Journey Trivia
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55 free Journey trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Journey trivia quiz covers the whole run of the San Francisco rock band, from its 1973 start as a Santana spin-off called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section to Arnel Pineda's YouTube-era lineup and the lawsuits of the 2020s. Expect questions on Steve Perry's arrival, the switch to pop on Infinity, why Escape's cover says E5C4P3, the one-take recording of Don't Stop Believin', the infamous air-instrument video for Separate Ways, and the Sopranos, White Sox and Glee moments that turned an 1981 single into the best-selling digital track of the 20th century. There are easy questions for anyone who knows the hits and harder ones on Aynsley Dunbar, Robert Fleischman, Alien Project, the 1983 arcade game and Prince's phone call to Jonathan Cain about Purple Rain. Difficulty is spread so a casual fan and a superfan can play the same set. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the band, its members, albums and songs, and each question links to the sentence that supports it, so you can settle the arguments at trivia night with a source.
30 of 55 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which city was Journey formed in 1973?
San Francisco
Journey formed in San Francisco in 1973, when former Santana manager Herbie Herbert assembled ex-members of Santana, the Steve Miller Band and Frumious Bandersnatch.
Q 02What was the band originally called before it became Journey?
The Golden Gate Rhythm Section
Herbie Herbert's group began in 1973 as the Golden Gate Rhythm Section, meant to be a backing band for established Bay Area artists, an idea dropped in favor of the band's own jazz-fusion rock.
Q 03The band's guitarist and keyboardist Gregg Rolie both came to Journey from which band?
Santana
Rolie had co-founded Santana and played Woodstock with them; the teenage Schon appeared on Santana III and Caravanserai.
Q 04Where did Journey play its first public show, on New Year's Eve 1973?
Winterland Ballroom
Journey debuted at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on New Year's Eve 1973 before about 10,000 people, then flew to Hawaii the next day for the Sunshine Festival at Diamond Head Crater.
Q 05Which British drummer, fresh from working with David Bowie and Frank Zappa, joined Journey in 1974?
Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Dunbar, who had drummed for David Bowie and Frank Zappa's Mothers, replaced Prairie Prince in 1974 and stayed through Infinity before being fired in late 1978 over the band's pop turn.
Q 06On which 1978 album did Journey embrace pop arrangements and redefine its sound?
Infinity
Infinity (1978), the first album with Steve Perry, brought the pop-leaning sound Columbia had demanded after threatening to drop the band; it became Journey's first platinum record.
Q 07Roy Thomas Baker was hired in 1978 to give Journey a layered sound like that of which band he had produced?
Queen
Roy Thomas Baker had produced Queen's stacked-harmony albums, and Herbie Herbert hired him for Infinity to get that layered sound; the album reached number 21 and launched a headlining tour with Van Halen opening.
Q 08Which singer fronted Journey for a few months in 1977, just before Steve Perry?
Robert Fleischman
Robert Fleischman fronted Journey for several months in 1977 and shares writing credits on the 1978 album Infinity, but clashed with manager Herbie Herbert and was replaced by Steve Perry that fall.
Q 09Which previous band of Steve Perry's recorded the demo that reached Journey's manager?
Alien Project
Alien Project's demo reached Herbie Herbert in 1977; Perry had nearly quit music after the band's bassist, Richard Michaels, died in a car crash, and his mother urged him to return Herbert's call.
Q 10Steve Perry was born in Hanford, California, to parents who came from which islands?
The Azores
His father Raymond Pereira was a singer and part-owner of a radio station; Perry is an only child.
Q 11Which fellow rock star coined Steve Perry's nickname 'The Voice'?
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is credited with dubbing Perry 'The Voice'; Rolling Stone ranked Perry 76th on its 2008 list of the 100 greatest singers.
Q 12Hearing which Sam Cooke song on his mother's car radio at age 12 inspired Steve Perry to become a singer?
Cupid
Perry said hearing Sam Cooke's 1961 hit 'Cupid' on his mother's car radio at age 12 made him decide to become a singer.
Q 13Which 1979 album gave Journey its first Billboard Hot 100 top-20 single, 'Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin''?
Evolution
Evolution (1979) yielded 'Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'', which peaked at number 16; its tour grossed more than $5 million and funded the band's own lighting and trucking company, Nocturne.
Q 21The title of 'Don't Stop Believin'' came from advice the keyboardist repeatedly received from whom?
His father
Jonathan Cain's father ended each of his despairing phone calls home from Sunset Boulevard with 'Don't stop believing'; Cain kept the phrase in a notebook and offered it when Perry asked for a title.
Q 22'Don't Stop Believin'' was recorded at which studio?
Fantasy Studios in Berkeley
Escape, including 'Don't Stop Believin'', was recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley in 1981 with producers Kevin Elson and Mike Stone.
Q 23What is structurally unusual about 'Don't Stop Believin''?
Q 14Which Berklee-trained ex-Montrose drummer joined Journey in 1978?
Steve Smith
Steve Smith, a Berklee alumnus who had toured with Montrose, joined Journey in late 1978; he later led the jazz group Vital Information, returned for the 1996 reunion and was dismissed in 2020.
Q 15When Gregg Rolie left in 1980, he recommended a keyboardist from The Babys as his replacement; who?
Jonathan Cain
Jonathan Cain, recommended by Rolie himself, came over from The Babys in 1980; his synthesizers replaced Rolie's organ and he co-wrote the album's hits, including 'Don't Stop Believin''.
Q 16How is the title of the 1981 album Escape stylized on its cover?
E5C4P3
The cover renders Escape as E5C4P3 in a blocky, computer-style logo beside the scarab spaceship bursting from a planet; the 1981 release became Journey's best-selling studio album.
Q 17Where did Escape peak on the US Billboard 200?
No. 1
It was the fifth-best-selling album of 1981, just behind Stevie Nicks's Bella Donna, and remains the band's only chart-topper.
Q 18'Open Arms', the band's biggest Hot 100 hit, sat at what position for six weeks in early 1982?
No. 2
It was stuck behind the J. Geils Band's 'Centerfold' and Joan Jett's 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll'. VH1 later named it the greatest power ballad ever.
Q 19Which singer had an international hit with a cover of 'Open Arms' in 1996?
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey's cover of 'Open Arms', from her 1995 album Daydream, was released as a single in 1996 and reached number 4 in the UK.
Q 20Which Babys singer rejected the melody that became 'Open Arms'?
John Waite
John Waite passed on Jonathan Cain's ballad melody when both were in The Babys; Waite, Cain and Schon later formed Bad English, whose 'When I See You Smile' hit number 1 in 1989.
The chorus only arrives near the end
Two pre-choruses and three verses go by before the title hook finally lands with about 50 seconds left.
Q 24Perry admits the Detroit district he sang about does not exist; what lies directly south of downtown Detroit?
Windsor, Ontario
Perry said 'south Detroit' simply sang better than north, east or west; he learned later that directly south across the Detroit River lies Windsor, Ontario, in Canada.
Q 25Which baseball team adopted 'Don't Stop Believin'' during its 2005 World Series run?
Chicago White Sox
The 2005 Chicago White Sox made 'Don't Stop Believin'' their rallying song; Perry was invited along for the World Series and celebrated with the team on the field in Houston after the sweep.
Q 26The famous 2007 series finale of which HBO drama used 'Don't Stop Believin'' in its final scene?
The Sopranos
'Don't Stop Believin'' played over the abrupt cut-to-black ending of The Sopranos on June 10, 2007; Perry had hesitated before approving the use, and downloads of the song jumped afterward.
Q 27Which TV cast's 2009 cover of 'Don't Stop Believin'' outperformed the original internationally?
Glee
The Glee cast's 2009 version reached number 4 on the Hot 100 and number 2 in the UK, beating the original's peaks; the song appeared in Glee's pilot and several later episodes.
Q 28'Don't Stop Believin'' closes which 1980s jukebox musical, filmed in 2012 with Tom Cruise?
Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages, the 1980s jukebox musical that ran on Broadway from 2009 to 2015, ends with the full cast singing 'Don't Stop Believin''; the 2012 film starred Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx.
Q 29Which 1983 album was Journey's highest-charting in the UK, reaching number six?
Frontiers
Frontiers (1983) reached number 6 in the UK and number 2 in the US, behind Thriller, and produced 'Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)', 'Faithfully' and 'Send Her My Love'.
Q 30The 'Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)' video, shot on a wharf in New Orleans, is infamous for what?
The band miming on imaginary instruments
The 1983 clip has the band miming on imaginary instruments, air guitar and air keyboards included, on a New Orleans wharf; Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford reportedly clashed with the video's model on set.