Neal Schon was born on February 27, 1954, in Midwest City, Oklahoma, to Matthew and Barbara Schon. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 to join Carlos Santana's rock group Santana. Four years later, Santana and his band split up, and Neal and Gregg Rolie formed Journey.
Journey released its self-titled debut album in 1975, followed by "Look Into the Future" in 1976 and "Next" in 1977. However, the records weren't selling well, and the band was told to get a lead singer. They brought in Steve Perry, with whom they released the album "Infinity" in 1978.
Infinity was followed by "Evolution" in 1979 and "Departure" in 1980. The band also released a compilation album of earlier works called "In the Beginning" in 1980 and a soundtrack for the movie "Dream After Dream" recorded in Japan.
Greg Rolie left the band after the release of "Departure," and keyboardist Jonathan Cain was brought in for the 1981 release of "Escape." "Escape" was Journey's biggest record, and the single "Open Arms" went to #2 on the charts. Neal also teamed up with Jan Hammer for the album "Untold Passion" in 1981 and "Here To Stay" in 1982.
In 1983, Journey released the album "Frontiers," which was named the most popular rock group in America. After "Frontiers," the band split for a while, and Neal formed HSAS with Sammy Hagar, releasing an album called "Through the Fire" in 1984.
In 1986, Journey, without bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith, released the album "Raised on Radio." Neal helped form the group Bad English in 1988, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1989. He also released his solo album "Late Nite" in 1989.
In 1991, Bad English released their second album, "Backlash," and Neal joined Hardline for the album "Double Eclipse" in 1992. Neal released seven solo albums, including "Late Night," "Beyond the Thunder," "Electric World," "Piranha Blues," "Voice," "i on u," and "The Calling" in 2012.
A Journey reunion of band members Schon, Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Ross Valory, and Steve Smith happened for the 1996 album "Trial By Fire." In 1997, Neal released his album "Electric World." In 1998, Steve Perry was replaced with Steve Augeri as Journey's new lead singer after the band waited almost two years for him to fix his hip.
In 2001, the Journey record "Arrival" was released, and Neal discovered Journey's current lead vocalist, Arnel Pineda, on YouTube in 2007. Neal released his fifth solo album, "The Calling," in 2012 and will release "So You" in 2014.
Neal has five children: Miles, Lizzy, Sarah, Aja, and Sophia. He became engaged to Michaele Salahi on October 14, 2012, and they were married on December 15, 2013, in San Francisco, California.
