Journey rockers Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon sat down with The Guardian to chat about their hit song ‘Don’t Stop Believin’.’ During the chat, Schon recalled being in the studio with the rest of the members and said he misses those days:
“We were so well rehearsed, we just walked into Fantasy Studios like we were walking on stage. We knocked that song out in a couple of hours. That’s the beauty of having a real band of great musicians. We had such chemistry. I really miss the days of everyone being in the same room.”
The Place Of ‘Don’t Stop Believin” In Film Industry
The track made it to several movies and TV series and eventually became more popular than the band expected. Schon knew the song was special and that it would explode, but he didn’t expect his phone to blow up when it made it to the movies.
In the same interview, Schon recalled getting the phone calls and explained:
“When I first heard the finished song I knew it was special, but it took years to get to the place where it’s a worldwide anthem. Everybody has their own theory about why ‘Don’t Stop Believin” exploded in the new millennium. First, there was the movie ‘Monster,’ with Charlize Theron. Then came ‘The Sopranos’ – I remember my phone blowing up and all my friends saying: ‘Man, did you see the final scene?'”
Another TV series helped the song and the band to get bigger and a younger audience. However, Schon first thought the show wasn’t cool enough and that it wouldn’t do much for Journey:
“Then Glee happened. I was terrified by that because I thought it was a teenybopper show, not so cool for us. Little did I know that it would open up a younger generation to our music. I’m a rocker and a blues guy, and we always joke that if I think something is too schmaltzy, it’s usually gonna be big!”
The tables have turned and the song is now the band’s biggest hit today. You can see the mentioned scene from ‘Glee’ down below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q1keFQnV0M
