Paul Rappaport, former senior vice president of promotion at Columbia Records, recently opened up on the power struggle within Journey. The details emerged in a recent Ultimate Classic Rock report.
“Made no mistake: There’s no Journey without Herbie Herbert. Herbie went up to Neal Schon and said, ‘I want to build a band around you, around your guitar playing.’ That’s how Journey started,” Rappaport explained.
“Herbie was sort of like the godfather of this Journey thing. He shepherded it through Steve Perry and through a lot of tumultuous times.”
“Steve Perry had a terrible animus toward Herbie,” he continued.
“Part of his negotiations were to minimize Herbie’s influence over the band.”
“Steve Perry became very powerful in the band and there was a political shakeup and there were power plays,” Rappaport said.
“Herbie got the brunt of it. It shouldn’t happen but you know, it’s the business. It was between him and Steve, and it wasn’t pretty. Herbie was hurt by it. And so the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame comes and Herbie almost didn’t want to go because he just kind of felt bad, you know, having left in that fashion. I guess Steve just needed to fix it [with Rock Hall acceptance speech praising Herbie Herbert].”
The situation had a resolution at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Perry acknowledged Herbert’s importance during this event.
“The first thing he says is, ‘I need to tell everybody in this room and anybody who’s listening on radio or on YouTube that guy right there, Herbie Herbert, is the reason that I’m here,’” Rappaport recalled.
“There is no Steve Perry in Journey without Herbie Herbert – and the world needs to know it.”
Song Facts noted Herbert’s role in Journey’s evolution. He strategically guided the band from their progressive rock roots toward a mainstream sound after Perry joined in 1977.
The transformation had yielded significant success. WatchMojo noted Herbert’s effective management of tours and brand oversight during the band’s 1980s peak. His leadership established Journey as one of rock’s most successful acts.
Historical records depicted that tensions between Perry and Herbert peaked during the ‘Trial by Fire’ era in 1996. This conflict contributed to both Perry’s departure and Herbert’s diminishing influence in band affairs.
The power struggle reached its conclusion in 1998. Perry’s final negotiations with the band coincided with Herbert’s reduced role. Steve Augeri subsequently became Journey’s new vocalist while Herbert’s legacy with the band came to an end.
