Song:Oh Sherrie
Album:Street Talk
Of course Steve Perry is best known as the lead singer of Journey. But when Journey went on an early 80s hiatus, Perry scored a top five hit in 1984 with Oh Sherrie. He returned to Journey when they reformed in 1986. Perry has only released two solo albums. He was born Jan. 22, 1949 in Hanford, CA and he went to high school in Lemoore, CA. His dad owned local radio station KIGS. Perry bounced around several bands in the 70s until he auditioned and got the lead singer gig for Journey in 1977. When Journey went on hiatus after the 1983 album Frontiers, Perry and Neil Schon both recorded solo. Perry also appeared on the 1982 Kenny Loggins hit Don't Fight It. Perry produced the 1984 album Street Talk with veteran producer Bruce Botnick. The album went 3XPlatinum after Oh Sherrie reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Perry wrote the song for his then girlfriend Sherrie Swafford who appears in the video. His co-writer on several of the album's songs was veteran songwriter Randy Goodrum. Goodrum's biggest hit was the Anne Murray hit You Needed Me. The other co-writers Bill Cuomo and Craig Krampf played on the album. The guitar solo is by veteran session musician Waddy Wachtel. When Journey reformed to record the 1986 album Raised On Radio, Perry's mom was very ill and he was shuttling back and forth. She died during the album's production. It took a lot out of the group and they disbanded after touring. So Perry went to record a second solo album but it was never finished or released. He finally released a second solo album in 1994 and then Journey reunited in 1996. Perry injured his hip hiking but he delayed surgery for two years. The band fired him in 1998. Since then, Perry hasn't recorded but he has surfaced occasionally, most notably when the 2010 San Francisco Giants used Don't Stop Believin' as their theme and Perry appeared several times. He's a big Giants fan. In a 2010 interview, he said he planned to record a new album but that hasn't happened. He had a cancer scare in 2013 and then his girlfriend died of cancer. So it appears that one of the iconic voices of the 80s is semi-retired but at least Street Talk is available as a budget CD. Here's the video for Oh Sherrie by Steve Perry.
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