Credit: Myriam SantosOh, Perry! Former Journey frontman Steve Perry turns 70 today, and this milestone birthday comes a few months into a whole new chapter in the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s life.
In October, Steve released a new solo album, Traces, his first collection of new original songs since his final record with Journey, 1996’s Trial by Fire. The album debuted at #6 on the Billboard chart, making it the highest-charting solo album of Perry’s career.
Prior to Traces, Steve dropped out of the music business, while the music he made with Journey just seemed to become more popular. In particular, the band’s hit “Don’t Stop Believin'” is now the go-to anthem for generations of fans who weren’t even born when it first came out in 1981. While Perry can’t explain the song’s popularity, he’s happy about it.
“I don’t think there’d be any way for me to understand why people love it so much,” he told ABC Radio late last year. “I mean honestly, I think that that’s something that’s beyond me. They’ve decided they love it. We recorded a lot of music but that particular one…they’ve embraced it.”
That being said, Steve insists that he doesn’t have any interest in reuniting with Journey.
“I have gone back to the band already once, [in 1996], and that sort of didn’t work out…and so we split up again,” he told ABC Radio. “So, y’know, here we are, doing Traces, and my new life.”
And according to Perry, his “new life” means “moving into music that I have passion for” — the music on Traces.
“[I have a] really heartfelt passion to sing this music,” he notes. “And at my life point now, I need this sort of life-sustaining emotion. I really need it.”
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