Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote several Journey hit songs, including " Any Way You Want It", " Don't Stop Believin'", " Open Arms" and " Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)". 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 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 Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

. 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

''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), also 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 the ...

as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017. In August 2023, Perry made the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' list of the 50 greatest rock lead singers of all time, coming in at number 30. At the same time, ''Billboard'' readers chose Perry as their favorite rock singer of all time, with 67 percent of the overall votes.

Early life

Stephen Ray Perry was born in

Hanford, California Hanford is the most populous city and the county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 57,990 at the 2020 United States census, ...

, to Portuguese parents from the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. 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 him with a gold

eighth note 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note ( American) or a quaver ( British) is a musical note pla ...

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

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

's song "

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

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

Career

Early career

In his early 20s, Perry moved to

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

to start a band, later named Ice, with 16-year-old future music producer Scott Mathews, who co-wrote, played drums and guitar and sang. In 1972, they recorded at the

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

studios in Los Angeles by day while

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

recorded his '' Talking Book'' album by night. Upon returning to Sacramento, Ice disbanded as they 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, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

, where he formed a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

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

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

), 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 in Captain Beyond. Perry then moved to Banta, a small community near

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle form ...

, 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.

Journey era

Upon returning to Lemoore, Perry decided not to continue his singing career, but at the urging of his mother, he answered a call from Herbie Herbert, manager of struggling

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

-based band Journey. 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

soundcheck A soundcheck is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small po ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, 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 something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

,'' which included a single he wrote called " Lights". The band's style changed dramatically, but as Journey began to garner 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 the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

'' (1979), '' Departure'' (1980), '' Dream, After Dream'' (1980, a Japanese movie soundtrack), '' Captured'' (1980, a live album), '' Escape'' (1981, which reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard" Top LPs & Tape chart), '' Frontiers'' (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 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 "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

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 on April 5, 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 re ...

''. 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 " Oh Sherrie", written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford and which went to No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and "Foolish Heart", which went to No. 18. The music video for "Oh Sherrie" was on heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. The songs "She's Mine" and "Strung Out" were also released as singles. The album featured former Alien Project drummer Craig Krampf 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 Mitchel ...

, and future ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' judge Randy Jackson on bass, among others. In 1985, Perry was one of 21 singers on the

USA for Africa "We Are the World" is a charity record, charity single recorded by the charity supergroup, supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album ''We Are the World (al ...

all-star benefit song "

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album '' We Are the World''. With sales in excess of 20 milli ...

". He also recorded a song, "If Only For the Moment, Girl" for the ''

'' 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 on their 1987 album ''

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

''. 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 ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

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, although several of the songs that were recorded for the album would appear on Perry's 1998 solo compilation, '' Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased''). 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, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

, Perry joined

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

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 is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...

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'', 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 and Neal Schon 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 Steve Augeri (born January 30, 1959) is an American rock music, rock singing, singer best known for his work as the lead singer of Journey (band), Journey from 1998 to 2006. He has also provided lead vocals for Tall Stories (band), Tall Stories, ...

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 Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

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,'' which can be found on the motion picture's soundtrack. During an episode of VH1's '' Behind the Music'' 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 titled "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 landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

on January 21, 2005, after previously stating it was unlikely that he would ever perform 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, "never 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 mythology, Greek myths, ambrosia (, ) is the food or drink of the Greek gods, and is often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it. It was brought to the gods in Mount Olympus, Olympus by do ...

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, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. 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 "Biggest Part of Me" is a song by American band Ambrosia (band), Ambrosia, from the album ''One Eighty (album), One Eighty''. Released as a single in 1980, the song reached number one on the ''Radio & Records'' chart and number 3 on both the US B ...

" and " You're the Only Woman". 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

adopted Journey's " Don't Stop Believin' as their unofficial team anthem. As a result, Perry, a

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

fan, was asked to attend the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

and traveled with the White Sox to Houston, where he joined the players on the field and in the locker room as they celebrated winning the championship, their first since 1917. 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 that can be played once or in a loop. ...

: 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 (biology), order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 Family (biology), families, 164 genus, genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the earl ...

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. Perry released a 10-track studio album, '' Traces'', on October 5, 2018. A U.S. Deluxe Edition was released at Target 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 '' For the Love of Strange Medicine''. On December 17, 2018, Perry released a cover of "

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. ...

". 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". On November 1, 2019, Perry released a three-song holiday EP, ''Silver Bells''. On November 5, 2021, Perry released his first-ever Christmas album, ''The Season'', via

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

. On January 4, 2023, Perry confirmed that he sang backing vocals on

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

's rock album, '' Rockstar'', in addition to singing a duet cover of "Open Arms" on the same album. On October 18, 2024, Perry announced that he would release a new holiday album, titled ''The Season 3'', on November 8, 2024, through Dark Horse Records.

Style

Vocal technique and acclaim

Perry is renowned for his tenor vocal range, which spans from F₂ to A₅. Perry's voice has been described as a "high ' tenor altino' itha tone somewhere between Sam Cooke and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

." He has been dubbed "The Voice", a moniker originally coined by fellow singer

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

guitarist

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

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 Randy Jackson 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. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

, "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 is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, a little Everly Brothers, a little

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

." Journey guitarist Neal Schon likened Perry's ability to that of Aretha Franklin, and agreed with Fozzy vocalist

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

'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 Mus ...

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

arena rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...

, 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 radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' 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 r ...

'' 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 music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

, Jackie Wilson,

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer and occasional actor, best known as the frontman (lead singer) of The Four Seasons (band), the Four Seasons. He is known for ...

, Lou Christie,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

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 style ...

, and Jack Bruce of

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 proces ...

, along with female singers such as

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

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

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

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

Songwriting

Perry co-wrote most of Journey's songs throughout his tenure with the band, as well as in his solo efforts. In 2020, he was nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Personal life

In the 1980s Perry dated Sherrie Swafford, for whom he wrote the 1984 song " Oh Sherrie". In 2011, Perry began a relationship with Kellie Nash, a psychologist and breast cancer survivor. 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 Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurrica ...

, Perry said that he had 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

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

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

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

Discography

Studio albums

Solo

Compilation albums

Solo

* '' Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased'' (1998) * ''Playlist: The Very Best of Steve Perry'' (2009) * ''Oh Sherrie: The Best of Steve Perry'' (2010)

EPs

* ''Silver Bells'' (2019)

Singles

Solo

With Journey

* ''

'' (1978) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Departure'' (1980) * '' Dream, After Dream'' (1980) * '' Escape'' (1981) * '' Frontiers'' (1983) * '' Raised on Radio'' (1986) * '' Trial by Fire'' (1996)

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 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American writers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American writers American countertenors American male singer-songwriters American people of Azorean descent American people of Portuguese descent American rock keyboardists American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Columbia Records artists Fantasy Records artists Journey (band) members Living people People from Hanford, California People from Lemoore, California Singer-songwriters from California