Born on this day in 1954 – Rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, Neal Schon with Journey who had the 1982 US No.2 single ‘Open Arms’. Schon was also a member of Santana by the age of 17.
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. In 1973, he and Gregg Rolie co-founded Journey.
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 nine solo albums and 14 studio albums with Journey, Schon’s 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 Cain’s former Babys bandmates John Waite and Ricky Phillips) and Hardline (which also featured 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); “Black Soup Cracker”, a funk outfit that features former Prince associates Rosie Gaines and Michael Bland; and Soul SirkUS with Jeff Scott Soto.
Schon can be heard on other albums including three tracks on Michael Bolton’s The Hunger, with the Schon sound most recognizable on “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”. He also joined Larry Graham to play in an all-star band for cult funk artist and ex-wife of Miles Davis, Betty Davis. In addition, Schon (along with then Journey manager Herbie Herbert) also contributed to Lenny White’s 1977 album Big City, specifically the instrumental jam “And We Meet Again”.
In 2019, Schon announced a tour to be called Neal Schon’s Journey Through Time. The tour was slated to feature Castronovo, Rolie and Mendoza.
Schon was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on August 23, 2013. Schon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017.
