THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF THE ROCK BAND JOURNEY

The rock band, Journey, has been around for almost forty years, and what an incredible journey it has been!

A quote from their Web site <http://www.journeymusic.com/home> states, "Since the group's formation in 1973, the band has earned 19 Top 40 singles and 25 Gold and Platinum albums. The band's Greatest Hits album is certified 15 times Platinum, bringing Journey into the elite club of Diamond-certified album holders."

Starting as an all-instrumental act, the band finally found soaring success when it hired the legendary Steve Perry as a vocalist. A string of hits followed, such as "Don't Stop Believin'," "Faithfully," and "Open Arms," as well as a number of changes in the band's members. Perry developed health problems that led to the cancellation of a scheduled tour in 1996, and eventually left Journey permanently, and the band seemed to fade away.

However, when their song, "Don't Stop Believin'" was featured on the finale of the TV show, "The Sopranos," interest in the band flared again.

But they had no lead singer.

Desperate to find someone who could recreate the classic Journey sound, founding member Dean Schon turned to YouTube and discovered Arnel Pineda fronting a band in the Philippines that mimicked classic rock bands--including Journey.

Schon was so impressed he called the other band members and they flew Pineda to the U.S. for an audition. Within a few songs, Pineda was their new vocalist, joining the band in 2008. I especially enjoyed this CBS News Sunday Morning interview <http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1378774/arnel_pineda_cbs_news_sunday_morning_interview/> that mixes an interview with the band, old Journey clips featuring vocalist Steve Perry (in the earlier days), and footage of their new frontman Arnel Pineda. If you watch the entire interview, be prepared for a touching story.

Journey has released two albums since Pineda joined them and are touring extensively--currently in the United States and Canada for the rest of 2012. See <http://www.journeymusic.com/pages/tour> for tour dates and how to order tickets.