“Don’t Stop Believin'” (Journey)

Today’s classic song of the day is “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey. This iconic power ballad was released as a single in October of 1981 and went to #9 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts.

Over the decades, “Don’t Stop Believin'” has become a staple on classic rock radio and playlists and a fixture in our collective culture. It won a generation of new listeners when it was featured on the television series Glee, was part of the soundtrack of the final episode of The Sopranos, and is played at numerous sporting events across the country. Everybody knows this one, including my middle- and high school aged grandkids. That’s not a bad thing.

The writing of “Don’t Stop Believin'” is credited to Journey’s Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon. Cain came up with the song’s title and signature hook, Schon developed the distinctive bass line, and Perry contributed the words. After practicing the tune for several weeks, the band recorded the instrumental track live in a single take at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. Perry had a cold that day and recorded his vocals the following week.

What makes “Don’t Stop Believin'” such a memorable track? Part of it is the lyrics, which reach and out grab you from the very first line. Come on, you know you want to sing along:

Just a small town girl
Livin’ in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere

Structurally, the song is interesting because the chorus (which includes the first mention of the title phrase) doesn’t occur until three minutes into the track. The chord progression is essentially the same throughout the entire song: I – V – vi – IV – I – V – iii – IV, over and over and over. It’s kind of majestic, especially when paired with Schon’s soaring guitar lines.

The song is also interesting in that drummer Steve Smith plays a deceptively complex drum part, not just a simple two and four beat. For all you drummers out there (who are probably playing it wrong), here’s Steve Smith himself explaining and demonstrating the beat. It has a lot of interesting and not necessarily expected tom work:

Oh, and lest we forget, here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, the official music video for Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” You saw this one a lot on MTV back in the day.

Bottom line, “Don’t Stop Believin'” is one of those tracks where everything truly comes together, which is why listeners across the generations have claimed it as their own. Don’t stop believin’, hold on to that feelin’…