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7/28/2019 Cain Dont Stop
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LEGENDS n SONG STORIES D BRFAKOUTS
THREE DECADES INTO ITS RELEASE, JOURNEY'S'DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'"
seems even more popular than when it hit radio airwaves in i981. From shows
like G/ee to the Broadway musical Rock of Ages to almost any jukebox in
any bar, it feels like it's everywhere. This is the story of how it went from anunfinished chorus l'd penned at home to the song we all know today.
Not long before joining Journey, I was struggling me to join and contribute material to finish up
in the music business in Los Angeles, without theEscape album. I brought my chorus in, and
a record deal, aqrd I a taken a break from music. that's where it all began.
But my father always believed I would succeed, The original chorus included the chords,
and would regularly say 'Jon, don't stop melody, and the lyrics "Don't stop believing, hold
believing" on the phone to me from Chicago. on to that feeling." I didn't knowwhat the next
So I wrote that down, and started working line was going to be at that point, but I knew.
on it as a chorus. When Journey's original the melody would go up at the end to complete
keyboardist Gregg Rolie left the band, they asked the phrase. The bass line was also different
Ke6ord 12.2011
Journey's keyboardi
Jonathan Cain (at cephoto at left) is openew recording studidiction Sound, in Nain 2012. Learn aboutcareer and charity wionathancain.com.
THE JOURNEY OFDon't Stop BelievinnBY JONATHAN CAIN
at first, with just a driving eighth-note
throughout. My original chorus looked
[Lead singer] Steve Perry liked the
much that he wanted to use them for tsong, breaking them down to sing the
over. So we started exploring the chord
Perry said to me, "Instead ofjust playin
give me one of your rolling, signature p
I d just left the band the Babys, where
"Turn and Walk Away" had a rolling pia
Perry was looking for something that c
that side of my musical personality, so
the chords up into an eighth-note riff.
we had the same chords for verses and
we needed to make the verse stand ou
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the chords in the arpeggiated piano riff
lmows today. Perry and I loved classic
like Marvin Gaye, who could write great
with just four chords repeating over and over
That was the goal we set for ourselves.
then said "Let's keep the chords, but
up with a different bass line." The goal
make each section of the song unique. So
Neal Schon started experimentingthe bass line, and came up with a new one
over my moving piano part, which he showed
to [bassist] Ross Valory. Ross had a unique bass
sound, almost like a cellist. He tweaked his amp
and added a flanger to get his parts to really
bark. The piano and bass parts together are
shown in Ex. 2.
Perry then started looking for a melody to
sing over the verse that would take the same
chords into more soulful territory. We hadn'tcrafted the lyrics yet, but he was humming what
would eventually become the song's soaring
melody. It sounded great to all of us.
Next, he decided we'd play another ve
While we played the chords as the re-intr
the second verse, Neal started playing wh
would become his signature, sixteenth-no
"going down the train tracks" descending
guitar arpeggio, which he played double-
over my eighth-note piano part.After the second verse, the song felt like
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Ex.3
Keys/Guitar
Bass
it needed to go to the M chord. But instead of just playing a standard IV
chord on the B-section, Neal had the idea to play the V chord over the IV
bass note, rocking back and forth between that and the II/ chord. I doubled
Neal's guitar part on keyboards, using an ARP Omni string patch through a
Roland Dimension-D chorus. Perry picked up on Neal's alternating chordal
figure, eventually using the same melody notes for the B-section lyrics
"strangers" and "waiting." This added an element of tension and release,
and can be seen in Ex. 3.
The next day, after we d decided on an arrangement, I went to Steve
Perry's house and we worked on lyrics. He sang and played bass while we
listened to the tapes from the daybefore. I said, "This sounds like a train
going down the tracks." Perry agreed, and we started looking for clues to
tell the song's story. I said, "I love the song'Midnight Train to Georgia.'
What if this is the midnight train going anywhere?" We knew we were on
to something. Later, Perry and I would craft the B-section lyrics out of ourtime spent cruising the Sunset Strip in L.A., with its endless menagerie
of wandering souls. I'd think, "Where did all these people come from, and
what the hell are they doing here?" They would eventually become the
"streetlight people" in the chorus, completing the song that changed the
course of my life forever.J)
l'm embracing the new Roland V-Piano GrandJourney's current Eclipse tour. l'm also playing
new Jupiter-8O, which is an amazing synth. Tho
keyboards have just been tremendous. Having
on tour has made things much easier on everyo
We're more of a rock band now, and using my F
acoustic piano on stage has become almost
impossible. lt was hard to get the piano up in th
and it was howling in the P.A. as well. The V-Pia
solved all of that. Now, the Faz will have a perm
home in my new studio.'lll!ililh 9 ffi."!JF:"ffilif*":nr;,.'
Key&oad 12.2011
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