Journey “Wheel in the Sky” released

Wheel in the Sky Journey

Writer(s): Robert Fleischman, Neal Schon, Diane Valory (see lyrics here) First Charted: April 1, 1978 Peak: 57 US, 52 CB, 52 HR, 3 CL, 45 CN, 3 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 33.2 video, 66.15 streaming

About the Song: This is the song that introduced Steve Perry as the future lead singer of Journey. When he came on board for the 1978 Infinity album, Gregg Rolie was still handling some vocal duties, but moving forward Journey would be the Steve Perry show. On that same album, the songs “Feeling That Way/Anytime” provided the perfect showcase of old and new. For “Wheel in the Sky,” however, it is all about Steve Perry. Interestingly, Perry does not have a co-write on the song as he would with every Journey hit moving forward. The song originated as a poem called “Wheel in My Mind” written by Diane Valory, the wife of Journey’s bassist Ross Valory. WK The lyrics explore a narrator lamenting about being gone from home and hoping to reconnect with a girl once home. The term “wheel in the sky” can be interpreted as a metaphor fo “the various twists and turns of the narrator’s life on the road” WK and “how life goes on no matter our personal struggles.” SF Guitarist Neal Schon and short-lived lead singer Robert Fleischman shaped it into a song with Fleischman writing new lyrics and Schon writing the melody on acoustic guitar. SF Fleischman had been recruited by Journey with the intent of going “a new direction into an edgier sound and…recording simple hard rock pieces.” WK While he was gone by the time the album was released, he still got songwriting credits, such as on “Wheel in the Sky.” The song became Journey’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. Although its #57 peak didn’t light the music world on fire, it did introduce the band who would, over the next few years, take the world by storm. Cash Box said of the song that it had “tight lick guitar work and effective lead and backing vocals.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Journey SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/8/2022.

 

Journey’s Infinity released

First posted 10/12/2008; updated 10/17/2020.

Infinity Journey

Released: January 20, 1978 Peak: 21 US, -- UK, 22 CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, -- UK, 4.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Lights (8/19/78, 68 US, 4 CL, 30 AC, 74 CN, air: 1 million) Feeling That Way (6 CL) Anytime (6/10/78, 83 US, 6 CL) La Do Da Patiently Wheel in the Sky (4/8/78, 57 US, 3 CL, 45 CN) Somethin’ to Hide Winds of March Can Do Opened the Door Total Running Time: 36:28 The Players: Steve Perry (vocals) Neal Schon (guitar, backing vocals) Gregg Rolie (keyboards, co-lead vocals on “Feeling That Way” and “Anytime”) Ross Valory (bass, backing vocals) Aynsley Dunbar (drums)

Rating: 3.807 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “By 1977 Journey had reached a creative crossroads, with three underwhelming studio albums under their belt and little to show in the way of commercial success. At the prodding of manager Herbie Herbert, who felt a major shakeup was needed in order to reignite their spark, the band was convinced to audition and eventually recruit the services of former Alien Project vocalist Steve Perry.” FR He “was not a unanimous choice as Journey’s new singer.” CRM “Journey briefly enlisted front man Robert Fleischman and even recorded one track, ‘For You’, which would later appear on the Time 3 collection.” JM “But when Perry presented the bluesy Lights to the band, everyone sensed the possibilities.” CRM “Sure enough, adding him to the band just prior to the sessions for Infinity proved to be a stroke of genius, and a move that undeniably altered the course of history for the fledging Bay Area act. Released in January of 1978, Infinity easily proved to be the band’s most cohesive work to date. Dead and buried were the jazz fusion overtones of previous offerings, and with the new songwriting combo of Perry/ Neal Schon leading the march, the band set out to completely redefine their sound. Traditional pop arrangements were now adopted, cutting out the unnecessary musical fat, and allowing each bandmember to play to his strength: Perry’s soaring, whale of a voice, Schon’s scorching fret work, and Gregg Rolie’s subtle keyboard arrangements.” FR “Enlisting eccentric producer Roy Thomas Baker (already famous for guiding the likes of Queen and Nazareth to giant commercial triumphs of their own) also proved to be a rewarding move for the boys.” FR Baker “produced a layered sound approach, similar to his work with Queen, as demonstrated on tracks such as Winds of March.” JM “The re-focused Journey delivered their first set of accessible mainstream rock songs.” CRM “Tellingly, ‘Lights’ was chosen as Infinity’s opening track – an introduction to the new Journey – and it remains one of the band’s best-loved songs, as does this album’s Wheel in the Sky,” CRM which was actually “written by temporary front man Fleischman.” JM “Even non-singles like Patiently (the first tune Perry ever wrote with Schon) and Somethin’ to Hide were leaps and bounds beyond the band’s previous accomplishments.” FR “And, ultimately, though Infinity merely introduced the band to mainstream radio (it was the never-ending tour on which the band embarked on to support it that drove the disc past the platinum plateau), it effectively cemented their rep as one of America’s most beloved (and sometimes hated) commercial rock/pop bands. With over 170 shows under their belts, Journey had just begun to hit their stride.” FR

Resources and Related Links: Journey’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry CRM ClassicRockMagazine.com FR John Franck & Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide JM JourneyMusic.com