On This Day – February 27, 1954 – Journey’s Neal Schon was born

On this Day, February 27, 1954…

Future Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Neal Schon was born at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.

At just age 17, Schon joined the band Santana performing on albums Santana III and Caravanserai. In 1973, he and Gregg Rolie, who was also in Santana, formed Golden Gate Rhythm Section, which eventually became Journey, a band Schon has now been in for 50 years.

Journey’s biggest success came between 1978 and 1987, when Steve Perry was their lead vocalist. They released hit albums like Escape and Frontiers, featuring such classic tunes as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Faithfully,” “Open Arms” and more.

Schon and Journey were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.