Jonathan Leonard Friga (born February 26, 1950), known professionally as Jonathan Cain, is an American musician and songwriter best known as the keyboardist for

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

. He has also worked with

the Babys The Babys are a British rock group best known for their songs " Isn't It Time" and " Every Time I Think of You". Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy, and each reached No. 13 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 8 on ...

and

Bad English Bad English was an American/British glam metal supergroup formed in 1987. It reunited Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in the Babys, along with Journey guitarist Neal S ...

. Cain was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

as a member of Journey in 2017. He also maintains a solo career as a

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

artist.

Early life

Cain was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, to Leonard and Nancy Friga. At the age of eight, Cain began

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

lessons, and by the time he was in his teens, he was playing accordion and piano at parties and in clubs. He also plays guitar, bass, and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

. Cain is a survivor of the Our Lady of the Angels school fire of 1958, in which 92 students and 3 nuns died. In 1968, Cain graduated from

East Leyden High School East Leyden High School is a secondary school located in Franklin Park, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) which educates grades 9-12. Together with West Leyden High School in Northlake, Illinois, they serve the suburban communities in Franklin ...

in the Chicago suburb of Franklin Park, Illinois, and later attended the

Chicago Conservatory of Music The Music Conservatory was founded in 1867 as the Chicago Musical College, a conservatory. In 1954, the Chicago Musical College became part of Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schau ...

Career

In 1976, Cain released his first record as the Jonathan Cain Band, ''Windy City Breakdown'', on Bearsville Records. In 1979, he joined

, appearing on their albums ''Union Jacks'' and ''On the Edge''. In 1980, Cain left The Babys to join the rock band

, taking

Gregg Rolie Gregg Alan Rolie (born June 17, 1947) is an American singer and keyboardist. Rolie served as lead singer of the bands Santana and Journey – both of which he co-founded. He also helmed rock group The Storm, performed in Ringo Starr & His All ...

's place on keyboards. Cain aided Journey's rise to the top of the charts with his first collaborations on the album ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

'', composing and playing the piano on songs such as "

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin'" shares writ ...

", described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as "one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock". Perhaps his most notable contribution was as sole author of the Journey ballad " Faithfully", a song about life on the road while in a band. Cain would go on to appear on at least 13 other Journey albums and compilations. The song "

Working Class Man "Working Class Man" is a song performed and made famous by Australian singer Jimmy Barnes. It was written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "Working Class Man" is generally considered Barnes' signature song as a solo artist. At the 19 ...

" sung by

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...

is one of Cain's compositions and is considered to be Barnes'

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. Cain reunited with former Babys bandmates

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

and

Ricky Phillips Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and a member of the rock band Styx since 2003, splitting duties with longtime bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of The Babys and Bad En ...

, fellow Journey bandmate

Neal Schon Neal (Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hono ...

, and future Journey drummer

Deen Castronovo Deen J. Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer, best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline. He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands Jo ...

to form the band

. The band released two albums before disbanding in the early 1990s. In 1996, the Journey lineup from the album ''Escape'' was reunited. They reformed and recorded the album '' Trial by Fire''.

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...

then left the band again in 1998, after suffering a hip injury while hiking in Hawaii, that required surgery. Journey has continued on with three subsequent lead singers,

Steve Augeri Steve Augeri (born January 30, 1959) is an American rock singer best known for his work as the lead singer of Journey from 1998 to 2006. He was also affiliated with Tall Stories and Tyketto. In 2014, he formed the band Ünderwörld. Personal ...

from 1998 to 2006,

Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and (briefly) the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–2007. Soto also ...

from 2006 to 2007, and

Arnel Pineda Arnel Campaner Pineda (born September 5, 1967) is a Filipino singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the Philippines during the 1980s and internationally in 2007 as the lead singer of the American rock band Journey. Early life Arnel ...

from 2007 to the present. Cain is known to perform a piano solo at every Journey concert, usually right before the band performs " Open Arms." He started this tradition when he first joined the band in 1980. In addition to his work with Journey, Cain has released eight solo albums and contributed to solo albums by fellow Journey member

. His solo work includes a move to making Christian music since 2016. Cain serves as the worship leader at City of Destiny, where his wife

Paula White Paula Michelle White-Cain (née Furr; born April 20, 1966) is an American televangelist and a proponent of prosperity theology. White became chair of the evangelical advisory board in Donald Trump's administration. She delivered the invocation a ...

is the pastor. In May 2018, Cain became a published author with the release of his memoir, ''Don't Stop Believin': The Man, the Band, and the Song That Inspired Generations.''

Personal life

Cain has married three times. His first wife was singer

Tané McClure Tané M. McClure (born June 8, 1958), sometimes credited as Tahnee Cain and Tané Cain, is an American former actress and singer. Biography McClure was born in Los Angeles County, California. She is the daughter of actor Doug McClure and Faye ...

for whom he wrote the 1983 hit song '' Faithfully''. In 1989, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Yvette Fullerton, with whom he has three children: Madison (1993) and twins Liza and Weston (1996). He and Elizabeth divorced at the end of 2014. Madison is married to Trev Lukather, Steve Lukather's son. In April 2015, he married minister

. This is the third marriage for both. They reside in

Apopka, Florida Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

. Jonathan has two younger brothers, Thomas and Harold. Cain and David Kalmusky designed and built a recording studio called Addiction Sound in Nashville. Cain is a devout Christian and his beliefs are seen in his work creating and sharing Christian music. In November 2022, Cain performed "Don't Stop Believin'", which he co-wrote, at a party at

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's Mar-a-Lago estate. Journey bandmate

's attorney sent Cain a letter accusing him of damaging the "Journey brand" by performing at a political event, and asking him to refrain from representing Journey at such events.

Solo discography

* "Til It's Time to Say Goodbye"/"Ladies' Night" (1975) October Records CT 1001-AS(BS) * '' Windy City Breakdown'' (1977) Bearsville/Wounded Bird Records. * '' Back to the Innocence'' (1995)

Intersound Records Intersound Records was an American independent record label that operated in the 1980s and 1990s. The company was founded by industry veteran Don Johnson in 1982, who purchased some assets of Pickwick Records from its parent company and named his ...

. * ''Piano with a View'' (1995) Higher Octave Records. * ''

Body Language Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...

'' (1997) Higher Octave Records. * '' For a Lifetime'' (1998) Higher Octave Records. * ''Namaste'' (2001) Wildhorse Records. * ''Anthology'' (2001) One Way Records. * ''Animated Movie Love Songs'' (2002) One Way Records. * ''Bare Bones'' (2004) AAO Records. * ''Where I Live'' (2006) AAO Records. * ''What God Wants to Hear'' (2016) Identity Records. * ''Unsung Noel'' (2017) * ''The Songs You Leave Behind'' (2018) * ''More Like Jesus'' (2019) * ''Piano Worship'' (2020) * ''Freedom In Your Grace'' (2020) * ''Arise'' (2022) * ''Christmas is Love'' (2022)

Awards

He has received two BMI songwriter awards, both for songs co-written with Steve Perry, " Open Arms" and "

Who's Crying Now "Who's Crying Now" is a song by the American rock band Journey. It was written by Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry. It was released in 1981 as the first single from ''Escape'' and reached No. 4 on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Mainstr ...

". The Journey song, "

When You Love a Woman "When You Love a Woman" is a song by American rock band Journey. It is the third track from their 10th studio album, '' Trial by Fire'' (1996), and was released as the lead single from that album in September 1996. The song reached number one on ...

", which he co-wrote with Perry and Schon, was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 1997.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Official website
*
The Babys Official Unofficial Archives and Chronological History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Jonathan 1950 births Living people American rock keyboardists American performers of Christian music American evangelicals Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism American jazz composers American multi-instrumentalists Musicians from Chicago The Babys members Journey (band) members Bad English members Keytarists East Leyden High School alumni People from Novato, California American rock pianists American male pianists American pop pianists American rock singers Songwriters from California American jazz keyboardists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians Jazz musicians from Illinois American male jazz composers 20th-century American keyboardists Bearsville Records artists Jazz musicians from California