Journey Guitarist To Be Honored

Journey guitarist and Oklahoma-born Neal Schon will become one of the newest members of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, the organization announced Wednesday.

Schon will be introduced as member of the Music Halls 2013 class at the sold-out Journey concert at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Schon has been with Journey for all of the albums and tours, making him the only member of the band to remain through the years.

“We’ve been talking to Neal for quite some time and finally the stars all aligned to make this happen,” said Micheal Rappe, assistant executive director of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

Schon was born in Oklahoma but grew up in California. Journey was formed in 1973 after Schon worked with Santana for several years.

Journey took off in the 1980s with Schon as lead guitarist. Megahits like “Don’t Stop Believin'” and “Open Arms” launched the band to fame.

Those songs were on the Journey album “Escape,” which has been certified nine times platinum and went to No. 1 on the album charts in 1981.

Schon also worked with the band Bad English and has produced several solo albums.