Journey “Only the Young” charted

Only the Young Journey

Writer(s): Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Neal Schon (see lyrics here) Released: January 8, 1985 First Charted: January 25, 1985 Peak: 9 US, 18 CB, 6 RR, 3 AR, 11 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 14.32 video, -- streaming

About the Song: “Only the Young” and “Ask the Lonely” were recorded during the sessions for Journey’s 1983 album, Frontiers. Some genius, however, balked at the idea of the album being too hits heavy and withheld those two fantastic songs in favor of the inferior “Back Talk” and “Troubled Child.” Both songs would see release on soundtracks and be included on the 2006 reissue as bonus tracks. “Only the Young” was released on the soundtrack for the 1985 movie Vision Quest and became Journey’s fifth top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Journey’s version, however, was not the first to see release. Journey sold the song to the group Scandal, who released it in 1984 on The Warrior. After Journey released their version, Scandal won a legal settlement against the band. WK The song “focuses on young people and the hope and future they all have in front of them.” WK Appropriately, a young person was the first outside the band to hear the song. Sixteen-year-old Kenny Syaluk of Rocky River, Ohio, had cystic fibrosis and his mother reached out to Journey through the Make a Wish Foundation. The band flew to Cleveland and visited him at the hospital. They gave him a football helmet signed by the San Francisco 49ers, an autographed Journey platinum record, and a Walkman with the song “Only the Young.” WK Kenny died the next day with the Walkman in his hand. WK Singer Steve Perry said, “As soon as I walked out of the hospital room, I lost it. Nurses had to take me to a room by myself.” WK Keyboardist Jonathan Cain experienced similar emotions. He broke down in tears recalling the event on VH1’s Behind the Music, saying “children should not have to live with that kind of pain.” WK As a tribute to Kenny, Journey opened the shows on their 1986 Raised on Radio tour with “Only the Young.” SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Journey SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/8/2022.