Posted on 10/19/2020 5:44:00 PM PDT by KevinB
On October 6th, Steve Perry got a text from his recording engineer that read, “Oh man, Eddie Van Halen. I can’t believe it.” The former Journey frontman had no idea what he was talking about. “I don’t watch the news anymore,” he says. “And so I picked up the phone and said, ‘What’s going on?'” When he heard the tragic news that the guitarist died after a long battle with cancer, Perry’s mind instantly went back to 1978 when Van Halen opened for Journey for eight weeks on the Infinity tour. He phoned up Rolling Stone to tell stories from that legendary tour and to reveal that he got a call from Eddie after David Lee Roth left the band in 1985 that could have changed rock history in a profound way. These are Perry’s words.
(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
I seem to remember that there was a guitar ping list a while back, but I haven't heard anything in a long time.
If there is such a list, please add me. If not, I'm happy to get one going and maintain it. Just let me know if you'd like to be added to the list.
Ping
I’m in.
Done
Perry? Yeah, nope.
Sign me up.Thanks.
Thanks for the ping!
I’ll ping the guitar/Bass list for this. We haven’t had a G/B ping in a while.
I'm not much of a fan of Perry or Journey either, but Perry's reflections on Eddie are interesting.
Done
And you had Michael Anthony on bass who had this real high, literally operatic tenor voice. Eddie sang beautifully too.
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Wonder if there are any recordings that feature their singing beyond just backing vocals?
I despise Steve Perry.
He may have ‘hit it big’ with Journey’ but he ruined a GREAT BAND.
Before Perry Journey made wonderful exciting music.
After Perry they made mass produced bubble gum pop music.
His arrival was a huge loss...for the world of quality music.
Steve Perry was to Journey as Michael McDonald was to the Doobie Brothers.
Steve Perry. Best vocals ever. I don’t care what ya say. No body touches that guys voice when he was in his prime. Journeys greatest hits....
I like Eddie, and I really like Perry as a singer, and I do NOT see these two together, ever.
Female vocal coach reacts to Steve Perry. She has some pretty cute moments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYTPbw_4KfM
Despise Steve Perry? Wow.
Favorite singer and guitarist. Agree, just don’t see them together. Sammy was the perfect choice for me.
I’ve read/heard many stories over the years about VH opening for Journey on their first tour. Not many from VH, mind you, most were from Neil Schon about how he felt he had to raise his own game every night, and Schon is one of the greatest guitarists in history himself, being a virtuoso who backed up Carlos Santana while he was just a teen. Supposedly Santana was in competition with Eric Clapton who wanted Schon in Derek and the Dominoes, but Neil and his dad didn’t think he was old enough to start touring the whole world.
In any event, Steve Perry is arguably the greatest vocalist in pop/rock history himself, especially when measured by diversity, and range. He was a perfect partner for Schon, who is very melodic in his style, and suited well for diverse styles. Roth and Hagar were a much better match for Van Halen, who were typically more aggressive and fast paced.
Here’s a couple of Journey songs, however, that might give a hint as to what a Perry/VH combination might have sounded like from Journey’s catalog:
Edge of the Blade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjk6HD0ZQEw
Lay it Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nuWECduEdA
Speaking of Michael McDonald, I didn’t know this, but he has a writing credit for VH’s “I’ll Wait”.
I knew Gregg and Aynsley back in the day, more like an acquaintance really.
They were forced out by Perry and greedy record producers is the story I remember, and the music suffered.
I stand by my statement.
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