Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

In September 1981 Journey’s seventh album, Escape, hit the top of the Billboard 200 chart for one week, giving the band their only #1 album. Two months earlier today’s featured song-the first single-was released and surprisingly it charted higher (it hit #4 in October 1981) than the second single which became the band’s signature song (“Don’t Stop Believin'” peaked at #9 in December 1981). The album’s third single, “Open Arms”, became the band’s highest charting single of their career, hitting #2 in February 1982.

The group was founded in San Francisco in 1973 as a backup band for local groups. It consisted of guitarists Neil Schon and George Tickner, keyboard player Gregg Rolie and bassist Ross Valory. But by 1981, only Schon and Valory were left with Steve Smith on drums, Steve Perry (who turned 75 in January) on vocals and Jonathan Cain on keyboards. It was this lineup that would achieve the success and popularity together until 1985 when Smith and Valory were unceremoniously dismissed (they returned in 1995 only to be fired again in 2020).

I was a big Journey fan back in the day and today’s song is my favorite track of theirs. Over the years the fighting, the egos, the personnel changes and the rest of the drama (in August a number of European tour dates were cancelled while Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain continued to battle) just soured me on the group to the point where even the placement of “Don’t Stop Believin'” in the series finale of “The Sopranos” could not change my mind. But my love of today’s song prevails and it is not because of the line referencing my favorite album of all time 😀

“One love feeds the fire
One heart burns desire
I wonder who’s crying now
Two hearts born to run
Who’ll be the lonely one
I wonder who’s crying now“.

Journey’s 1981 album and the band (L-R): Ross Valory, Jonathan Cain, Neil Schon, Steve Perry and Steve Smith. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Journey: “Who’s Crying Now” (1981, written by Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry).

Stay safe & well.