Steve Perry’s Vocals Are Out Of This World On Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” Live In 1981

Many publications have hailed Steve Perry of Journey as one of the greatest singers of all time, and his 1981 live performance of “Don’t Stop Believin'” is a testament to that acclaim. Released earlier that year, “Don’t Stop Believin'” quickly became a global hit and Journey’s signature song. During a concert in Houston, Texas in 1981, the band demonstrated their exceptional musicianship, captivating the audience with this iconic track.

Perry just sings like a bird, and he makes his soaring vocals on the song sound so easy. He also effortlessly exudes that rockstar charisma, and has the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. As many fans pointed out in the comments, Perry sounds even better live than on the studio recording, which is no easy feat.

The ’81 live cut of “Don’t Stop Believin’” was popular with fans, who tuned in 274 million times on the video. This makes the clip the most popular live performance on Journey’s YouTube channel, and the third most popular video overall. The recording was captured during the band’s Escape Tour, which was in support of their newly released seventh studio album, Escape.

Journey played two shows in Houston in 1981 on the tour, on November 5 and November 6. However, it’s not clear which night the live recording of “Don’t Stop Believin’” was captured. It seems like the band was really on fire on the Escape tour in 1981, as the second most popular live performance on the band’s YouTube channel is “Who’s Crying Now”, which was also captured in Houston on the tour.

Fans were really impressed with Journey’s live cut of “Don’t Stop Believin’” in Houston, and added comments such as, “No Auto-Tune, no backing tracks, just some amazing musicians who have left their mark quite clearly way, way up there” and “Steve Perry sings this song like that kid who doesn’t study a lick but walks into the final exam and aces it. Effortless.”

“Don’t Stop Believin’” was a top 10 hit in the US as well as several international markets. The song became Journey’s biggest hit over time, and was eventually certified 18 times Platinum in the US.

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