Top 10 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Rated 10 Alert!
Redux Spotlight!
Song#: 0807 Date: 10/31/1981
Debut: 56
Peak: 9
Weeks: 16
Genre: Rock, Arena Rock
Pop Bits: Well, here it is folks. The time has come to cover one of the biggest rock anthems of the decade (and beyond). Journey was coming off of their first Top 10 hit with "Who's Crying Now" (#4) from their album "Escape" when this second single from the LP was issued. The song did well at the time reaching #9 and going gold. However, the song's continued popularity over the years has far outlasted its initial chart run thanks to its use at sporting events, on TV, in films, and even on Broadway. It's pretty much guaranteed that if you ask anyone to name the first Journey song that pops into their head, this song will be the answer. The song is inescapable. Chances are you've probably heard it somewhere quite recently (I just heard it on TV two nights ago). Although Journey would have higher peaking chart hits, this is the one that has outlasted them all to become the group's signature anthem.
ReduxReview: I loved, loved, loved this song when it came out. I thought for sure it would hit #1. But it didn't and initially the song just kind of faded like most after their chart run was complete. It remained popular on rock radio and I continued to play it quite a bit. But then sometime around the late 90s the song started getting used a lot more. And then in the aughts it seemed to be all over the place. Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon wrote the song and it boggles my mind the amount of money they have probably made from it. As far as rock anthems go, for me it is the tops and a solid go-to karaoke song; even though there is no "South Detroit." Streetlight people? Hows about "PopRedux80 Spotlight people?"
ReduxRating: 10/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) In the UK, the initial release of the single didn't do well and it only reached #62. In 2009, the song was sung on the hugely popular "The X-Factor" singing competition TV show. The attention got Journey's single back on the chart. After another performance of the song late in the season on the show, the song rose up to #6 - 28 years after it originally appeared on the chart. 2) As of this date, the song has sold almost 6 million downloads making it the highest selling song from the pre-digital era. 3) Arguably the song's most famous uses are from two very different TV shows. In 2007, Journey's original version was used over the controversial series closing scene of HBO's "The Sopranos." Two years later, the song was covered by the cast of the TV show "Glee" in the series pilot and in the first season finale. The Glee cast version from the pilot show hit #4 on the pop chart, going higher than Journey's original single.
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