The Guitarist Who Joined Journey for Two Hours

You can be forgiven for not remembering Les Dudek’s tenure in Journey. After all, it didn’t last long. “I was in Journey for about two hours,” the guitarist admits to Guitar World magazine.

He’d already had a few brushes with fame by the time Journey’s founding manager Herbie Herbert began constructing the group around ex-Santana members Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon. Dudek made notable contributions to “Jessica” and “Ramblin’ Man” by the Allman Brothers Band and he’d toured with Boz Scaggs and Steve Miller.

Journey might have finally put him on the map.

“I had already moved to the West Coast and was trying to put something together with members from Steve and Boz’s bands,” Dudek remembered. “That’s when I got a call from Herbie Herbert, who said, ‘Les, I’m putting a super band together, and I want you to be one of the guitar players.’ I asked him who the other guitarist was, and he said, ‘Neal Schon from Santana – great player.'”

Dudek decided to feel things out. He said he rehearsed the next day with a core group that also included bassist Ross Valory and drummer Aynsley Dunbar. But Dudek already had another appointment, so their time together was cut short.

“We jammed for a couple of hours doing some cool fusion s—. It was great stuff,” Dudek remembered. “I looked at my watch because I knew I had a meeting across the street with somebody from Columbia. I went to the meeting, and the president and vice-president of Columbia were there waiting for me. They offered me a solo deal right on the spot.”

Dudek signed the contract, and a series of largely overlooked solo records followed: Ghost Town Parade became his highest-charting release in 1978 at No. 100. By then, Journey was becoming a multi-platinum juggernaut with the addition of Steve Perry.

Of course, nobody knew that back when Dudek was trying to decide whether to join Journey. He felt as if he’d hit the jackpot.

“It’s like the best Cinderella story ever told in the music business,” Dudek said. “I went from not knowing how I was going to pay my rent to having to decide: Do I go with Journey or a solo deal with Columbia? I chose Columbia.”

Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio ‘Journey: Worlds Apart,’ available now at all major bookseller websites.