Celebrity Nooz: Steve Ray Perry

Steve Perry (Singer) - Journey

Updated: 10/1/2004

Name: Steve Ray Perry

Born: January 22, 1949 in Hanford, California

Claim To Fame: Lead singer for the rock group Journey.

Family Life: He used to date the girl in his "Oh Sherry" video, but broke up with her. I have no other data on him. I have been unable to find out if he is married or has any children. The answer appears to be No for both.

Info: He is Portuguese and was the first in his family to be born in America.

Steve's father Ray, left when Steve was seven years old. Despite the absence of his father, Steve still seems to have thrived with the support of his mother and grandparents, and he admits he turned to music: "If you want to know the God's truth, music saved my life. My father left when I was seven years old, and he was everything to me. It gave me
something to really dive into, and it saved my life and continues to do so."

He joined Journey in 1978. Up until then, Journey had recorded four albums, but it wasn't until Steve joined that their sound changed and their band became a hit.

After recording Journey's 9th album "Raised on Radio" Steve took time off from music to help take care of his ill mother. In 1994 the band officially disbanded.

1996 saw Journey regroup for a new studio recording, "Trial by Fire," and a proposed tour. But shortly before the tour was to get underway, Steve discovered that he had a degenerative hip condition, which effectively squashed all plans for a reunion tour.

Perry stated his physicians were recommending a hip replacement and he was unsure what to do so he did nothing. The other band members waited two years (until 1998) for
Perry to make a decision. They ultimately got tired of waiting for Perry and reformed the band without him.

Many inside the band's circle disagree on whether or not Perry's injury was actually true however it is just about universally agreed that Perry changed his mind after the reunion started and did not want to tour. Many reasons have been stated but the most prominent being his voice has changed too much from his younger days and he can no longer sing the high octaves he used to. Whether or not the injury was real or made up, most believe he used the hip injury as an excuse to indefinitely postpone the tour.

Trivia: When he was younger, Steve gave up on music completely and returned back to Lemoore to work once more at his stepfather's turkey ranch. But at his mother's insistence, Steve decided to give music another try.

Musical Influences: Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Marion Reynolds, and Diana Ross

Musical Instruments Played: Drums, piano, guitar, and bass

Where Are They Now: For the longest time he had pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. He enjoys his privacy and goes to great lengths to sustain it.

Now and then a snippet may appear from a source saying Perry will be back, most believe he never will.

Steve, himself, does not see himself returning to Journey, although he has consistently asserted "never say never". In December 2003, he admitted, "whether or not we stand together anywhere again has got to be difficult for me to say."

Most recently he worked on the music soundtrack for the Charlize Theron movie "Monster". Theron and filmmaker Patty Jenkins mailed Perry asking his permission to use the song
"Don't Stop Believing," he ended up meeting them and assisted in re-mixing the soundtrack. (In fact our now picture of him is from the premiere of his movie

Write To Steve Ray Perry:
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