Steve Perry
| Steve Perry | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Ray Perry |
| Born |
January 22, 1949 Hanford, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | Columbia, Next Plateau Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Journey, Ice (with Scott Mathews), Alien Project, USA for Africa, The Sullies, The Eels |
Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 1998. Perry had a successful solo career between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.
Perry's singing has garnered acclaim from prominent musical peers and publications; he has been described as "The Voice", a moniker originally coined by friend and former chart peer Jon Bon Jovi. He ranks No. 76 on Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time and will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017. Perry resides in Del Mar, California.
Stephen Ray Perry was born in Hanford, California to Portuguese parents. Perry grew up interested in music, as his father, Raymond Perry (Pereira), was a vocalist and co-owner of radio station KNGS. On his 12th birthday (January 22, 1961), his mother, Mary Quaresma, presented her son with a gold eighth note necklace, which he still wears for good luck. When Perry was 12 years old, he heard Sam Cooke's song "Cupid" on his mother's car radio. It inspired Perry to become a singer.
His family moved to Lemoore, California during Perry's teen years. He attended high school there, drumming in the marching band as well as in extracurricular bands. He attended College of the Sequoias, in Visalia, California, for a short time after graduation, where he sang first tenor in the choir. Perry's mother encouraged his musical growth during this time.
In his early 20s, Perry moved to Sacramento to start a band with a 16-year-old future music producer Scott Mathews, who co-wrote, played drums, guitar and sang. That band, Ice, wrote strong original material and were poised to "make it" as they recorded during the day at the Record Plant studios in Los Angeles in 1972 while Stevie Wonder recorded his Talking Book album by night. Upon returning to Sacramento, Ice disbanded as the band had no management, Mathews was stuck in high school, and the recordings went virtually unheard. In 1975, Perry moved to Thousand Oaks, California, where he formed a progressive rock band called Pieces with Tim Bogert (who had previously worked with Jeff Beck), Denver Cross, and Eddie Tuduri. After a year and a half, the group was unable to secure a record deal and disbanded.
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