Jonathan Cain

Jonathan Cain
Background information
Birth name	Jonathan Leonard Friga
Born	February 26, 1950 (1950-02-26) (age 59) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Rock
Occupations	Keyboardist, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar
Website	www.jonathancain.com

Jonathan Cain (born Jonathan Leonard Friga, February 26, 1950, Chicago, Illinois) is an American musician, most known for his keyboards and songwriting roles in the rock band, Journey.

Early life

At the age of eight Cain began accordion lessons, and by the time he was in his teens he was playing accordion and piano at parties and in clubs. He also plays guitar, bass and the harmonica. Cain attended East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, IL. He was a survivor of the Our Lady of the Angels school fire in 1958, of which he escaped unharmed, but saw many of his classmates die.^[1] He later attended the Chicago Conservatory of Music before moving to Nashville for a time and then eventually to Los Angeles.^[2]

Career

By the mid-70s Cain released his first record as the Jonathan Cain Band, Windy City Breakdown, in 1976 on Bearsville Records. In 1979, he joined The Babys, appearing on their albums Union Jacks and On the Edge. In 1980 Cain left The Babys to join the rock band Journey, taking Gregg Rolie's place on keyboards. Cain led Journey's rise to the top of the charts with his first collaborations on the album Escape, composing and playing the piano on songs such as "Don't Stop Believin'", described by Allmusic as "one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock".^[3] Perhaps his most notable contribution was as sole author of the classic Journey ballad "Faithfully", a song about life on the road while in a band. Cain would go on to appear on at least 13 other Journey albums and compilations. When singer Steve Perry left Journey in 1987, all of the band's members went their "separate ways". Cain would reunite with his former Babys bandmates, John Waite and Ricky Phillips, and fellow Journey bandmate Neal Schon and future Journey drummer Deen Castronovo to form the band Bad English. The band released two albums before breaking up in the early 1990's.

In 1996, the Journey lineup from the album Escape was reunited. Steve Perry, Schon, Steve Smith, Cain, and Ross Valory reformed and recorded the album Trial by Fire. Perry then left the band again in 1998. Journey has continued on with three subsequent lead singers while Cain remains a primary contributor, still recording and touring in 2007.

In addition to his notable work with Journey, Cain has released eight solo albums and contributed to solo albums by fellow Journey member Neal Schon.

Personal

Cain has been married twice. His first wife was singer Tane Cain. In 1989 he married his current wife, Elizabeth Yvette Fullerton, with whom he has three children, Madison (1993), Liza and Weston (1996), and god daughter Rose (1995).

Solo discography

• Windy City Breakdown (1977) Bearsville/Wounded Bird Records.
• Back to the Innocence (1995) Intersound Records.
• Piano with a View (1995) Higher Octave Records.
• Body Language (1997) Higher Octave Records.
• For a Lifetime (1998) Higher Octave Records.
• Namaste (2001) Wildhorse Records.
• Anthology (2001) One Way Records.
• Animated Movie Love Songs (2002) One Way Records.
• Bare Bones (2004) AAO Records.
• Where I Live (2006) AAO Records.

Awards

He has received two BMI songwriter awards, both for songs co-written with Steve Perry, "Open Arms" and "Who's Crying Now". The Journey song, "When You Love a Woman", which he co-wrote with Perry and Schon, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997.

References

External links

• Jonathan Cain Official Site
• Jonathan Cain at MySpace
• The Babys Official Unofficial Archives and Chronological History