Ross Lamont Valory (born February 2, 1949) is an American musician who is best known as the original bass player for the rock band Journey from 1973 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 2020. Valory 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 and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

as a member of Journey in 2017.

Career

Ross Valory was born on February 2, 1949 in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. He grew up in

Lafayette, California Lafayette (formerly La Fayette) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 25,391. It was named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer of the American Revolutionary War. ...

and attended

Acalanes High School Acalanes High School is a public secondary school located in Lafayette, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, within Contra Costa County. Acalanes was the first of four high schools established in the Acalanes Union High S ...

. In high school, he played clarinet, bass clarinet and guitar. His mother introduced him to jazz, particularly Dave Brubeck. He played with Frumious Bandersnatch followed by

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock, as ...

appearing on '' Rock Love''. He was joined by guitarist David Denny, drummer Jack King and bassist Bobby Winkelman, all of whom would become members of the Steve Miller Band. In fact it was Jim Nixon, the manager of Frumious Bandersnatch, who would introduce Valory to Journey band members along with

Prairie Prince Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and graphic artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to ...

, later of

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early ...

who originally sat in on drums. Valory later joined the Golden Gate Rhythm Section which was later renamed to Journey. Aside from his termination from the group during the '' Raised on Radio'' album sessions and the album's supporting tour in 1986, Valory has played on all of Journey's albums to date. For ''Raised on Radio'', he was replaced on bass in the studio by Bob Glaub on three songs, while the remaining songs were played by

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

, who also played on the subsequent tour. Though he returned to the band when they reformed in 1995, Valory was dismissed from Journey again in 2020, with Jackson replacing him once again. One of Valory's techniques is to string a four-string bass with the bottom four strings of a 5-string set. Thus, instead of the usual E-A-D-G arrangement, his bass is strung as B-E-A-D, which he calls Nashville Tuning. This adds the five string depth to the songs, while allowing the quick fingering of a four-string neck. Valory recorded Escape with an Ovation Magnum II, used a Peavey and a Steinberger for Frontiers, and a Fender Jazz up until the Departure album. Valory also played for The V.U., The Storm, and the

Discography

Steve Miller Band

*'' Rock Love'' (1971)

Journey

*'' Journey'' (1975) *'' Look into the Future'' (1976) *''

Next Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

'' (1977) *''

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions am ...

'' (1978) *''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'' (1979) *'' Departure'' (1980) *'' Dream, After Dream'' (1980) *'' Captured'' (1981) *'' Escape'' (1981) *'' Frontiers'' (1983) *'' Trial by Fire'' (1996) *'' Arrival'' (2001) *'' Red 13'' (2002) *'' Generations'' (2005) *''

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on th ...

'' (2008) *''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

'' (2011)

Todd Rundgren

*'' 2nd Wind'' (1991)

The Storm

*''The Storm'' (1991) *''Eye of the Storm'' (1996)

The V.U.

*''Phoenix Rising'' (2000)

References

Bibliography

External links

Ross Valory official MySpace site

Official Journey website

Ross Valory Mouthman site

Bass Musician Magazine Interviews Ross Valory
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valory, Ross 1949 births Living people American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Guitarists from San Francisco Journey (band) members Singers from San Francisco Steve Miller Band members Frumious Bandersnatch members 20th-century American guitarists The Storm (American band) members