Neal Schon
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| Neal Schon Jamming |
Neal Schon "Don't Stop Believin'" |
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| Neal Schon Lesson "Don't Stop Believin'" |
Neal Schon's Les Paul |
| Guitarist Quick-Facts |
| Name: Neal Schon |
| Born: February 27, 1954 |
| Guitar Gear |
| Guitars: Fender Gibson |
| Amplifiers: Marshall |
| Bands: Past & Present |
| Bad English, Journey |
Neal Schon was born on February 27, 1954, on Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Neal first picked up the guitar at age 5, and progressed quickly on the instrument. At the age of only 15, Schon had offers from Eric Clapton to join Derek and the Dominos and Carlos Santana to join his band. Since Santana asked first, Schon chose him, and recorded on the album Santana III. In 1973, Santana manager Herbie Herbert brought together Santana alumni Schon and Gregg Rolie with bassist Ross Valory, guitarist George Tickner, and drummer Prairie Prince to become professional backup group, Golden Gate Rhythm Section.
The band decided against being a mere backing group, and became a standalone jazz fusion band. It was their roadie, John Vallaneuva, who suggested that the band name themselves Journey. Shortly after the band's first performance, the drummer left to rejoin his previous band. He was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar, and the band recorded their eponymous debut album in 1975. Neither that album, or their second release, “Look into the Future”, achieved significant sales. In an attempt to refine the band's sound with vocal harmonies, Schon, Valory, and Dunbar took vocal lessons and their next release, “Next”, contained several tracks on which Neal sang lead.
After the third album didn't fare any better than the first two, their record label, Columbia Records, requested that they change their style. The label suggested that Journey hired a dedicated lead singer to act as a frontman, and Robert Fleischman became a part of the band. With a new musical direction, similar to that of Foreigner or Boston, the band wrote the future hit single “Wheel in the Sky”. Fleischman was fired after less than a year due to personality conflicts with the rest of the band.
The band hired Steve Perry in 1977, and changed their sound again to more of a pop style. “Wheel in the Sky” was recorded for the fourth album, “Infinity”, and along with “Lights” became a hit single. The album was Journey's first big success, reaching number 21 on the album charts and going platinum. The band continued their success releasing the albums “Evolution” and “Departure” in 1979 and 1980. The albums produced the two hits in the top 25, “Lovin, Touchin,Squeezin” and “Any Way You Want It”.
The band changed their sound again after keyboard player Gregg Rolie left and his Hammond B-3 Organ was replaced by the synthesizers of Jonathan Cain. Armed with synthesizers and entering the 80s, Journey released their best selling album, “Escape”. The album, released in 1981, has went platinum nine times over. It went to number one on the album charts when it was released, spawned three top ten hit singles, “Who's Cryin Now”, “Don't Stop Believing”, and “Open Arm”, and was made into two successful video games, the Midway made arcade game “Journey” and the Data Age Atari 2600 cartridge “Journey Escape”. The albums astronomical success prompted recently formed MTV to tape and air one of the band's sold out arena shows.
Journey backed up the hype of “Escape” with their next commercial hit album, “Frontiers”. The album reached the number two spot on the album charts and sold close to six million copies. “Frontiers” brought the album four more top forty hits, “Separate Ways”, “Faithfully”, “Sen Her My Love”, and “After the Fall”. The band booked a stadium tour in support of the album, and hired NFL Films to shoot a documentary about their life on the road. Concert footage for the film, “Frontiers and Beyond”, was shot at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia in front of 80,000 fans.
After taking some time off, Journey returned in 1986. Ross Valory was fired and replaced by session bassist Randy Jackson, making Schon the only remaining original member of the band. The album recorded with the new lineup, “Raised on Radio” was another smash hit for the band, going multi-platinum and containing four top 20 singles. After the release of that album, though, Journey went on another hiatus.
Schon, along with Journey bandmate Jonathan Cain formed the band Bad English while Journey was inactive. The band's eponymous debut album sold big, featuring the number one hit “When I See You Smile”, and the top ten hits “Price of Love” and “Possession”. The film “Tango and Cash” featured another track from the album, “Best of What I Got”. The band dissolved after the recording of their second album, but before it was even released. Schon and bassist Ricky Phillips were unhappy with the pop sound of the band, and wanted to work on harder edged projects.
Schon reunited with his fellow Journey bandmates in 1995, and the band released the album “Trial by Fire”. Over the next decade they would continue to record and perform, although with two changes in the lead singer slot in that time period.
