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-wrote several of Journey’s hit songs. Perry had a successful solo career between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, made sporadic appearances in the 2000s, and returned to music full-time in 2018. Perry's singing voice has garnered acclaim from prominent musical peers and publications; he has been dubbed "The Voice", a

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

originally coined by

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

. Ranked No. 76 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", Perry 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 and ...

as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017.

Early life

Stephen Ray Perry was born in

Hanford, California Hanford is a city and county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History ...

, to Portuguese parents from the

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. He is an only child. Perry grew up interested in music, as his father, Raymond Perry (Pereira), was a vocalist and co-owner of radio station KNGS. Perry's parents ended their relationship when he was eight. He and his mother then moved to his grandparents' dairy farm. On Perry's 12th birthday, his mother, Mary Quaresma, presented her son with a gold

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pendant; Perry wears the pendant for good luck. At age 12, Perry heard

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...

's song "

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

" on his mother's car radio, and it inspired him to become a singer.

Music career

Early career

In his early 20s, Perry moved to

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to start a band with 16-year-old future music producer

Scott Mathews Scott Mathews (born July 25, 1955) is an American music producer, composer, performer, and entrepreneur. He has appeared as a musician, songwriter or producer on recordings with sales of more than 40 million units which earned more than 20 gol ...

, who co-wrote, played drums and guitar and sang. That band, Ice, wrote original material and were poised for success in the music business. In 1972, they recorded at the

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blo ...

studios in Los Angeles by day while

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

recorded his '' Talking Book'' album by night. Upon returning to Sacramento, Ice disbanded as the band had no management, Mathews was still in high school, and the recordings went virtually unheard. In 1975, Perry moved to

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

, where he formed a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

band called Pieces with Tim Bogert (who had previously worked with

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a fo ...

), Denver Cross, and Eddie Tuduri. After a year and a half, the group was unable to secure a record deal and disbanded. Perry also unsuccessfully auditioned to replace

Rod Evans Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a British former singer. In the late 1960s, he began his professional career in The Maze, formerly MI5, after which he was a member of the original Deep Purple line-up, who produced three studio albums ...

Captain Beyond Captain Beyond is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1971.
at

. Perry then ended up in

Banta, California Banta is a small unincorporated community in San Joaquin County, California. Originally known as the village of San Joaquin Valley in the 1840s, the town was served by the McCloud Stage Company as the last stop for passengers before heading ove ...

, outside of

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle formed by Interstate 205 on the north side of the city, Inter ...

, where he fronted the band Alien Project in his mid-20s. He nearly gave up music when the bassist of that band, Richard Michaels, was killed in an automobile accident. Perry returned to Lemoore and decided not to continue his singing career, but at the urging of his mother, he answered a call from Walter "Herbie" Herbert, manager of struggling San Francisco-based band Journey.

Journey era

Original Journey organizer/manager Herbert had been given a demo of an Alien Project song, "If You Need Me, Call Me", and was told by producer Scott Mathews that the young singer would be a great replacement for then-current frontman Robert Fleischman. Fleischman had never signed with Herbert's company (preferring his previous manager) and had not fully coalesced with the band's then progressive rock style. Perry was brought on tour and to avoid alarming Fleischman was referred to as a roadie's Portuguese cousin. During a sound check in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

, Perry surreptitiously performed a song with Journey while Fleischman was away from the stage; soon thereafter, Herbert informed the band members that Perry was the new lead singer. Perry brought a radically new, more pop-influenced style sense to the band's music, despite some grumblings from the band's existing members and fans of Journey's progressive rock sound. He made his public debut on October 28, 1977, in San Francisco to a mixed reception. Perry eventually won over new fans on his first album with the group, ''

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 ...

,'' which included a song he wrote called " Lights." The band's style had changed dramatically, but as Journey began to garner radio airplay and media buzz over ''Infinity'', Perry's arrival was fully accepted. Perry provided lead vocals on nine of Journey's albums: ''Infinity'' (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, a Japanese movie soundtrack), '' Captured'' (1980, a live 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 s ...

'' (1981, which reached No. 1 on the

Billboard chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

), ''

Frontiers Frontiers may refer to: * Frontier, areas near or beyond a boundary Arts and entertainment Music * ''Frontiers'' (Journey album), 1983 * ''Frontiers'' (Jermaine Jackson album), 1978 * ''Frontiers'' (Jesse Cook album), 2007 * ''Frontiers'' (P ...

'' (1983), '' Raised on Radio'' (1986), and '' Trial By Fire'' (1996). The single " Open Arms" from ''Escape'' was their biggest hit single, charting at No. 2 for six weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. During his Journey tenure, Perry also sang backing vocals on several

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

songs, including the 1980 tracks "The Iceman" (a nickname Hagar had for Scott Mathews) and "Run For Your Life", and duetting with

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

on the 1982 No. 17 hit single "Don't Fight It". In 1984, following the release of ''Frontiers'' and the tour supporting this effort, Perry released his first solo album, ''

Street Talk ''Street Talk'' is Steve Perry's first solo studio album, released in April 1984. ''Street Talk'' contains Perry's biggest hit as a solo artist, "Oh Sherrie", written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford.Steve Perry talks about the recordin ...

'' (the album's title was derived from the original name of Perry's earlier band Alien Project). The record sold more than 2 million units, scoring the hit singles No. 3 "

Oh Sherrie "Oh Sherrie" is the debut solo single by American singer Steve Perry. Written by Perry, Randy Goodrum, Craig Krampf and Bill Cuomo, the song was recorded and released on Perry's first solo album '' Street Talk'' in 1984, which he released while ...

", written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford, and No. 18 "Foolish Heart". The music video for "Oh Sherrie" saw heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. "She's Mine" and "Strung Out" were also released as singles from this project, which featured former Alien Project drummer

Craig Krampf Craig Krampf (born October 22, 1954) is an American drummer, percussionist, arranger, record producer and songwriter. The majority of his notable credits are as a studio drummer. Since the 1970s, he has played on albums by other artists ranging f ...

on a few tracks, guitarist

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mit ...

, and future ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

'' judge

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 ba ...

on bass, among others. In 1985, Perry was one of 21 singers on the

USA for Africa United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was the name under which 47 predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a U.S. and UK number one for ...

all-star benefit song " We Are the World". He also recorded a song, "If Only For the Moment, Girl" for the '' We Are the World'' album. This song was added to the reissue of his album ''Street Talk''. Also during this period, Perry worked with the Irish folk-rock group

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

on their 1987 album ''

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...

''. While Perry was reuniting with Journey, his mother became ill. The recording of ''Raised on Radio'', which Perry was producing, was stop-and-go as he frequently returned to the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

to visit his mother, who died during the production of the album. It took a major toll on Journey to have intermittent recording sessions and a vocalist who was not with the band much of the time. Eventually, Perry became exhausted from the ordeal. Journey then went into hiatus in 1987 after the ''Raised on Radio'' tour. In 1988, Perry began to work on another solo album, ''Against the Wall'', which he ultimately left unfinished (though several of the songs that were recorded for ''Against the Wall'' would appear on Perry's 1998 solo compilation, ''

Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased Greatest may refer to: * '' Greatest!'', a 1959 album by Johnny Cash * ''Bee Gees Greatest ''Bee Gees Greatest'' is a greatest hits album by British pop group Bee Gees. Released by RSO Records in October 1979, the album is a retrospective of t ...

''). A year later, on April 30, 1989, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is t ...

, Perry joined

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

to perform Sam Cooke's " Bring It On Home to Me" and the Four Tops' " Reach Out". He would also reunite with Journey at the Bill Graham tribute concert, "Laughter, Love and Music" on November 3, 1991, at

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the developm ...

in San Francisco, performing " Faithfully" and "Lights". Other than those three events, however, Perry mostly disappeared from the public eye for seven years, taking a break from the music industry. In 1994, Perry released ''

For the Love of Strange Medicine ''For the Love of Strange Medicine'' is the second solo studio album by Steve Perry, released on July 13, 1994 through Columbia Records. The album came after a lengthy 8-year hiatus following the breakup of Journey. The first single " You Bett ...

'', his second solo effort. The album was successful, partly due to the Strange Medicine world tour. Journey's classic 1981–85 lineup reunited in 1996 to record ''Trial by Fire''. The album was a huge success, entering the Billboard charts at No. 3 and going platinum before year's end, but its triumph was short-lived. Before the ''Trial By Fire'' tour could begin, Perry suffered a hip injury while hiking in Hawaii and was unable to perform. Perry was diagnosed with a degenerative bone condition and a hip replacement was required, and as he was reluctant to rush into the surgery, Perry wanted to postpone the tour. The remaining members waited until 1998, nearly 17 months after Perry's injury, before making a decision on Journey's future. Growing impatient and realizing the window of opportunity was closing to follow up the success of the ''Trial By Fire'' LP with a world tour, Journey members

Jonathan Cain 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. He has also worked with the Babys and Bad English. Cain was inducted into ...

and

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", "hon ...

met with Perry. They presented him with an ultimatum: If he did not undergo hip replacement surgery so the tour could proceed upon his recovery, the band would hire a replacement singer. Still hesitant to undergo surgery, and now upset at his bandmates, Perry announced that he was permanently leaving Journey. His lead vocal duties were later taken over by Steve Augeri of Tall Stories. Nearly two years after the initial release of ''Trial by Fire'', Journey began to tour. Perry released his ''Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased''

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

on December 15, 1998; the unreleased tracks included an original Alien Project demo as well as selections from the abandoned ''Against the Wall'' album. Also in 1998, Perry recorded two songs for the Warner Bros. film ''

Quest for Camelot ''Quest for Camelot'' (released internationally as ''The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot'') is a 1998 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and directed by Frederik Du Chau and very loosely based on t ...

,'' which can be found on the motion picture's soundtrack. During an episode of VH1's ''

Behind the Music ''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...

'' in 2001, Perry stated that he "never really felt like ewas part of the band". Former manager Herbie Herbert reacted by saying "That's like the Pope saying he never really felt Catholic."

21st century

Perry appeared on two tracks by Kauai, Hawaii, artist Tommy Tokioka's album ''Happy To Be Living'', singing backup vocals on songs "I Wish You Were Mine" and "An Angel Above Me" in 2000. He collaborated with musician Jeff Golub on a song entitled "Can't Let You Go" for Golub's ''Soul Sessions'' album, which was released in 2003. Perry provided vocals on the mostly instrumental jazz track. Perry appeared with other Journey members at a ceremony on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

on January 21, 2005, after previously stating it was unlikely that he would ever stand with the band again. He indicated that, though it was a good experience, it was unlikely that he would rejoin the band. However, he has also said, " ver say never, unless you mean never, nevertheless" when the issue of returning to Journey has been mentioned. Perry co-produced "A Brand New Start", a track on a solo album for former

Ambrosia In the ancient Greek myths, ''ambrosia'' (, grc, ἀμβροσία 'immortality'), the food or drink of the Greek gods, is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus ...

lead vocalist David Pack, in 2005. Perry also provided co-vocals and background vocals for the track, among the many songs he and Pack co-wrote shortly after the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. That album, ''The Secret of Moving On'', released in September 2005, includes covers of two of Pack's biggest hits with Ambrosia, " Biggest Part of Me" and " You're the Only Woman." On October 3, 2006, Perry's two solo projects, ''Street Talk'' and ''For the Love of Strange Medicine'' (both featuring previously unreleased material), and his ''Greatest Hits'' CD were remastered and re-released. Sony Legacy released ''

Playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

: The Very Best of Steve Perry'' on January 13, 2009. At three concerts in 2014, Perry joined the indie rock band

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

during the encore and sang several songs. On April 7, 2017, Perry appeared alongside his Journey ex-bandmates for the first time since 2005 at the band's induction into the

. Perry gave an acceptance speech, but chose not to perform with the band in deference to current Journey lead singer

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 Arne ...

. Perry released a 10-track studio album, '' Traces'', on October 5, 2018. A US Deluxe Edition was released at

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

and has five bonus tracks. Perry has described the album as a "cathartic" and "emotional expression" about the loss of a loved one. The record is Perry's third studio work and his first since ''

''. On December 17, 2018, Perry released a cover of " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." In March 2019, Perry released a deluxe version of the ''Traces'' album, featuring five bonus tracks along with his first official music video in 25 years for "We're Still Here". Perry released a three-song holiday EP on November 1, 2019, ''Silver Bells''. On November 5, 2021, Perry released his first-ever Christmas album, ''The Season'', via Fantasy Records.

Vocal style and acclaim

Perry is renowned for his countertenor vocal range, which spans from F₂ to A₅. Perry's voice has been described as a "high '

tenor altino The tenore contraltino is a specialized form of the tenor voice found in Italian opera around the beginning of the 19th century, mainly in the Gioachino Rossini, Rossini repertoire, which rapidly evolved into the modern 'Romantic' tenor. It is somet ...

' itha tone somewhere between Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin." He has been dubbed "The Voice", a moniker originally coined by fellow singer

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

guitarist Brian May said: "Perry is a truly luminous singer, in my opinion—a voice in a million."Queen Guitarist Weighs In On Journey Singer Changes
RoadrunnerRecords.com Record executive, producer, and former ''

'' judge and Journey session musician

has described Perry's voice as "the golden voice," adding that aside from

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

, "there's no singer in rock that even came close to Steve Perry. The power, the range, the tone—he created his own style. He mixed a little

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, a little

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

, a little

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." Journey guitarist

likened Perry's ability to that of

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

, and agreed with

Fozzy Fozzy is an American heavy metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999 by lead singer Chris Jericho/Irvine, lead guitarist Rich Ward and drummer Frank Fontsere, who are the longest-serving members of the band and have appeared on all band ...

vocalist

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...

's assertion that Perry "might be the greatest male singer of all time". Greg Prato of

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

wrote: "If only one singer could be selected as the most identifiable with '80s

arena rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...

, it would have to be Journey's Steve Perry.""Steve Perry: Biography"
.

. Retrieved June 10, 2010. Prato's colleague John Franck praised Perry's as a soaring "whale of a voice". He was voted among the ten greatest rock singers of all time in a 2009 ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

'' reader poll. ''

'' ranked Perry No. 76 in "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time," lauding his "technical skills" as well as his "pure tone and passionate sincerity."Greatest Singers of All Time
, ''Rolling Stone'' Geoff Nicholls of ''

Rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

'' referred to Perry as "arguably the best singer of his generation".

, to whom Perry has been compared, was Perry's primary influence. He has also cited the vocal approach of

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

, Lou Christie,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the styl ...

, and

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, along with female singers such as

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

, Dee Dee Sharp and Aretha Franklin. Musically, Perry drew influence from

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

. He also spoke of his fondness for Motown recordings and English bands of the late 1960s.

Songwriting

Perry was a principal songwriter for most of Journey's songs throughout his tenure with the band, as well as his solo efforts. These efforts led to a nomination to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame 2020.

Personal life

In the 1980s Perry dated Sherrie Swafford, for whom he wrote the 1984 song "

". In 2011, Perry began a relationship with psychologist and breast cancer survivor Kellie Nash. He was by Nash's side as she battled a cancer recurrence, and she died in December 2012. In a September 2018 interview, Perry said, "Things happened to me as a child that I still can't talk about – nothing to do with my parents, but things did happen. It happened to a lot of kids, as I find out... there was nowhere to talk it out, so I got to sing it out instead." In a 2019 interview with Dan Rather, Perry discussed that he has a daughter and grandchildren, but declined to go into further details saying, "I do have a child, but in the essence of protecting her, I kinda don't want to get into that...and I have grandchildren too."

Health and interests

Perry underwent successful hip replacement surgery in 1998. In May 2013, Perry had a mole removed that turned out to be

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

. He had two surgeries to remove the cancer cells and was told the surgeries were successful, requiring no further treatment. During the 2005 baseball season, the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

adopted Journey's " Don't Stop Believin' as their unofficial team anthem. As a result, Perry (a San Francisco Giants fan) was asked to attend the 2005 World Series, World Series and traveled with the White Sox to Houston, where Perry joined the players on the field and in the locker room as they celebrated their championship.

Discography

Studio albums

With Journey

* ''

'' (1978) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Departure'' (1980) * '' Dream, After Dream'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * ''

'' (1983) * '' Raised on Radio'' (1986) * ''Trial by Fire (Journey album), Trial by Fire'' (1996)

Solo

Compilation albums

Solo

* ''

'' (1998) * ''Playlist: The Very Best of Steve Perry'' (2009) * ''Oh Sherrie: The Best of Steve Perry'' (2010)

EPs

* ''Silver Bells'' (2019)

Singles

Solo

Other appearances

References

Citations

General and cited references

* *

External links

*
Journey Rocker Kept Sopranos Boss Waiting
(archived link)
Steve Perry interview with Stuck in the '80s podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Steve 1949 births American male singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Journey (band) members Living people People from Hanford, California American people of Azorean descent People from Lemoore, California 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers Singer-songwriters from California American rock keyboardists Fantasy Records artists Columbia Records artists Countertenors American people of Portuguese descent