Steve Perry Bio

[Laydee]

Biography

Stephen Ray Pereira (known best as Steve Perry) was born on January 22, 1949. He is best known as the lead singer for the rock band Journey, from 1978 – 1987 and 1995 – 1998. Steve Perry was born in Hanford CA. Perry is of Portuguese heritage. His family originally came from Pico Island, Azores. Perry grew up interested in music, as his father, Ray, was a vocalist. He also counts Sam Cooke and Al Jolson among his early inspirations. The Perry family was close-knit until Ray left the family when Steve was seven. His mother later re-married, and Perry remained extremely close to her. On his twelfth birthday (January 22, 1961) Mary presented her son with a gold eighth note necklace, which he still wears for good luck.

The family moved to Lemoore, CA during Perry's teen years. While in Lemoore, the young, long-haired singer continued to pursue his interest in music. He attended high school there, drumming in the marching band as well as in extracurricular bands. He attended College of the Sequoias, in Visalia, CA for a short time after graduation, where he took first tenor in the choir. Perry's mother encouraged his musical growth during this time.

Perry moved to Banta, CA, a small farming town outside of Tracy, CA, where he fronted the band Alien Project in his mid-twenties. He nearly gave up music when the bassist of that band, Richard Michaels, was killed in a tragic automobile accident. Filled with grief, Perry returned to Lemoore and decided not to continue his singing career, instead following in his stepfather's trade of construction, once working on a turkey farm. But at the urging of his mother, Perry answered a call from Walter "Herbie" Herbert, manager of a struggling San Francisco-based band.

Herbert had been given a demo of an Alien Project song, "If You Need Me, Call Me," and was told that the young singer would be a great replacement for current frontman, Robert Fleischman. Fleischman had never moved under Herbert's management, preferring to maintain his previous manager and had never in fact integrated well with the band's then progressive rock style. Perry was brought on tour and to avoid alarming Fleischman was introduced clandestinely as roadie John Villanueva's Portuguese cousin and surreptitiously performed a song with Journey during a sound check in Long Beach while Fleischman was away from the stage and Herbert informed the band of the line-up change.

Perry brought a completely new pop sound to the band's music, despite grumblings from his new bandmates and fans of Journey's former progressive rock sound. He made his public debut on October 28, 1977 in San Francisco, and received a mixed reception. Perry determinedly proved the critics wrong, and won over new audiences on his first album with the group, Infinity, which included a song of his own composition called "Lights." The band's style had changed dramatically, but as Journey began to garner radio airplay and media buzz over Infinity, Perry's arrival was accepted.

He provided lead vocals on nine of Journey's albums: Infinity (1978), Evolution (1979), Departure (1980), Dream After Dream (1980, a Japanese movie soundtrack), Captured (1980, a live album), Escape (1981, which went to #1 on the Billboard Charts), Frontiers (1983), Raised on Radio (1986), and Trial By Fire (1996). The single "Open Arms," from Escape, was their biggest hit single, residing for six weeks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Perry had become the unmistakable voice of Journey throughout his time with the band. His tenor style of singing was very common with singers in the 80's. His trademark tuxedo tails also made him stand out amongst other performers.

During his tenure with Journey, Perry established himself in the music industry, singing backing vocals on several Sammy Hagar songs, including the 1980 track "Run For Your Life," and a duet with Kenny Loggins on the 1982 #17 hit single "Don't Fight It." Perry also worked with other musicians such as Sheena Easton, Clannad and Jon Bon Jovi during the height of his career

.

In 1984, following the release of Frontiers and the tour supporting this effort, Perry released his first solo album, entitled Street Talk, named after the original name of Perry's earlier band Alien Project. The record was a platinum success and scored hit singles with "Oh Sherrie," written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford, and "Foolish Heart." The music video for "Oh Sherrie" saw heavy rotation on MTV. "She's Mine" and "Strung Out" were also released as singles from this project, which featured former Alien Project drummer Craig Krampf on a few tracks, and guitarist Michael Landau.

In 1985, Perry had a featured vocal in the famed USA for Africa all-star benefit song "We Are The World," lending his high tenor to the lines "Oh, there's a choice we're making / We're saving our own lives." He also recorded a song, "If Only For the Moment, Girl" for the We Are The World album.

Perry debated continuing a solo career or returning to Journey after the success of Street Talk. His mother said "Journey," and Steve obliged. He left his second solo album Against the Wall unfinished and instead sang on Journey's Raised on Radio album. Perry would revisit his solo project after the Raised On Radio tour but it never saw completion. Several of the songs that were recorded for Against the Wall, however, did appear much later on Perry's 1998 solo compilation, Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased.


While Steve was re-uniting with Journey, his mother became ill. The recording of Raised on Radio, which Perry was producing, was stop-and-go as he frequently returned to the San Joaquin valley to visit his family. It took a major toll on Journey to have intermittent recording sessions and a vocalist who was not with the band much of the time. Eventually, as Steve later said, he was "toast." Journey disbanded in 1987 after the Raised on Radio tour. Perry disappeared from public view for years afterward, taking a break from the music industry.


In 1994, Perry released For the Love of Strange Medicine, his second solo effort. The album enjoyed some success, partly due to the Strange Medicine world tour (supported for a short time by Sass Jordon), before being cut short. Lincoln Brewster, a Neal Schon-like guitarist and now a successful Christian musician, was featured on the album and during the tour.


Journey's classic 1981-85 lineup reunited in 1996 to record Trial By Fire. The album was a success, entering the Billboard charts at #3 and going Platinum before year's end, but its triumph was short-lived. Before the Trial By Fire tour could begin, Perry suffered a hip injury while hiking in Hawaii and was unable to perform. Perry was diagnosed with a degenerative bone condition and a hip replacement would be required. Reluctant to rush into surgery, Perry wished to postpone the tour. The tour wasn't going to happen, and due to the long wait between the album's release and the tour's postponed kick-off date, as well as the absence of Journey's iconic frontman, Journey fans were losing hope for the band's future.

Meanwhile, long-time Journey drummer Steve Smith resigned, reportedly because Journey without Steve Perry didn't interest him. (Smith had rejoined, along with original Journey member Ross Valory, to complete what Perry has referred to as the band's quintessential line-up.)

The remaining members of Journey waited until 1998, nearly two years after Perry's injury, before making a decision on its future. Growing impatient and realizing the window of opportunity was closing to follow up the great success of the Platinum-selling Trial By Fire LP with a world tour, Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon met with Perry and presented an ultimatum that he either undergo hip replacement surgery so the tour could proceed upon his recovery or a replacement singer would be hired. Perry, still hesitant to undergo surgery and now apparently upset at his bandmates' intractability and their meddling in personal health decisions, decided to part ways with Journey. Without a lineup for any Trial by Fire tour, the band knew they had to replace Perry with a dynamic high tenor, whom they found in their new vocalist, Steve Augeri of Tall Stories, whose striking physical and vocal similarity to Perry was easier for fans to accept, and nearly two years to the day after the album's initial release, Journey began its long-postponed tour.

Augeri's gig with Journey lasted until the summer of 2006, when he stopped touring due to a recurring throat infection. Replaced by Jeff Scott Soto of Schon's band Soul SirkUS on December 19 of that year, Journey had another lead singer. But by the following June, Soto, lacking widespread Journey fan support, left the band. Again without a leading tenor to carry the sonic weight and soaring presence of Perry's voice, Schon, in a desperate act as he failed to find the group's next lead vocalist, searched the Internet, and on YouTube he found Arnel Pineda, the Philippine-born frontman of The Zoo and, vocally at least, a near dead-ringer for Perry. Pineda, a youthful 40 years old, with his amazing likeness to Perry's voice, officially became Journey's lead singer on December 5, 2007, and debuted with the band on February 21, 2008 at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival held at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile.

While being interviewed during Journey's Revelation tour of 2008, Schon and Cain praised Perry's mighty presence in Journey, adding that Perry had "raised the bar" for Journey. Bassist Valory suggested Journey lead singers who sound like him do so in honor of Perry's legacy with Journey.

Perry underwent successful hip replacement surgery in 1998 to correct the problem he had been diagnosed with two years earlier. He released the Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased compilation album later in 1998; the unreleased tracks included an original Alien Project demo as well as selections from the abandoned Against the Wall CD. Also in 1998, Perry recorded two songs for the Warner Bros film, Quest for Camelot, which can be found on the motion picture's soundtrack.

Journey was the subject of an episode of VH1's Behind the Music in 2001, where Perry made the controversial statement that he "never really felt like part of the band."

Perry became more involved in films thanks to a close friendship with film director Patty Jenkins and was musical consultant on her film Monster.

Steve Perry appeared at Journey's star ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 21, 2005, after previously stating it was unlikely that he would ever stand with the band again. Perry said on his website that it was a good experience, and that tensions between him and the other band members were reduced, but that his rejoining Journey is not likely.

In contrast to this statement, Perry has also stated "Never say never" when the issue of returning to Journey has been brought up, possibly speculating a return to his former band.

Despite his acrimonious break with Journey, Perry was producer on the 2003 Greatest Hits DVD 1978-1997 as well as the 2005 package Journey Live in Houston 1981: Escape Tour, which included both a DVD of the performance and a music-only CD of the same show. Perry has described the emotional experience of reliving the Escape tour and the entire band's history while editing the film as "a heartache"

In 2005, Perry produced a track on a solo album for former Ambrosia lead vocalist David Pack, titled The Secret of Moving On. Perry also provides background vocals for "A Brand New Start," among the many songs he and Pack co-wrote shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The album, released in September, 2005, includes covers of two of Pack's biggest hits with Ambrosia, "Biggest Part of Me" and "You're the Only Woman."

During the 2005 baseball season, the resurgent Chicago White Sox adopted Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" as their unofficial team anthem. As a result, Perry (an avid San Francisco Giants fan, although he has been seen at Los Angeles Dodgers games recently) was asked to attend the World Series and even traveled with the team to Houston where they swept the Astros in four consecutive games. Perry joined the players on the field and in the locker room as they celebrated their championship.

In Fall 2006, Perry's two solo projects Street Talk and For the Love of Strange Medicine (both featuring previously unreleased material) plus his Greatest Hits CD were remastered and re-released.

In a Q&A posted in December 2006, Perry indicated that Sony has approached him about releasing a collection of his music videos on DVD, and that while he enjoys producing other artists he currently has no solid plans to record a new album.

In early 2007, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt stated that he is writing songs with Steve Perry.

After The Sopranos finale, which used "Don't Stop Believing" to close out, Perry argued that he deserved to find out how the show ended in order to know if his song had been used properly. Steve confirmed this on a phone interview with popular Irish DJ Ray Foley, in which he said he didn't wish the song to play over a slaughter of one or several of the main characters. The shows producers initially would not tell Perry the ending, but relented when it became clear to them that he would not give his approval without first seeing how the song was to be used.

In August 2007, Go Kart records released GuFF's album Symphony of Voices, which featured an unreleased Journey song called "I Can See It in Your Eyes" which was produced by Steve Perry. Perry also used his voice on the track.

On March 30, 2008, former members of Journey's Management Team revealed that Steve Perry had recently played them demos of new material and that his voice was as good as ever. It was further added that at this time plans for forthcoming new material from Perry were not known.

In July 2008, long-time fan Ross Muir, along with friend and vocalist Jason Nalu, wrote what many fans already feel may be the definitive guide to Steve Perry as regards his vocal ability and career in front of a microphone. Entitled 'One in a Million' it has been made available by the author as a free download.

In the 1998 film BASEketball, Perry's name is used as a powerful psyche-out tactic by the main character, Coop, played by Trey Parker. Coop used this, along with some lyrics from "Oh Sherrie" (mainly shouting the iconic line: "But I should've been gone!") to psych-out Remer, played by Matt Stone, and his name was used once during the season by Coop. Remer states "no more Journey psych-outs," though it was technically not a Journey song lyric. The lyrics that Coop used were from a song on Perry's first solo album, Street Talk.

Credit: Wikipedia.com

[bluejeangirl76]

Wikipedia = b.s. Some loony fool who thinks they know it all has been editing that entry.
His birth name IS Perry. Dig up one of the freaks who have his birth certificate flashed around the 'net if y'all don't believe me.

[moangel58]

Wikipedia = b.s. Some loony fool who thinks they know it all has been editing that entry.
His birth name IS Perry. Dig up one of the freaks who have his birth certificate flashed around the 'net if y'all don't believe me.

From what I understand he was born with the name Stephen Ray Perry, and there was another one floating around that has him as being the family name when they were in Portugal. Also there is an article about the birthday too. Although he was born in 49, over at another site I believe it was noted he was born in 53, then I found out, he had to lie about his age? Which is ridicules, because Ross I believe was the same age. So why would he need to lie about the age thing? As far as that birth certificate, really should that person have shown it online in the first place, that is a private thing? But this Bio was written up by others. Only Perry knows for sure. I believe SP said that when his family came over here, Mary was just a baby and the Quaresma's kept their name, but when she married Raymond that family changed the name, or Ray's parents did. Then the little sack of potatoes was born. We only post what we see on the websites. But this whole thing with SP, only he knows the truth.

[Ftloperry]

A few years back I worked on Bio of Steve for Cateyes when she was going to launch a Steve Perry site. Took me several days to do this and it was great fun to write it. I'll have to dig it up and share it here but anywho....Before Steve's fathers's family came to the USA the name was Pereira and when they came to the USA the name was changed to Perry. Steve's mom came here when she was only a baby.

[SP Fan in Oregon]

The SP forum needs to have a Steve Perry bio. I think the one Laydee has posted is very well done, even though
much of it is posted on Wiki, she has modified it to be as accurate as possible. There are many new fans coming here
to MR and to this forum who will delight in reading such a comprehensive bio as the one posted here. I think it is
great that the forum already has a nice collection of Perry things. Gunbot has also been a wonderful contributor
to the resources that are now available here in this new forum. Thanks to both of you, Laydee and Gunbot for
all that you have posted here in the past week to make the forum a real home for the Perry fans.....................

[SP Fan in Oregon]

Biography

Stephen Ray Pereira (known best as Steve Perry) was born on January 22, 1949. He is best known as the lead singer for the rock band Journey, from 1978 – 1987 and 1995 – 1998. Steve Perry was born in Hanford CA. Perry is of Portuguese heritage. His family originally came from Pico Island, Azores. Perry grew up interested in music, as his father, Ray, was a vocalist. He also counts Sam Cooke and Al Jolson among his early inspirations. The Perry family was close-knit until Ray left the family when Steve was seven. His mother later re-married, and Perry remained extremely close to her. On his twelfth birthday (January 22, 1961) Mary presented her son with a gold eighth note necklace, which he still wears for good luck.

The family moved to Lemoore, CA during Perry's teen years. While in Lemoore, the young, long-haired singer continued to pursue his interest in music. He attended high school there, drumming in the marching band as well as in extracurricular bands. He attended College of the Sequoias, in Visalia, CA for a short time after graduation, where he took first tenor in the choir. Perry's mother encouraged his musical growth during this time.

Perry moved to Banta, CA, a small farming town outside of Tracy, CA, where he fronted the band Alien Project in his mid-twenties. He nearly gave up music when the bassist of that band, Richard Michaels, was killed in a tragic automobile accident. Filled with grief, Perry returned to Lemoore and decided not to continue his singing career, instead following in his stepfather's trade of construction, once working on a turkey farm. But at the urging of his mother, Perry answered a call from Walter "Herbie" Herbert, manager of a struggling San Francisco-based band.

Herbert had been given a demo of an Alien Project song, "If You Need Me, Call Me," and was told that the young singer would be a great replacement for current frontman, Robert Fleischman. Fleischman had never moved under Herbert's management, preferring to maintain his previous manager and had never in fact integrated well with the band's then progressive rock style. Perry was brought on tour and to avoid alarming Fleischman was introduced clandestinely as roadie John Villanueva's Portuguese cousin and surreptitiously performed a song with Journey during a sound check in Long Beach while Fleischman was away from the stage and Herbert informed the band of the line-up change.

Perry brought a completely new pop sound to the band's music, despite grumblings from his new bandmates and fans of Journey's former progressive rock sound. He made his public debut on October 28, 1977 in San Francisco, and received a mixed reception. Perry determinedly proved the critics wrong, and won over new audiences on his first album with the group, Infinity, which included a song of his own composition called "Lights." The band's style had changed dramatically, but as Journey began to garner radio airplay and media buzz over Infinity, Perry's arrival was accepted.

He provided lead vocals on nine of Journey's albums: Infinity (1978), Evolution (1979), Departure (1980), Dream After Dream (1980, a Japanese movie soundtrack), Captured (1980, a live album), Escape (1981, which went to #1 on the Billboard Charts), Frontiers (1983), Raised on Radio (1986), and Trial By Fire (1996). The single "Open Arms," from Escape, was their biggest hit single, residing for six weeks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Perry had become the unmistakable voice of Journey throughout his time with the band. His tenor style of singing was very common with singers in the 80's. His trademark tuxedo tails also made him stand out amongst other performers.

During his tenure with Journey, Perry established himself in the music industry, singing backing vocals on several Sammy Hagar songs, including the 1980 track "Run For Your Life," and a duet with Kenny Loggins on the 1982 #17 hit single "Don't Fight It." Perry also worked with other musicians such as Sheena Easton, Clannad and Jon Bon Jovi during the height of his career

.

In 1984, following the release of Frontiers and the tour supporting this effort, Perry released his first solo album, entitled Street Talk, named after the original name of Perry's earlier band Alien Project. The record was a platinum success and scored hit singles with "Oh Sherrie," written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford, and "Foolish Heart." The music video for "Oh Sherrie" saw heavy rotation on MTV. "She's Mine" and "Strung Out" were also released as singles from this project, which featured former Alien Project drummer Craig Krampf on a few tracks, and guitarist Michael Landau.

In 1985, Perry had a featured vocal in the famed USA for Africa all-star benefit song "We Are The World," lending his high tenor to the lines "Oh, there's a choice we're making / We're saving our own lives." He also recorded a song, "If Only For the Moment, Girl" for the We Are The World album.

Perry debated continuing a solo career or returning to Journey after the success of Street Talk. His mother said "Journey," and Steve obliged. He left his second solo album Against the Wall unfinished and instead sang on Journey's Raised on Radio album. Perry would revisit his solo project after the Raised On Radio tour but it never saw completion. Several of the songs that were recorded for Against the Wall, however, did appear much later on Perry's 1998 solo compilation, Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased.


While Steve was re-uniting with Journey, his mother became ill. The recording of Raised on Radio, which Perry was producing, was stop-and-go as he frequently returned to the San Joaquin valley to visit his family. It took a major toll on Journey to have intermittent recording sessions and a vocalist who was not with the band much of the time. Eventually, as Steve later said, he was "toast." Journey disbanded in 1987 after the Raised on Radio tour. Perry disappeared from public view for years afterward, taking a break from the music industry.


In 1994, Perry released For the Love of Strange Medicine, his second solo effort. The album enjoyed some success, partly due to the Strange Medicine world tour (supported for a short time by Sass Jordon), before being cut short. Lincoln Brewster, a Neal Schon-like guitarist and now a successful Christian musician, was featured on the album and during the tour.


Journey's classic 1981-85 lineup reunited in 1996 to record Trial By Fire. The album was a success, entering the Billboard charts at #3 and going Platinum before year's end, but its triumph was short-lived. Before the Trial By Fire tour could begin, Perry suffered a hip injury while hiking in Hawaii and was unable to perform. Perry was diagnosed with a degenerative bone condition and a hip replacement would be required. Reluctant to rush into surgery, Perry wished to postpone the tour. The tour wasn't going to happen, and due to the long wait between the album's release and the tour's postponed kick-off date, as well as the absence of Journey's iconic frontman, Journey fans were losing hope for the band's future.

Meanwhile, long-time Journey drummer Steve Smith resigned, reportedly because Journey without Steve Perry didn't interest him. (Smith had rejoined, along with original Journey member Ross Valory, to complete what Perry has referred to as the band's quintessential line-up.)

The remaining members of Journey waited until 1998, nearly two years after Perry's injury, before making a decision on its future. Growing impatient and realizing the window of opportunity was closing to follow up the great success of the Platinum-selling Trial By Fire LP with a world tour, Journey members Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon met with Perry and presented an ultimatum that he either undergo hip replacement surgery so the tour could proceed upon his recovery or a replacement singer would be hired. Perry, still hesitant to undergo surgery and now apparently upset at his bandmates' intractability and their meddling in personal health decisions, decided to part ways with Journey. Without a lineup for any Trial by Fire tour, the band knew they had to replace Perry with a dynamic high tenor, whom they found in their new vocalist, Steve Augeri of Tall Stories, whose striking physical and vocal similarity to Perry was easier for fans to accept, and nearly two years to the day after the album's initial release, Journey began its long-postponed tour.

Augeri's gig with Journey lasted until the summer of 2006, when he stopped touring due to a recurring throat infection. Replaced by Jeff Scott Soto of Schon's band Soul SirkUS on December 19 of that year, Journey had another lead singer. But by the following June, Soto, lacking widespread Journey fan support, left the band. Again without a leading tenor to carry the sonic weight and soaring presence of Perry's voice, Schon, in a desperate act as he failed to find the group's next lead vocalist, searched the Internet, and on YouTube he found Arnel Pineda, the Philippine-born frontman of The Zoo and, vocally at least, a near dead-ringer for Perry. Pineda, a youthful 40 years old, with his amazing likeness to Perry's voice, officially became Journey's lead singer on December 5, 2007, and debuted with the band on February 21, 2008 at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival held at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile.

While being interviewed during Journey's Revelation tour of 2008, Schon and Cain praised Perry's mighty presence in Journey, adding that Perry had "raised the bar" for Journey. Bassist Valory suggested Journey lead singers who sound like him do so in honor of Perry's legacy with Journey.

Perry underwent successful hip replacement surgery in 1998 to correct the problem he had been diagnosed with two years earlier. He released the Greatest Hits + Five Unreleased compilation album later in 1998; the unreleased tracks included an original Alien Project demo as well as selections from the abandoned Against the Wall CD. Also in 1998, Perry recorded two songs for the Warner Bros film, Quest for Camelot, which can be found on the motion picture's soundtrack.

Journey was the subject of an episode of VH1's Behind the Music in 2001, where Perry made the controversial statement that he "never really felt like part of the band."

Perry became more involved in films thanks to a close friendship with film director Patty Jenkins and was musical consultant on her film Monster.

Steve Perry appeared at Journey's star ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 21, 2005, after previously stating it was unlikely that he would ever stand with the band again. Perry said on his website that it was a good experience, and that tensions between him and the other band members were reduced, but that his rejoining Journey is not likely.

In contrast to this statement, Perry has also stated "Never say never" when the issue of returning to Journey has been brought up, possibly speculating a return to his former band.

Despite his acrimonious break with Journey, Perry was producer on the 2003 Greatest Hits DVD 1978-1997 as well as the 2005 package Journey Live in Houston 1981: Escape Tour, which included both a DVD of the performance and a music-only CD of the same show. Perry has described the emotional experience of reliving the Escape tour and the entire band's history while editing the film as "a heartache"

In 2005, Perry produced a track on a solo album for former Ambrosia lead vocalist David Pack, titled The Secret of Moving On. Perry also provides background vocals for "A Brand New Start," among the many songs he and Pack co-wrote shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The album, released in September, 2005, includes covers of two of Pack's biggest hits with Ambrosia, "Biggest Part of Me" and "You're the Only Woman."

During the 2005 baseball season, the resurgent Chicago White Sox adopted Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" as their unofficial team anthem. As a result, Perry (an avid San Francisco Giants fan, although he has been seen at Los Angeles Dodgers games recently) was asked to attend the World Series and even traveled with the team to Houston where they swept the Astros in four consecutive games. Perry joined the players on the field and in the locker room as they celebrated their championship.

In Fall 2006, Perry's two solo projects Street Talk and For the Love of Strange Medicine (both featuring previously unreleased material) plus his Greatest Hits CD were remastered and re-released.

In a Q&A posted in December 2006, Perry indicated that Sony has approached him about releasing a collection of his music videos on DVD, and that while he enjoys producing other artists he currently has no solid plans to record a new album.

In early 2007, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt stated that he is writing songs with Steve Perry.

After The Sopranos finale, which used "Don't Stop Believing" to close out, Perry argued that he deserved to find out how the show ended in order to know if his song had been used properly. Steve confirmed this on a phone interview with popular Irish DJ Ray Foley, in which he said he didn't wish the song to play over a slaughter of one or several of the main characters. The shows producers initially would not tell Perry the ending, but relented when it became clear to them that he would not give his approval without first seeing how the song was to be used.

In August 2007, Go Kart records released GuFF's album Symphony of Voices, which featured an unreleased Journey song called "I Can See It in Your Eyes" which was produced by Steve Perry. Perry also used his voice on the track.

On March 30, 2008, former members of Journey's Management Team revealed that Steve Perry had recently played them demos of new material and that his voice was as good as ever. It was further added that at this time plans for forthcoming new material from Perry were not known.

In July 2008, long-time fan Ross Muir, along with friend and vocalist Jason Nalu, wrote what many fans already feel may be the definitive guide to Steve Perry as regards his vocal ability and career in front of a microphone. Entitled 'One in a Million' it has been made available by the author as a free download.

In the 1998 film BASEketball, Perry's name is used as a powerful psyche-out tactic by the main character, Coop, played by Trey Parker. Coop used this, along with some lyrics from "Oh Sherrie" (mainly shouting the iconic line: "But I should've been gone!") to psych-out Remer, played by Matt Stone, and his name was used once during the season by Coop. Remer states "no more Journey psych-outs," though it was technically not a Journey song lyric. The lyrics that Coop used were from a song on Perry's first solo album, Street Talk.

Credit: Wikipedia.com

In 2009 CBC radio Q hosted an interview with Steve Perry where he admitted that he has been recording new music for the past 1 1/2 years and is working on a solo album. The release date is still unconfirmed but believed to be at the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010, and hopefully sometime in the next 15 years before all of his most faithful fans are dead.

[tbear1256]

Thank you all for sharing all your love of SP with all us Perry loons.

A BIG THANK YOU!!!, to Andrew for starting this for us.

What a great way for us loons to stay together in these troubled times.

Hey, "Howdy", Portland, I missed you girfriend!

Also, Ldy, Thanks so much for your fantistic Perry site.
I really love it, Thank You for putting it all together, truely a labor of love!!
Also your bio on SP is great. Thanks again!

And as for you, SP fan in Oregon,
I always enjoy all of your info and coments you are always so gracious.
And I do hope that a new CD is due in late 2009 or 2010, becauce if it's
another 15 years wait, you are right most of the faithful fans may be dead!
Hope to hear "the Voice" real soon!

Well, that's my two cents for today! TTFN!!

Peace
TV

[journeygirl]

Biography

Stephen Ray Pereira (known best as Steve Perry) was born on January 22, 1949.

Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1978–1987 and 1995–1998.

Not to be a bitch here, but this is the starting entry at Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Perry_(musician)

I'm just saying...

[Laydee]

Biography

Stephen Ray Pereira (known best as Steve Perry) was born on January 22, 1949.

Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1978–1987 and 1995–1998.

Not to be a bitch here, but this is the starting entry at Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Perry_(musician)

I'm just saying...

Well, I guess I need to go change mine then, huh? I will be doing more research on his bio. Thanks for all the input.

[Ftloperry]

The bio I did on Steve I think is way to long to post here so I will post a sample of it.....
__________________________________________________________________________

On January 22, 1949 in Hanford, California, a small rural town located in the San Joaquin Valley, Mary C. (nee: Quaresma) Perry (Perriera) and Raymond F. Perry welcome into the world their only child - a son whom they named Stephen Ray Perry. Stephen Ray Perry was born at 6:05 p.m. at Kings County General Hospital. As an infant Mary's parents, Steve’s grandparents, left the island of Pico in the Azores Archipelago of Portugal with their daughter in their arms as they came through Ellis Island. Stephen Ray Perry became the first Portuguese family member to be born in America. At 6 months of age Stephen Ray Perry was baptized at the Heart of Mary Church of Hanford. Stephen grew up fluent in both Portuguese and English as well as being a very energetic child. Stephen recalled that early in his life at the age of three he knew that music was inside of him and that he and music were meant to be together. Both Mary and Raymond were singers and Stephen remembers as a small child sitting with his grandmother as he watched his parents in a musical play and listened to his father sing knowing that is what he wanted to do: sing on stage and make others feel the music.
Mary and Raymond made their home in Hanford where Stephen attended school. Although Stephen admits he was not an attentive student his mom said he was “born in a hurry.” The call of the road was too much for Raymond and when Stephen was eight years old - he left - which was a devastating blow to Stephen. Without the presence of his father, Stephen still had the support of his mother and his grandfather, Manuel Quaresma, who became a very big influence in his life. It was then he turned fully to music. “When I was 8 my father left and he was everything to me. Music saved my life and it continues to do so.” It was the San Joaquin Valley and Hanford and where he came from that Stephen credits for inspiring his love for music, and for his musical exposure and history. “I would as a kid sit and listen to anything on the radio I was so obsessed with music.”

It was when Stephen turned 14 that his mom met and married Marv Rottman and the family moved to the nearby town of Lemoore. Marv along with Mary continued to encourage Stephen’s musical talents. Stephen's boyhood interest in music was fueled when he received a drum kit from his bookkeeper mom Mary. While growing up Stephen was in many groups: The Nocturnes, Dollar Bills, Sullies, Pieces and eventually, Alien Project. Stephen attended Lemoore High School where he was on the track team in the band, announcement committee, talent show and in the rally club. As Stephen was in high school it was his mother Mary who managed the many bands and drove them to their performances. While Stephen was with the Sullies as drummer and singer they competed with 80 other bands in the Calavaras County Battle of Bands and won. They also received the chance to play at the Hollywood Bowl promoted by the legendary Bill Graham. The Sullies met with a little success when they recorded an album that was distributed locally. It was not long after that the Sullies disbanded. While driving his mother’s 1957 Ford Thunderbird in Pismo Beach Stephen heard a voice and a song that would change his life forever. That was when Stephen first heard Sam Cooke sing Cupid.

After Stephen graduated from Lemoore High School in 1967, he would attend the College of the Sequoias in Visalia California. While there Stephen took part in the choir, band and speech classes. Stephen became first tenor in the choir and believes that the experience and training he received helped to shape his voice. Stephen wanted to try and pursue a career as a DJ and went to San Francisco to take the F.C.C. test. It was his hunger to sing and make others feel the music that after 2 years of college he decided to move to L.A. to pursue his career in music. As Stephen moved to L.A. he started to get involved with rock bands and found that his ambitions and motivations were not the same as those he encountered. Stephen wanted to make music and make musical statements while they wanted to party. While down and out in L.A. Stephen needed to pay the bills and took a job at Crystal Studio’s as a second engineer. “It kept me alive for a while but found out it was taking time away from what I was doing musically. I got a lot of exposure as to what was going on and I thought that was better than nothing. I felt like I was sort of spinning my wheels so I got out.” “When I was younger my parent’s were mad at me because I never learned how to write or read music.” Craig Krampft with the help of Stephen in 1977 formed a group called Alien Project. It was not long when Chrysalis and Columbia came knocking and wanted to sign the group to their label. Tragically, on July 4th 1977 on the eve of Alien Project’s recording contract signing, their bassist, Richard Michaels, died in a car accident. This event hit Stephen hard and he felt the band had a special magic and should not continue on without him and it was then that Stephen decided to take a break from the music.

During Stephen’s musical absence he returned home to the San Joaquin Valley. Short on money Stephen considered his options and took a job with his stepfather Marv building sheds on a turkey ranch. “I learned how important it is to take pride in your work and learned a lot about working with my hands.” Stephen confessed. With the loving unconditional support of his mother Mary, Stephen decided to give music another try. Alien Project’s demo tape and the song If You Need Me Call Me worked it’s way into the hands of Journey’s then manager Herbie Herbert. When Gregg Rollie and Neal Schon left the famous group Santana; they formed in 1973 a group which they named Journey. Stephen who had met Neal Schon in 1976 before Alien Project got together asked if they needed a lead singer. Determined that Journey was an instrumental outfit they declined the offer. After hearing the Alien Project demo Herbie Herbert insisted that Stephen was joining the band and told the members to “Get used to it.” It was Gregg Rollie who made the call asking Stephen to join him and Neal in writing some tunes together. Stephen contemplating what to do he asked his grandfather Manuel Quaresma what he should do about joining Journey on the road. “He said ya know, I don’t know much about this music business you’re in, but these Journey guys, I think they have jobs, and you need a job,” he told Stephen. So for one week Stephen joined Journey on the road where he and Neal wrote the song Patiently. After traveling with the band for several months, Herbie Herbert asked Steve to join the band, ousting Robert Fleischman their current lead singer.

[Laydee]

I am so glad I posted this and found out I had the Bio wrong. This way I can make it accurate on my site. Thanks for pointing this out to me.

[Ftloperry]

Laydee when I did the bio for Cateyes site (no longer up and running)it took me several days to put a bio together. I can't remember now where I got all the info but I did the bio in 2005 and have updated it as needed. You'll get a bio together that you like and it will fit your site perfectly. Great site you have. Glad to see another Perry site.

[Laydee]

Laydee when I did the bio for Cateyes site (no longer up and running)it took me several days to put a bio together. I can't remember now where I got all the info but I did the bio in 2005 and have updated it as needed. You'll get a bio together that you like and it will fit your site perfectly. Great site you have. Glad to see another Perry site.

Thanks, I have had help on the site, a few really great gals. But it's all for you guys, the fans.... I love doing the site. This one will not disappear like so many of them do. We're staying around and hoping we'll all see new material to talk about.

[Laydee]

Thanks to this thread our site has been updated with the correct Bio. Thanks ftloperry for all the help. Your really sweet to allow us to use it.

[Ftloperry]

Glad to share. When it's all Steve it's all good!