Jonathan Cain
Jonathan Leonard Cain (born John Friga on
February 26,
1950 in
Chicago, Illinois) is an
American musician, most known for his
keyboards and
songwriting roles in the
rock band
Journey.
At the age of eight he 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 and the
harmonica. 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]By the mid-70s he had written many songs and 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 Jonathan left The Babys to join
Journey, taking
Gregg Rolie's place. Jonathan helped Journey to the top of the charts with his first collaboration,
Escape. He 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 bandmate,
John Waite, to form the band
Bad English, which would release two albums before the band's breakup.
Cain's solo albums include a re-release of
Windy City Breakdown, as well as numerous piano instrumental albums:
Back To The Innocence,
Piano With A View, Body Language,
For A Lifetime,
Jonathan Cain Anthology,
Namaste,
Animated Movie Love Songs,
If Everyday Were Like Christmas and
Bare Bones. He also has contributed to song writing for many other artists, including
Michael Bolton,
Kenny Rogers,
Sammy Hagar,
Heart,
Greg Allman,
Conway Twitty,
The Oak Ridge Boys,
Collin Raye,
Lorrie Morgan,
Maria Carey,
Jimmy Barnes, and
Peter Frampton. He has also worked as a producer for Michael Bolton and
Neal Schon, and since 1996 has worked on tours and new material with a reformed Journey.
He has received two
BMI songwriter awards, both for songs co-written with Steve Perry,
Open Arms and
Who's Cryin Now, and the song
When You Love A Woman, which he co-wrote with Perry and Schon, was nominated for a
Grammy Award.
*
Official Jonathan Cain Website
