January 2001
This site will focus on Steve, rather than Journey. The History of Perry gives a fascinating glimpse into Steve's background: he was born January 22, 1949 in Hanford, California. His descent is Portuguese (like Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme fame). The family name was originally Pereira, which translates as pear-tree. Somehow, the name was changed to Perry. My own guess about that is when the Pereira family arrived in New York, the Ellis Island officials anglicized the name. Other sources say that Steve's grandfather changed it. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
As a long time Styx fan [first heard Lorelei on the radio the summer of my fourteenth birthday; 1975], I often compare Styx and Journey. The bands' histories have taken similar paths, and while they both fall into the musical category of Classic Rock, they sound very different! Styx has a very diverse sound. They have always had three vocalists, each with his own style [Dennis sang the ballads, Tommy rocked, and JY rocked heavily!]. They also varied their instruments depending on the song. Boat On The River spotlights Tommy's mandolin, yet Come Sail Away features Dennis's piano. It's like the weather here in Baltimore; if you don't like it, wait a minute, and it'll change!
I observe that Journey doesn't have that diversity in sound. They have one lead vocalist, singing all songs, like Cheap Trick. Both Steve Perry and Robin Zander have amazing ranges and variety in their voices [Steve with his soaring and Robin with his different inflections], yet, because there is only one vocalist, they do not have Styx's vocal diversity.
At this writing I am just re-familiarizing myself with the Journey classics found on Time 3. I had forgotten, for example, all about Party's Over (Hopelessly In Love) that I'm sure I heard on the radio when it first came out, but didn't realize it's a Journey song. What a great song! It's very catchy. I often find myself humming or whistling parts of it to myself. Next, I must familiarize myself with more of Steve's solo work. The more I listen to For The Love of Strange Medicine, the more I like it. And when I learned that the song Anyway is an apology to the members of Journey, my admiration for Steve increased still more. The man is One Class Act!
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