Resilience

Don’t Stop Believin’: The Man, the Band, and the Song that Inspired Generations – Jonathan Cain – (Zondervan)

Full confession up front: before transitioning to talk radio I spent over a decade working as an air personality for a variety of rock radio stations. Much of my time on the air was spent working for tightly formatted and playlisted stations that featured Journey in HEAVY rotation. I was among a legion of folks who disdained the pre-fab corporate rock sound that helped them to sell millions upon millions of records. Granted they had and have a multitude of fans that continue to follow them after decades and decades together. My disdain for the band peaked when my girlfriend at the time, my wife all these years later, and I attended a Journey show (thank God for comp tickets) just so we could see the opening act, Bryan Adams. As we departed the sold out arena we ran into a fellow station employee who was SHOCKED that we were bolting following Adams’ set.

That being said, I have always been a fan of rock bios, so I was interested in getting the insights on the story of one of the men who was responsible for churning out a nearly non-stop parade of hit after hit for Journey, during his stint with Bad English and even for numerous other artists; Jonathan Cain.

Cain’s bio, Don’t Stop Believin’: The Man, the Band, and the Song that Inspired Generations, tracks from his humble roots right through the start of his pursuit of music career and on to the highest reaches of his chosen profession. Along the way he serves up in great detail some of the trials and tribulations of his life, as well as the triumphs and amazing experiences his music afforded him.

He truly was shaped by not only his career path, but his childhood that was impacted by a tragic and horrifying fire at his elementary school that left nearly 100 of his classmates and teachers dead. It’s almost impossible to think that that could not have had an impact that sticks with him through today. As he writes about that event, you can clearly sense the desperation he felt while witnessing the fire escalate and trying to find out if twin girl neighbors/friends were among the dead. They survived and he writes with clarity about the impact that faith had on his thought process at the time.

It is that faith that is clearly articulated throughout the book. That may turn some reader/fans off, but Cain can hardly be accused of postulating or trying to force his faith on others. He also clearly spells of his flaws and failings but, what rock bio doesn’t come without an (un)healthy dose of problems and slip ups along the way? Cain personifies resilience as he takes his challenges head on only to come out the other side seemingly stronger.

It is impossible to escape the obvious; Cain along with his songwriting partners in Journey have crafted songs that are part of not only the soundtrack of generations, but even a step further, part of the cultural fabic of our life.