Neal Schon
| Neal Schon | |
|---|---|
Schon in Las Vegas, December 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Neal Joseph Schon |
| Born |
February 27, 1954 Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, United States |
| Genres | Hard rock, instrumental rock, progressive rock, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, glam metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Frontiers Records, Columbia, Higher Octave |
| Associated acts | Santana, Betty Davis, Azteca, Journey, Schon & Hammer, HSAS, Hear 'n Aid, Michael Bolton, Jimmy Barnes, Bad English, Hardline, Paul Rodgers, Just If I, Abraxas Pool, Planet Us, Soul SirkUS |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instruments | |
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Neal Schon Signature Les Paul Neal Schon PRS Archtop Trem Guitar PRS NS14 & PRS NS15 |
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Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the bands Journey and Bad English. He is Journey's last original constant member, having participated in every album and tour to date. He was a member of the rock band Santana before forming Journey, and was also an original member of Hardline.
Schon was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on August 23, 2013. Schon will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017.
Neal Joseph Schon was born at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, the son of Barbara and Matthew Schon. He is of German ancestry. Schon first picked up the guitar at "around the age of five." A quick learner, he joined Santana as a teenager at 15. Schon has said he was asked by Eric Clapton to join Derek and the Dominos, but that he joined Santana instead, performing on the albums Santana III and Caravanserai. Schon also played in Azteca before moving on in 1973 to form Journey, a group he has continued to lead to the present day.
Schon's guitar style has been described as soulful, taking inspiration from 1960s-era soul singers such as Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, and blending it with blues runs similar to B. B. King. He was influenced by guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana and Wes Montgomery.
In addition to his five solo albums and 14 studio albums with Journey, his work also includes: a pair of albums with keyboardist Jan Hammer, short-term collaborations with Sammy Hagar (HSAS and Planet Us) and Paul Rodgers, stints with Bad English (a supergroup that featured Journey’s Jonathan Cain and Deen Castronovo and Jonathan Cain's former Babys bandmates John Waite and Ricky Phillips) and Hardline (which also featured Deen Castronovo). Even as Journey’s latest lineup plays to a still-faithful body of fans, Schon has immersed himself in side projects such as Piranha Blues (1999) and "Black Soup Cracker" a funk outfit that features former Prince associates Rosie Gaines and Michael Bland, and more recently Soul SirkUS with Jeff Scott Soto.
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