Raised on Radio

Raised on Radio was released three years after Frontiers (1983). In 1984, both lead guitarist Neal Schon and lead singer Steve Perry released albums on their own; Schon in the band HSAS (Through the Fire), and Perry with his debut solo album, Street Talk. Perry considered leaving Journey following the release of Street Talk which he has referred to as "one of the most fun experiences I've had". Perry decided to return to working with Journey when he received a call from keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who wanted him to work on some unfinished songs.[6]

Following Perry's return to Journey, he began to take more control over the band's direction. Bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith were fired from the band, against the wishes of manager Herbie Herbert. According to Perry, Valory and Smith "weren't pleased with the kind of music we were playing and weren't too keen on touring".[6] Smith later said of the initial recording process: "There was a lot of pressure to do it the way Steve Perry wanted, which I had a lot of problems with because I felt it should be a group record, like all the other records."[7] Valory and Smith were replaced by various studio musicians for the recording of Raised on Radio, including Randy Jackson (bass guitar) and Larrie Londin (drums). In the VH-1 Behind the Music episode featuring the band, Perry expressed regret over his decision, stating he'd have done things differently. Smith did record three tracks with Journey on the album, and he and Valory still received revenues from the record and subsequent tour. Both returned to Journey in 1995.

The band decided that Perry, who had proved his production capabilities on Street Talk, was the best fit to produce the album. According to Perry, this gave the rest of the band members as much creative control as possible: "Journey knows what it should sound like, so we all agreed I would be a good, safe, nondictator-type producer."[6]

Perry changed the original title of this project from Freedom to Raised on Radio, which drew the ire of Herbert and some of the band members, as it varied from the one-word general theme in most of their previous albums.

Studio drummer Mike Baird and bassist/backing vocalist Randy Jackson played in place of Smith and Valory on the subsequent tour.

The cover of the album (by Prairie Prince was modeled after the studios and antennas for KNGS in Hanford, California, which was owned by Perry's parents, Ray and Mary Perry.[8]

All lyrics are written by Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain; all music is composed by Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon, except where noted.

Band members

• Steve Perry - lead vocals, producer
• Neal Schon - guitars, backing vocals, keyboard on track 10, guitar synth
• Jonathan Cain - keyboards, backing vocals, additional vocal co-production

Additional musicians

• Randy Jackson - bass, backing vocals on tracks 1, 3-9,[9] 12 and 13
• Bob Glaub - bass on tracks 2, 10 and 11
• Larrie Londin - drums on tracks 1, 3-9
• Steve Smith - drums on tracks 2, 10 and 11
• Mike Baird - drums on tracks 12 and 13 (2006 CD reissue only)
• Danny Hull (credited as Dan Hull) - saxophone on tracks 2 and 7, harp on track 7
• Steve Minkins - percussion on track 3

Production

• Jim Gaines - associate producer, engineer
• Mark McKenna, Steve Rinkoff - engineers
• Robert Missbach - assistant engineer
• Bob Clearmountain - mixing at Bearsville Studios and Power Station Studios, New York
• Randy Goodrum - additional vocal co-production
• Bob Ludwig - mastering at Masterdisk, New York, remastering
• Brian Lee - remastering