Well, I came across this bit of news this week declaring that the Journey song (originally from 1981) "Don't Stop Believin'" has sold over 2 million copies through iTunes thus becoming the biggest selling song released in the pre-digital era, but later re-released through the iTunes store, ever.

Here is the article I saw courtesy of NME.com:

Journey song most downloaded catalogue track

Journey have become the band with the "biggest ever catalogue song on digital platforms".

It means that the band's track "Don't Stop Believin'" is the first song that was available in the pre-digital era to sell more than two million through iTunes.

According to the Theguardian.co.uk, part of the track's popularity is to do with it soundtracking the finale of TV hit drama The Sopranos last year.

The song was originally released in 1981, then made available through iTunes in April 2003.

Of all of the great music released pre-iTunes, it is a little surprising to me that this Journey song would top the list. Though it seems that its use in the final episode of The Sopranos in June 2007 helped boost those sales significantly, this says a lot about this band who peeked in popularity during the early 80's. I thought this would be an appropriate time to publish my top 10 Journey songs list, but first I will give you a little background on the band.

Though Journey originally formed way back in 1973, they did not really start to take off until Steve Perry joined the band and took over lead vocals in 1977. The rest of the band during those key 80's years consisted of Neal Schon (lead guitar), Ross Valory (bass guitar), Jonathan Cain (keyboards) and Steve Smith (drums).

Known best for their power ballads, Journey has sold over 46 million albums in the U.S. alone. This includes 7 multi-platinum albums with 5 of those released in the 80's. Their biggest selling studio album was 1981's Escape which went 9x platinum (selling over 9 million copies) hitting #1 on the album charts and producing 3 top ten hits. They even had a video game for the Atari 2600 called Journey Escape.  The majority of the band's success came with Steve Perry on lead vocals, but Perry left the band in 1987 then coming back for a short time between 1995-98 before leaving the band again for good. In my opinion, you just cannot replace a voice like Perry and Journey will never be the same without him.

Journey released a Greatest Hits album in November of 1988. This album impressively went 15x platinum selling over 15 million copies. It spent an amazing 760 weeks on the Billboard pop album charts, which doing the math is well over 14 years! I believe all of the songs on my Top 10 list below are included on this album, so it really is worth having if you enjoy Journey music.

Here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 JOURNEY SONGS OF ALL TIME:

Honorable Mention. "Any Way You Want It" (1980) from Departure [link to video] - A good song, but not one of my absolute favorites. I wanted to include it as an honorable mention because I love the scene in the movie Caddyshack where this song is used. In fact, that scene ranks on my Best Dancing Scenes from 80s Movies list.  Definitely check out that list which includes a link to the scene in the movie featuring the song.

10. "Girl Can't Help It" (1986) from Raised on Radio [link to video]

9. "I'll Be Alright Without You" (1986) from Raised on Radio [link to video]

8. "Ask The Lonely" (1983) from Two of a Kind soundtrack [link to video]

7. "Who's Crying Now" (1981) from Escape [link to video]

6. "Open Arms" (1981) from Escape [link to video]

5. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (1983) from Frontiers [link to video]

4. "Lights" (1978) from Infinity [link to video] - one of only 2 songs on this list not released in the 80's

3. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" (1979) from Evolution [link to video] - the other of only 2 songs on this list not released in the 80's

2. "Faithfully" (1983) from Frontiers [link to video] - Ranks on my Best 80s Songs with One-Word Titles list

1. "Don't Stop Believin'" (1981) from Escape [link to video] - 2 million iTunes shoppers can't be wrong (though I had mine from my Greatest Hits album already)

There's my list. Please notice there are links to each song in case you are not familiar with them or just want to relive a memory. As you probably already know from some of my previous lists, I am a sucker for a sappy love song or power ballad, so my list definitely reflects that in this case. A rocker would likely rank this list totally different, so please leave comments or feedback below.

Journey is still releasing albums and touring today though with a couple different members and obviously without Steve Perry. As I mentioned earlier though, they just are not the same without him. Congratulations to the band on the iTunes success of their 80's classic.

That wraps up this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks so much for reading. If you are interested in reading more of my 80's related issues, please click there for a summary. If you are interested in reading more of my Top 10 lists, please click there for a summary of those. You can also click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the blogbar Search Box in the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, please pass the word and let others know to give it a try (and of course come back often!). Peace and much love.

Check this out: Came across this sign promoting the South Lake Union Trolley. The acronym they used creates an interesting (and amusing) proposition...

Quote of the day: "It's a troublesome world. All the people who're in it are troubled with troubles almost every minute. You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you're lucky you're not!" -Dr. Seuss from Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?

Download this: Not that it needs any more help, but I guess I have to go with "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey