Título: Journey (band)
Seção: 1981-1983: Height of popularity
Background: Journey is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1973, composed of former members of Santana and Frumious Bandersnatch. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between 1978 and 1987. During that period, the band released a series of hit songs, including "Don't Stop Believin'" (1981), which in 2009 became the top-selling track in iTunes history among songs not released in the 21st century. Its parent studio album, Escape, the band's eighth and most successful, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and yielded another of their most popular singles, "Open Arms".

Conteúdo: With Cain on board, the band began writing material that would eventually lead up to Journey's biggest studio album, "Escape". Recording sessions began in April 1981, and lasted until the middle of June. Escape was released on July 31, 1981, and immediately the album became a mainstream success. The album, which has thus far sold nine times platinum, went to number one on the album charts later that year, and included three top-ten hits: "Who's Cryin' Now", "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Open Arms". The last is Journey's highest-charting single to date, staying at No. 2 for six consecutive weeks and ranking at No.34 on Billboard's 1982 year-end Hot 100. MTV videotaped one of their two sold-out shows in Houston on November 6, 1981, in front of over 20,000 fans.  Capitalizing on their success, the band recorded radio commercials for Budweiser and sold rights to their likenesses and music for use in two video games: the Journey arcade game by Bally/Midway and Journey Escape by Data Age for the Atari 2600.  This success was met with criticism. The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide gave each of the band's albums only one star, with Dave Marsh writing that "Journey was a dead end for San Francisco area rock." Marsh later would anoint Escape as one of the worst number-one albums of all time.  Journey's next album, Frontiers (1983), continued their commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the album charts, selling nearly six million copies. The album generated four Top 40 hits, "Separate Way

user: What led to the height of popularity?

assistant: Escape was released on July 31, 1981, and immediately the album became a mainstream success.

user: Did the album sell very well?

assistant: The album, which has thus far sold nine times platinum, went to number one on the album charts later that year,

user: What singles were released?

assistant: "Who's Cryin' Now", "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Open Arms".

user: What other accolades did the album get?

assistant: The last is Journey's highest-charting single to date, staying at No. 2 for six consecutive weeks and ranking at No.34 on Billboard's 1982 year-end Hot 100.

user: What happened next in their career?

assistant: Journey's next album, Frontiers (1983), continued their commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the album charts, selling nearly six million copies.

user: Did the album have any hits?

assistant: The album generated four Top 40 hits, "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", which reached No. 8, "Faithfully", which reached No. 12,

user: Did any other songs do well?

assistant: "Send Her My Love" and "After the Fall", both of which reached No. 23.

user: Did this album cement them as a success?

assistant: By this time, Journey had become one of the top touring and recording bands in the world.