Guitarist HATED Song Till Singer FORCED Him to Play it LIVE & Fans CAME UNGLUED! | Professor of Rock

have you ever disliked a song so much that for most of your life you just couldn't stand to listen to it talking about one of those tracks you always skipped on an album you know fast forward on your Walkman or you know grab him for the dial when it came on the radio I'm sure you have we've all had songs like that let me ask you this though have you ever had a song that you hated that you later learned to love after hearing it in a different context well today we're covering such a song one for decades I completely written off but then I was caught off guard and I heard it with new ears and now I love it funny thing is this tracks guitarist he went through the same Journey first he just didn't get it either now he admits it's something really special find out what changed both our minds with the help of two special guest interviews coming up next I'm professor of rock hey music junkies professor of rock always here to celebrate the greatest artist and the greatest songs of all time you know if you remember scratch and sniff stickers from back of the day you're going to dig this channel of deep musical Nostalgia I sure remember I remember the taco one for sure make sure to subscribe below right now I know that you're going to find something to like on this channel uh click the Bell so you always know when our stuff's coming out we also have a patreon we have more content there if you've ever seen this Channel at least once or twice you'll know that I love all kinds of music music I mean one day you'll see me geeking out over the genius of the Smiths and the Cure another day I'll wax poetic about Van Halen or Guns and Roses I love Toto in The Clash Janet Jackson and Prince Sinatra Elvis on and on and on which is why you find such an Eclectic mix of genres and musicians on this channel I love it all well most of it I've never understood why you have to be trapped in one style of music or you know limit yourself to a decade or two when I was a kid in the late ' 80s I was crazy about hard rock and heavy metal and I pretended not to still love Billy Jong and Phil Collins but then in seventh grade it was new waiver bust even though I was secretly buying Bruce Hornsby and Whitney Houston albums as I got older I finally realize that I just didn't care what anyone else thought you like what you like and you don't need to pretend or apologize for your taste in music if I want to listen to Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here and John Denver Take Me on country roads back to back I can't and I [Music] will that being said everybody has songs and artists that they just don't care for um myself included even with wide open minds and ears sometimes certain songs or artists just don't resonate with us for example when I was growing up I couldn't stand the carpenter that's not what this video is about I just didn't like the Carpenters but then about I don't know eight or nine years ago I saw the light I realized what a unique and soul rapturing voice Karen Carpenter possessed now I absolutely love [Music] him has that ever happened to you talk about it in the comments likewise I had a similar experience with today's featured song Open Arms by Journey [Music] now anybody who watches this channel knows that I I love journey I consider their 1981 record escape to be one of the greatest Studio albums of the 80s however that doesn't mean 100% of the tracks resonated with me you know there's just something about Open Arms that I don't rubbed me the wrong way for some reason I just I could never get into it so I'm not sure why exactly after all I I love a great power ballad and you'd think that a big ballad from Journey would be a no-brainer favorite I mean I love Faithfully but Open Arms wasn't in fact I could never get through the song I mean whenever I'd listen to escape or you know Journey's greatest hits Open Arms automatic skip we're going away it stayed that way for decades that is until something unexpected happened I had an experience that cast this song in a completely different light and I did a complete 180 now I love Open Arms before I tell you what changed my mind first I want to dig into the story of this song and give you some background with some interviews let's get into it released on July 17th 1981 Escape was Journey's 7eventh studio album this point in their storyed 50 plus career the lineup featured Neil sha on Lee guitar Ross Valerie on Bas Steve Smith on drums newcomer Jonathan Kane on keyboards and of course the incomparable voice Steve Perry on vocals previously Journey had reeled off three straight triple platinum albums 1978's Infinity 1979's Evolution and 1980s departure all incredible records but Escape would out sell them all combined racked up 10 million copies sold in the us alone Escape was the first album to feature the addition of Jonathan Kane he took the place of keyboard is Gregor Oli Jonathan Kane actually co-wrote every track on the album and helped to reinvigorate the band you know giving them just a new musical Outlook plus his piano Melodies gave Escape so much of its emotion Neil Shan's guitar playing and Steve Perry's voice I mean there really isn't a weak track on Escape there's no filler one of the best albums of the 80s like I said it's no surprise that escape became Journey's first and actually only number one album in the US should have been way more number one albums for him around the globe the album did pretty well too uh came in at number 36 in New Zealand number 32 in the UK number 26 in Japan and number six in Canada by the end of 1981 Escape had sold over a million [Music] copies and at one point it was selling something like 460,000 copies a week in fact the album was such a phenomenon that they even developed a computer game based on the album for the Atari remember that one it's called Journey Escape really cool I'll show some screenshots of [Music] it the album was powered by five big hit singles three of which broke the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 uh those tracks included Don't Stop Believing [Music] stop Who's Crying [Music] Now and Open [Music] Arms there's also Stone In Love and still they ride no just such great songs so let's get into Open Arms the song actually originated with Jonathan came before he joined up with journey back uh while he was still a member of the babies with John [Music] waight Jonathan actually presented the song to John weight however uh the singer turned it down I believe he called it sentimental rubbish however Steve Perry he'd have a very different view of the song and Caine was pleasantly Sur surprised to discover that Steve Perry enjoyed singing ballads and he was a master at it in Kane's words and I quote he loved the space on the slow songs where his high tener voice could truly soar so while they were finishing up the song Mother Father for the album Steve asked Jonathan if he'd written any love songs in that moment Kane knew exactly what he had to play his partially finished version of open arms and Steve he loved it but then there was Neil Shawn like me Neil was not initially a fan of this song he just didn't get it and you know what I'm going to leave the story hanging right there so Jonathan and Neil can tell you the rest now as we go into these two interviews I do want to thank our sponsors Zen I wear the glasses I rock daily go get yourself a new pair of glasses blue blocks sunglasses they have everything click on the info button right up here you can actually do a virtual try on before you buy some of the best prices out there here is the interview and so how I got to the journey was you know playing these gigs we had a tour with them the departure tour in 1979 I think and they liked our head our Union Jacks album so they said we love that album you made and we want you on tour so you know little did I know that Greg was going to retire and they were watching me and watching me and they knew we were kind of at the end of our rope with Christ and our record situation John wanted to go back solo and so they just kind of recruited me and they found out that John he told them flat out that he was going to going to ditch the van before I even knew it so you know John uh was on the way out and uh so I got the phone call the next summer and I was to go up and make this album come uh I think it was February we started 1980 y yep uh in Berkeley so I found myself you know in in a moving truck going up to San Francisco with my wife and my German Shepherd you know uh the city I always wanted to to to be in I was just adored in San Francisco and making this album with a band I hadn't played a note with yeah we never played a show a song together and I'm in the studio writing the Escape album so it's pretty Sur one of the biggest Blockbuster albums of the day in fact and we have no film of it and no pictures of it this is crazy and our manager was a video guy hello I mean can you imagine if we had film on video on you guys around I know but nobody bothered to taking pictures or video I'm sitting here going oh it's all you know it's in my mind cuz it set the stage yeah for all those Blockbusters that came out you know what funny when I met Steve and Neil and everything and Ross and and Steve uh I was instantly welcomed you know and given uh so much of a voice you know we want to change our sound and we'd love for you to help us like that little oh me you know guy from Chicago sure I got some ideas because I watched the band every night I found myself when I was opening up for the baby stink around sticking around and going hey I I want to watch see what Journey does tonight and so I'd watch him every night and see crowd reactions so when I got to actually write and create in the band I had an advantage of being part of the audience so I get to sit in the fan in seats and watch that and I said I think were missing this this this and this you know so they were very interested and you know lyrically Steve was interested in how we were going to shift things and I I said it's pretty simple you know we're going to add a little this a little that and I saw it and then Neil had all these ideas that weren't quite getting filtered over to Steve so I just became this big glue part you know and I took Steve and Neil and I put some glue and we just like that and I said I like this idea Steve wanted to sing a ballot I said have this song called Open Arms what do you think help me finish it John way didn't want to do it he's like just a little too yeah shaly yeah but he knew see the the thing that cut out in VH1 about the John way thing was I did say that great singers have great Instinct as to what they can deliver right and Steve Perry's voice and John we's voice are very very different they're both very Soulful guys but John's more of a phrase singer Steve's more of a kuner he's more of a you know Legato he can sing notes you know for 8 seconds 9 seconds and John knew and Steve knew that was the right song now I wouldn't show midnight Ryo to Steve Perry you know what I mean I got midnight R he's looking at me like no that's not funny yeah yeah so um I quickly you know I was fortunate to work with two really great creators and pretty good band leaders I mean John was a great band leader he had a great Instinct for what the band needed to be where we needed to be and so did Steve so I went from one great leader to another great leader one great band to another great band unfortunately for the babies there was the debt poor management led to the demise if they had been managed differently the band might be still around well the thing that was so great about the chemistry that the three of you had with Neil and you and Steve is that you had those distinct the distinct voice the incredible guitar sound and then your piano that glued it all together exactly and it just like songs like not only open [Music] arms but who's crying now still right and then you come in with open arms what were your thoughts on Open Arms where you're like oh I don't know about this man it's a phenomenal song and it's another standard but tell me about that is exactly that I didn't know what to think of it I mean we had we had you know escaped on and that song it came in and we played it and we did the arrangement that that John had uhhuh and there was really like no guitar and I'm like why am I doing this you know so it was a turning point you know and and frankly I didn't even I I didn't hear the song I didn't get it and I didn't want to play it live you know Perry loves the story he loves to tell this story cuz I was wrong and so the the the joke goes like after that like okay so that's our first number one single right I believe so the joke went after that whatever song Neil doesn't like that'll be our hit single so you know but I remember we were out on tour and we're like you know sold out everywhere an Escape Tour and um we never played the song live and Steve goes I want to play that song tonight and John they both wanted to play it CU they both you know wrote it and or John wrote it with them and and I was uh really where are we going to put that thing you know and so we stuck it in the set and the place came [Applause] [Music] unglued and I went like cuz I knew have to hear the end I would never hear the end of it you know you w you walked off the stage after and you were like that was awesome and isn't how Steve Perry I was surprised kill you I thought it was really not going to go down well with our audience because it was so different than anything we'd ever done before and and they loved it and so I was just like wow okay yeah what was I going to say the place came on glued I was like that's awesome I was wrong what do you want me to say [Applause] [Music] ah you just can't beat Steve Perry's vocal Open Arms was jour's highest charting hit it went all the way to number two where it held tight for six weeks it was behind Jay Guile's bands centerfold and Joan Jets I love rock and roll two big hits I love rock roll my fa man what a great time for music so if you can believe it Journey never had a number one hit on the Hot 100 It seems impossible right granted Open Arms did go to number one on the US cashbox chart it also reached number seven on the adult contemporary chart and did well in Canada where it went to number two on both the top singles chart and the AC chart here in North America I mean this was a monster ballot Open Arms is also one of Journey's most covered songs riia Carey had a number four hit with it in the UK Selen Deion Andy Gibb kayen Kelly Clarkson Boy to Men Britney Spears Keith Urban Aaron Lewis Faith Hill Melissa Ethridge and Barry Manalo have all done their own versions but let's be clear none of them can come within a thousand miles of Steve Perry and journey suime original just just perfect let me open arms Open Arms has also appeared in a handful of movies and TV shows through the years uh there's heavy metal General Hospital Cold Case My Name is Earl Daddy's home too Modern Family and the Goldbergs just to name a you and then there's my personal favorite media placement for Open Arms Cobra Kai this is the one that actually turned me all the way around and made me like the song it's funny how just the right mix of nostalgia and the passing of time can trigger a change in perspective I've always been a huge Karate Kid fan for a lot of 80s kids like me the Ralph machio Karate Kid Trilogy was right up there with iconic franchises like Back to the Future Indiana Jones Rocky and Star Wars at least the first two uh kateed kids I mean what a great time to grow up I know I talk about it a lot but I remember watching The Karate Kid in the theater and begging my parents to sign me up for karate lessons I must have practiced that crane kick on the trampoline about a 100 times a [Music] [Applause] [Music] day my friends and I watch the movie on VHS daily for months we even had our own karate competitions so when Cobra Kai resurrected the storylines of Daniel ruso and Johnny Lawrence I mean I was so excited for it except now so many years later the tables have turned as a kid I loved Daniel and I hated Johnny but thanks to some brilliant writing flushing out the backstory of Mr Lawrence I found myself rooting for this back in the day bully and I saw this metall loving technologically challenge down on his luck antagonist as a flawed and likable hero and though I didn't know it right away this new perspective about Johnny paved the way uh for my change of heart when it came to Open Arms here's why while I was watching season 3 the finale of season 3 uh with my two sons I was blindsided by this song in the best way possible Open Arms was featured in the key scene that had these two karate Rivals you know come into their senses with the help of ex-girlfriend Ali Mills in a throwback moment Ally Johnny and Daniel and Daniel's wife they all have dinner together at the same country club from a Karate Kid the [Music] original allly becomes incredible peacemaking Force for Daniel and Johnny it's a great scene because she helps them see each other in a new way it's a really nice payoff after three seasons of escalating conflict and pays off even more in the seasons after that Cobra Kai is great you got to watch it you'll love it trust me on this you really will love it and if you don't want a a giveaway um spoiler then you might want to skip this part but um in the season 3 finale the evening comes to a close after Ally helps Johnny and Daniel kind of make peace and Johnny and Ally walk outside and I got to tell you I was willing the Riders of the show to let him get back together I was wanting it to happen I knew it couldn't work but I was feeling this wave of 80s Nostalgia and I still hoped that it could and that put my heart in just the right place for what would happen next just as these two characters were sharing this heartfelt moment the sound of some familiar notes began to play the piano of Open Arms we had our own little time machine sometimes it's good to visit the past and as I watched and listen this song it hit me like never before it's like I was hearing it for the first time really hearing it as the rest of the scene plays out with open arms playing in the background something changed for me or maybe something changed in me I don't know but from then on Open Arms was no longer my least favorite Journey track it was a song tied to a moment of new Nostalgia it was a song that I now loved better late than never I finally got it and I experienced this scene with my two kids it was just really a cool moment my wife was watching as well it just created a new memory and that's kind of what Journey's music really [Music] does and I've said this before I got to say it again with apologies to Robert Plant Freddy Mercury and Wilson and probably Brad Delp and a few others I gotta say that c Perry he's the goat number one on my list of vocalists and there's just no taking a back when you consider just the voice just the voice it's got to be Perry an Open Arms is a perfect demonstration of his otherworldly power and flawless control the Dynamics of his range the highs and the lows the change of volume the louds and the softs how he envelops a listener's heart and soul it's all laid bare in a little over three minutes here and it just reminds you why Journey truly become one of America's most Bel love bands of all [Applause] [Music] time so I got to say uh Mr Perry I owe you a big apology Open Arms is a masterpiece of the rock Arena and I'm sorry that it took me so many years to recognize that now when I listen to escape there is not one single track that I [Music] skip thanks so much for watching share a song or an artist that you previously didn't care for and that you now love uh and tell me about that experience and let's talk about Journey let's talk about the great uh Arena rock ballads below what are your memories of the song and of Escape great album and some of the other tracks on it let's have a great discussion below if you like our content we invite you to subscribe we'd love to have you until next time three courts and the truth my [Music] friends

Channel: Professor of Rock

Views: 663,966

Keywords: professor of rock, professor of rock 80s, professor of rock journey, journey open arms, classic albums, song story, 80s, 80s greatest hits, 80s music, 80s hits, 80s nostalgia, music history, rock history, journey, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Cobra Kai, open arms, escape album, journey escape, rock, classic rock, power ballad, ballad, soft rock, 1982, journey band, journey documentary, neal schon interview, vinyl story, steve perry interview, 80s rock, 80s pop

Id: TElGr7PUGt4

Length: 24min 1sec (1441 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 25 2023