 2001. Herbie Herbert, the former Pope's son, responded by saying, "That's like the Pope saying he never really felt Catholic."

Perry appeared on two tracks from Kauai, Hawaii, artist Tommy Tokioka's album "Believing You" and "An Angel Above Me" in 2000, performing backup vocals on songs "I Wish You Were Mine" and "An Angel Above Me." For Golub's Soul Sessions album, he collaborated with guitarist Jeff Golub on a song titled "Can't Let You Go" which was released in 2003. Perry performed vocals on the largely instrumental jazz track.

After previously stating that it was unlikely that he would return to the band for the first time, Perry appeared with others at a dinner on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 21, 2005. He said that although it was a positive experience, it was unlikely that he would return to the band. However, he has also stated, "Never say never, unless you mean never."

Perry co-produced "A Brand New Start," a track on a solo album by former Ambrosia lead vocalist David Pack in 2005. Perry co-wrote several songs on the track shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as background vocals and background vocals. The Secret of Moving Forward, which was released in September 2005, features interviews of two of Pack's top hits, "Biggest Part of Me" and "You're the Only Female" in two of them.

Perry's two solo projects, Street Talk and For the Love of Strange Medicine (both featuring previously unreleased content), and his Greatest Hits CD were remastered and re-released on October 3, 2006. On January 13, 2009, Sony Legacy released The Very Best of Steve Perry: The Very Best of Steve Perry.

Perry appeared at three shows in 2014 and performed many songs.

Perry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017, for the first time since 2005. Perry gave an acceptance address but decided not to perform with the band in honor of Arnel Pineda, the band's new Journey lead singer.

On October 5, 2018, Perry released Traces, a 10-track studio album. At Target, a US Deluxe Edition was introduced and has five bonus tracks. Perry has referred to the album as a "cathartic" and "emotional expression" in the aftermath of the death of a loved one. Perry's third studio film and first since "For the Love of Strange Medicine."

Perry's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" magazine was published on December 17, 2018.

Perry released a deluxe copy of the Traces album in March 2019, containing five bonus tracks and his first official music video in 25 years for "We're Still Here."

Perry's album On November 1, 2019, Silver Bells released a three-song holiday EP.

Perry's first-ever Christmas album, The Season, was released on November 5, 2021, via Fantasy Records.

Perry is best known for his countertenor vocal range, which ranges from F2 to A5. Perry's voice has been described as a "high 'tenor altino [with] a tone somewhere between Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin." He has been dubbed "The Voice" by fellow musician Jon Bon Jovi, who was originally coined by him. "Perry is a truly luminous performer, in my view, he is a voice in a million." Perry's voice has been described as "the golden voice" by the record executive, producer, and former American Idol judge and Journey session guitarist Randy Jackson, adding that, "there is no artist in rock that came close to Steve Perry." He invented his own style, with the strength, the range, and tone. A little Motown, a little Everly Brothers, and a little Zeppelin were mixed in a little Zeppelin." Perry's ability was likened to that of Aretha Franklin, and Neal Schone agreed with Fozzy vocalist Chris Jericho's comment that Perry "might be the greatest male singer of all time."

"If only one artist could be chosen as the most memorable with '80s arena rock,'" AllMusic's Greg Prato wrote: "It's Steve Perry from Journey would be the most identifiable with '80s arena rock." Perry's coworker, John Franck, praised him as a soaring "whale of a voice." In a 2009 Classic Rock reader poll, he was named one of the top rock singers of all time. Perry No. 1 was ranked by Rolling Stone in No. 1. "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time" 76, lauding his "scientific abilities" as well as his "pure tone and ardent sincerity. Perry was described as "arguably the greatest singer of his time," Geoff Nicholls of Rhythm said of him.

Perry's primary influence was Sam Cooke, to whom Perry has been compared. He has also cited the vocal styling of The Beach Boys, Jackie Wilson, Frankie Valli, Lou Christie, Marvin Gaye, Joe Tex, and Jack Bruce of Cream, as well as female singers such as Diana Ross, Dee Sharp, and Aretha Franklin. Perry took influence from Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry in terms of musical influence. He also spoke about his fondness for late 1960s Motown recordings and English bands.

Perry was a key songwriter for the majority of Journey's songs throughout his time with the band, as well as solo performances. These efforts culminated in a nomination to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2020.

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