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Journey’s<\/a> “Don’t Stop Believin’<\/a>” has many classic and memorable musical moments that have made it a timeless presence music fans’ playlists as well as the radio.<\/p>\n But there’s one key memory and specifically, a “chunky rhythm part<\/a>” that sticks with Neal Schon<\/a> when he looks back at the time they spent working on the legendary power ballad, which became a signature entry in the San Francisco band’s catalog. “They said, play something dumb,” the guitarist says in a new interview with Rick Beato<\/a>. That was the suggestion he received from producers Kevin Elson and Mike Stone. As it turns out, it was a good suggestion.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> The Most Skipped Song on Every Journey Album<\/a><\/p>\n ‘It’s like a Bachman-Turner Overdrive<\/a>, ‘Taking Care of Business’ kind of rhythm part. And it just kind of worked,” he says. “When you listen to it<\/a>, you don’t even really notice it, but if you take it out, then you go, what happened to it? It wasn’t my idea —\u00a0 I came up with the rhythm part. But that’s what a good producer will do for you, [they’ll] make you search a little bit.”<\/p>\n Watch Neal Schon Discuss the Rhythm Guitar Part on ‘Don’t Stop Believin’<\/strong><\/p>\n Released as part of 1981’s Escape<\/a><\/em>, the band’s seventh studio album, “Don’t Stop Believin'” became a Top 10 hit that same year. In 2012, it was recognized as the best-selling digital track with over seven million downloads and it was also selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2022.<\/p>\n It’s been the soundtrack for numerous pop culture events, including the series finale<\/a> for The Sopranos<\/a><\/em> in 2007 and subsequently, in 2009, it received another big lift when it was used in the pilot episode for Glee<\/a><\/em>. “Don’t Stop Believin'” is played in the eighth inning for every San Francisco Giants home game and memorably, former vocalist Steve Perry<\/a>, a season ticket holder, led the hometown crowd in a singalong<\/a> at a Giants World Series game in 2014.<\/p>\n It’s the classic question — did you know it was a hit song when you wrote and recorded it? For Schon, he had a certain inkling. “It’s crazy, when we wrote it, I thought there was something there, you know, when we were messing around with it in the studio,” he admitted during the conversation with Beato. “When I went back in the studio to listen after we cut it and it was coming together [with the] mix, I looked at the guys, and I go, ‘I think there’s something here that’s special, that’s going to be bigger than this whole record.’ And they go, ‘Oh, you think so?’ And I go, “I do.” And not until this many decades later, did it happen. But it did<\/em> happen.”<\/p>\n Watch Journey Perform ‘Don’t Stop Believin”<\/strong><\/p>\n Singers may come, and singers most certainly may go, but some great songs remain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSchon Had a Good Feeling About ‘Don’t Stop Believin”<\/h3>\n
The Best Song From Every Journey Album<\/h2>\n