Journey went through several changes in lineup before reaching the height of their popularity in the early 80s. They were heavy fan favorites, if not always beloved by the critics. But what do the critics know, Steve Perry could really belt out those tunes, couldn’t he?

The band was assembled by producer Herbie Herbert and included Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie, veterans of the band Santana. The other members were drummer Prairie Prince, bassist Ross Vallory and guitarist George Tickner. Originally intended to be a backup band for other San Francisco musicians, the boys said nuts to that and struck out on their own. After changing drummers, the recently named Journey got a recording contract with Columbia in 1974. The first few albums didn’t exactly conquer the charts but after a few more lineup shuffles, the first hit came with “Wheel in the Sky.” Shuffling yet again, Steve Perry was hired as lead singer to complete this group of seasoned musicians.

Channeling a truer pop sound, Journey released Infinity, which reached #21 in the charts. The next two albums, Evolution and Departure met with similar success and the latter spawned a world tour. Their best selling album came in 1981 with Escape, which featured the hits “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Who’s Crying Now” and “Open Arms.” Riding the wave of fame and fortune, Journey recorded radio commercials and allowed their likeness to be used in two video games. 1983’s Frontiers continued not only the string of single-word album names, but their commercial success as well. Singles like “Faithfully” and “Separate Ways” reached the Top 20.

By this time, there had been several exits and entrances of old and new members for Journey; in 1986, after Raised on the Radio, the band consisted of Perry, keyboardist Jonathan Cain and guitarist Schon. Perry left a year later and the other two members formed the bad Bad English.

Reunions and compilations albums are in every band’s resume and so was the case with Journey. Perry came back to the fold in the mid-90s and the group released the Grammy-nominated Trial by Fire in 1996. A hip injury suffered by Perry (let that be a lesson to all: even rockers age and have brittle bones) nixed an upcoming tour and the band started shopping around for a new lead singer. They went through a couple of them before finding Arnel Pineda, singer of a cover band, who had advertised his Journey-worthiness on the video viewing site, YouTube. Plans are under way to release a new Journey album soon.