Don't Stop Believin' is a hit ... again!

Thanks to a phenomenal cover by the cast of Glee, a new show on Fox that had a sneak preview Tuesday, Don't Stop Believin' is the No. 1 seller on the iTunes music store today. Somewhere, Steve Perry is sobbing with joy alone in the dark, wearing only those tuxedo tails from the '81 Escape Tour.

Even better: Journey's original version of the song is now up to No. 32 on the iTunes chart. Thanks to its continued use on shows like The Sopranos and Laguna Beach, it's the '80s anthem that lives on forever!

Someone at Fox stumbled onto brilliance by airing the pilot of the series months before Glee's actual debut. For those in the dark, the show tells the story of a young high school teacher who throws together a rag-tag group of misfits to reinvogorate the school's glee club, thus helping him relive his own glory days (sniff, sniff, okay, I'm tearing up) and to help ease the pain of his loveless marriage. (Okay, full out sobbing now.) Watch the full pilot on Hulu.

What magical powers does the '80s anthem Don’t Stop Believin’ hold over America?

HOW IT STARTED: Don’t Stop Believin’ was one of first writing collaborations between singer Steve Perry, guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who had just joined the band.

NOT A HUGE HIT THEN: Released on Journey’s 1981 Escape album, the song wasn’t even the biggest hit on the record, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Who’s Crying Now and Open Arms both rose higher on the charts that year. The song does star in the 1982 video game “Escape” for the Atari home gaming system, where players have to guide band members past groupies and sleazy promoters to reach their scarab escape vessel.

“BORN AND RAISED IN SOUTH DETROIT”: That line early in the song tends to drive people from Michigan crazy, since Detroit really has no South side. (Windsor, Ontario, technically is south of Detroit.) One popular theory is that the band really meant Southfield, Mich., a suburb that’s ironically north of Detroit. Of course, it didn’t matter when singer Steve Perry performed the song; he often changed “South Detroit” to the city the band was playing in that night.

REBORN IN THE 21st CENTURY: In 2005, the song broke into iTunes’ Top 10 list of downloads after it appeared on Fox’s Family Guy and MTV’s Laguna Beach in the same week. The Chicago White Sox adopted it as their anthem during their World Series championship in 2005, with Perry singing the tune at the victory parade. Other TV shows playing it include The Apprentice, Scrubs, South Park and ...

THE SOPRANOS FINALE: On June 10, 2007, Don’t Stop Believin’ became the centerpiece to the final scene from HBO’s hit series The Sopranos. Sales of the song on iTunes rose 482 percent over the next few days. Permission to use the song wasn’t given until the very last minute and only after Perry -- afraid the song would be used in a murderous climax -- was told in advance how the show ended.

BUT STILL NO RESPECT: In November 2008, Don’t Stop Believin’ became the first catalog track in history to achieve online digital sales of more than 2 million units. But despite being eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for almost a decade, Journey has yet to be even named a finalist for induction. Why not? “It’s all politics,” Ross Valory told the Times last year. “Without being either negative or positive about it ... sooner or later it’s gonna happen. I have a feeling it’s going to happen sooner, but I’m still not going to hold my breath.”

UP NEXT: Will Don’t Stop Believin’ become a theme song of sorts for Glee? We’ll wait to wait until the fall to find out. In the meantime, a new movie Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey -- a look at the band and its new singer Arnel Pineda -- is scheduled for a Dec. 1 release. We can’t wait for the soundtrack!

Comments

[Douglas Arthur]

Anyone interested in watching Glee, in a bit higher quality than HULU, it is currently a FREE download from iTunes! Check it out. I just watched it today after hearing how good it was, and by jingo it lives up to the hype, even if it cribs a bit from High School Musical. Seriously good stuff. I'm not even a journey fan and I enjoyed the heck out of it.

[Bassnote]

Is it me, or does it look like the two people in the middle of the image are copping a feel of each other?

[Genyus]

Don't stop believin' took off seriously last year and this year. This happened when Journey had a new singer. Was it a coincidence or people are motivated to compare the Old vs the New?

[Willie]

According to Steve Perry, the "streetlight people" weren't prostitutes but just people on the street backlit by the lights.

This, from Blender:

“All the critics were like, ‘Who the hell are these “streetlight people”’?” laughs Perry, who came up with the image while gazing down from a hotel room in Detroit, watching the backlit crowds below.

http://www.blender.com/guide/68938/greatest-songs-ever-147don146t-stop-believin146148.html

[Blaine]

Classic track, but I will forever be miffed that "Only the Young" and "Ask the Lonely" were left off of "Frontiers." Those are two of my most favorite JRNY songs.

[DerekT]

I like this version, however when it first started it reminded me of the classic Christmas Coke commercial.

[Mr.Fabulous]

I played the grooves out of my copy of Escape when it was new. Good times. The writing on this show, how'er, blows. Fun premise. Fix the writing.

[Marissa]

I'm one of those people who helped hike the song to numero uno on iTunes. After watching GLEE and hearing this version, my son asked me to put it on his iTunes playlist.
Yes, I was one of *those* choir kids in high school. At my 25 year reunion, some of the jocks told me they wished they'd had the guts to audition back then.
We didn't sing Journey songs, though. We turned to FAME! and Manhattan Transfer. Oy!

[M]

Spears... yes, "streetlight people" is a reference to street prostitutes. It is not "streetlight, people" nor "streetlights, people" as some claim it to be.
Fantastic song. Fantastic ORIGINAL singer. Long live Don't Stop Believin'!

[Al]

Fun hockey fact: While watching the NHL playoffs this year and last season, the Red Wings DJ always plays "Don't Stop Believin'" late in the 3rd period, and everyone sings along to it in the Joe.

While I can't stand the Wings, that's pretty cool.

[DerekT]

And now there is an REO and Styx package for the Xbox version of Rock Band.

[DerekT]

Journey deserves to be in the Hall of Fame!!!!!!!!!!! Don't Stop Believing also was used on American Idol on the finally one year too. There is rumors that Steve Perry might come out of retirement and bring out a new album, I am crossing my fingers. The new guy in Journey has some serious pipes on him, but he is still no Steve Perry (and he would agree with it too.)

[Clark]

Prety good show. It has potential. I'll definitely check it out when it airs in the fall.

[Spears]

I guess there's also a big debate on the lyrics "Streetlight people." Some fans insist it's actually "Streetlight, people." The album liner sheet has no comma (yes, got the album right here at my desk). So the question is, do they mean street prostitutes? Or just random people passing in the dark.

[Neil]

Why does it take a video game for kids to discover Journey? It seems strange to me. Well, I am glad at least they are discovering it. I heard that Van Halen is going to have a Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

[Andrew]

Like I tell my kids all the time...

"Some'll win, some will lose, some are born to sing the blues..."

[Spears]

Rock Band has Journey songs? Man, I need to make some serious home entertainment investments this summer. (Please, don't tell Vegas Girlfriend. She says the Spears Lair looks too much like a college dorm room already.)

[Lolly]

I have 12 year old twins & they (along with all of their friends) love Journey - thanks to Rock Band!!!

[wuenchdog]

Let's not stop at "Don't Stop Believin'", let the Journey recreations flow. This may be old news for some, but check out the grade school band "Recess" belt out "Separate Ways". I was strangely impressed and entertained. I don't know who I like better, the red-head vocalist or the licks by the slick guitar player.
Here is the link: http://video.yahoo.com/network/100063489?v=4809530