Walter James (Herbie) Herbert, Journey's mastermind and manager

Walter James (Herbie) Herbert II was born on February 5, 1948.

Herbie formed a band after the implosion of Santana at the time. He brought Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie from Santana and Ross Valory and George Tickner from Frumious Bandersnatch in 1973.

With Prairie Prince as drummer, the band started out as a backup group. In 1973 the band developed a distinctive jazz fusion style and after one show, Aynsley Dunbar replaced Prairie Prince as the band's drummer.

The road manager, John Villaneuva, came up with the name "Journey" and on February 5, 1974 Herbie and the band signed with Columbia Records.

In 1977 Herbie brought in a new vocalist named Steve Perry and by 1981 they were the #1 band in America.

Journey fell apart in 1987 when Steve Perry wanted to stop.

Herbie Herbert was fired by Steve Perry in 1993 which ended the very successful run for Journey.

Journey Evolution Tour Book 1979 continues on...

The giant Evolution Tour Book gets better and better.

This week's part 4 of the concert program starts with "The Story Of Journey" and ends with another story titled, "Journey, Behind The Scene"

Here are the first 5 pages in the second half of the book...

Seasons Greetings from JOURNEY and The Journey Force from 1981

Merry Christmas from WHEEL IN THE SKY.

Have a wonderful Holiday season.

Here's the Journey fan club's (The Journey Force) Christmas Card that was sent to members for Christmas in 1981...

Steve Smith Journey Force Post Card 1981

Journey's Fan Club, The Journey Force sent it's members post cards in 1981 reminding them to buy tickets for the upcoming "Escape" shows.

Here's the Steve Smith card front and back...

 

Where Infinity Ends, Evolution Begins ad from 1979

A magazine ad from 1979 featuring Journey.

"Infinity", Journey's last album went beyond anything the band had done before. Supported by endless airplay and constant touring, it rode the charts for nearly a year. That put Journey over the topi, and well past platinum.

Now Journey's new album, "Evolution", begins an even bigger cycle in the band's career. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars) it features "Just The Same Way" - Journey's first top-10 bound single.

You see, nothing can stop a force like "Evolution."

Expect it to go beyond "Infinity" and keep going.

Journey Tour Book 1979 Centerfold Poster

The Centerfold poster in the 1979 Evolution Tour Book is a great picture of the band playing live!

The Evolution Album was released on April 5, 1979 and was the fifth album from Journey and was produced by Roy Thomas Baker.

The album spawned three singles, "Just The Same Way", "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", and "Too Late".

The Evolution Tour was a grueling 6 months of sold-out shows that started on March 1st in  Belguim and went through Europe before running off to Japan.

The American Tour began in May in Oregon and moved all around the Country before ending in Las Vegas on August 17, 1979.

Journey Tour Book 1979, The Evolution Tour continues

The Journey Evolution Tour Book Program continues this week on the WHEEL IN THE SKY blog.

The Evolution Tour was a full two month tour across Europe and Japan before coming back to the United States in May. Five more months on the road made the entire Seven month Evolution Tour. This was own exhausting tour covering over 100 dates in 1979.

The next six pages of the Journey Evolution Tour Book Program includes some great photos of the band members. Here are pages 5 thru 10...

Journey Force Renewal and Merchandise Form from 1986

This is a stand alone renewal sheet mailed to Journey Force Members in 1986.

You could also find this sheet inside the Raised On Radio Tour Book sold at concerts.

I wish I would have bought one of the Tuxedo Jackets.

BAM Magazine from March 16, 1979 features Journey

Bay Area Magazine, BAM featured Journey on the cover March 16, 1979.

The cover has been shown here before...

...but this time the entire article about Journey is included!

Journey Tour Book 1979 Evolution Tour 2nd leg

After the sponsorship by Budweiser ended Journey was quick to put together a new Tour Book.

Nightmare Inc., Journey's management company, put out a brand new larger sized Tour Book.

This Tour Program is a giant 10.25 X 14.25 inches with over 20 pages!

Because there are so many pages, I think it's best shown over a period of many weeks.

Here are the first 5 pages of this magnificent Tout Book from The Evolution Tour from 1979...

The Journey Force Publicity Still from 1981

Here's a raw photo used for publicity in 1981.