He was not an official honoree, but Arnel Pineda had the time of his life at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday.
On the night that the early incarnations of Journey, the iconic American rock group that he is currently fronting, were honored for their career achievements, the Filipino not only witnessed original singer Steve Perry reunite with the band onstage, they met backstage and welcomed each other with open arms.
“One of the sweetest [hugs] you can ever get from one of my heroes and silent mentors..it means the world to me..waited 35 years for this moment..thank you Almighty God!!,” Pineda said as he posted of a photo of their fateful meeting on his Instagram page.
Perry and the rest of Journey inductees — Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Ross Valory, Gregg Rolie, Aynsley Dunbar and Steve Smith — each gave individual speeches during the induction rites held at the Barclays Center in New York City.
When his turn to speak came, Perry paid tribute to his former bandmates but also gave a special shoutout to Pineda, “I must give a shoutout to a man who sings his heart out every night, Arnel Pineda,” said the singer who had two defining tenures with Journey (1977-1987 and 1995-1998).
Perry, however, did not perform with Journey following their individual speeches. Instead, it was Pineda who anchored a three-song set list that consisted of “Lights,” “Separate Ways,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Formed in 1973, Journey shot to mainstream consciousness from the late ’70s to the early ’80s with arena rock hits like “Who’s Crying Now,” “Don’t Stop Believin’” and their number one power ballad, “Open Arms.”
To date, the band has sold over 48 million albums in the U.S. and 90 million records all over the world. The group is ranked #96 in VH1’s Greatest Artists of All Time.
Steve Perry, the band’s best known lead singer, later found success as a solo artist but the rest of the band soldiered on fronted by several singers before they recruited Pineda in 2007, after Schon and Cain discovered his performances of Journey songs on YouTube.
With Pineda on board, Journey found its second wind as recent albums like “Revelation” and “Eclipse” did well in the Billboard album charts in the U.S. The band has remained a top concert attraction worldwide and had a successful concert at the Mall of Asia Arena last February.
