Earlier this year, Forbes reported that Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” was “officially the biggest song of all time.” But the band’s guitarist and songwriter Neal Schon is still pretty shocked it has gotten as big as it has.
“When I first heard the finished song I knew it was special, but it took years to get to the place where it’s a worldwide anthem,” Schon tells The Guardian. “Everybody has their own theory about why ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ exploded in the new millennium.”
One of those theories has to do with its use in several movies and TV shows.
“First, there was the movie Monster, with Charlize Theron. Then came The Sopranos – I remember my phone blowing up and all my friends saying: ‘Man, did you see the final scene?’” he says.
But it was the song’s use in the pilot episode of Glee that brought the tune to a whole new audience, although Schon says he was initially a bit concerned about the song being on the program.
“I was terrified by that because I thought it was a teenybopper show, not so cool for us,” he says. “Little did I know that it would open up a younger generation to our music.”
He adds, “I’m a rocker and a blues guy, and we always joke that if I think something is too schmaltzy, it’s usually gonna be big!”
Fans can hear “Don’t Stop Believin'” and other hit songs this summer on Journey’s Summer Stadium tour with Def Leppard. The tour hits Citi Field in New York on Wednesday. A complete list of tour dates can be found at journeymusic.com.
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