It’s been 37 years since Gregg Rolie, the original keyboardist and vocalist of Journey, left the band. Now that Journey has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame though, there is a bit of chatter about him possibly getting involved with them again.
Rolie—who was also an early member of Santana and recently with that band for the Santana IV album, which also included Journey guitarist Neal Schon—was asked, in an interview with Radio.com, why he didn’t jam with Journey last year when the two bands did some shows together. “Well, I’m not quite sure,” he told them, “other than there’s a couple of guys; I’m not in the band. Neal wanted me to do that, and I wanted to do it, and I think it would be tremendous for fans, but there was a couple guys that voted no.”
Related: BCB’s interview with Gregg Rolie
Schon, who has been a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band for some time, added, “And so that’s the way it went. I think it’s a shame. People would’ve loved to have seen everybody on the stage gelling together. That’s what I got into doing this for, and having it be otherwise is kind of silly. I don’t know the reasoning. I don’t care about it. If that’s what it is, that’s what it is. Neal and I will do more stuff, and that’s really where it’s at. Remember, between [former Santana manager] Herbie Herbert and Neal Schon, that’s who started this band. It’s always been Neal’s band.”
Rolie gave no specifics regarding what form a new collaboration with Schon might take, or who else might be involved. He also neglected to put a timeline on any possible meetup. “I love playing with him [Schon], I always have. I’ve known him since he was 15. I got him into Santana, for God sakes. So he and I have crossed paths so many times, and we’re older and kinder, so we’ll see what happens.”
Watch Journey’s Rock Hall acceptance speech and performance
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