STEVE PERRY Releases New Version Of JOURNEY's 'It Could Have Been You' With THE EFFECT

Former JOURNEY singer Steve Perry has released a new version of the band's song "It Could Have Been You" with THE EFFECT, the group featuring Trevor "Trev" Lukather (son of TOTO's Steve Lukather) on guitars, Nic Collins (son of Phil Collins) on drums and Steve Maggiora (TOTO) on keyboards.

Perry announced his collaboration with THE EFFECT in a social media post on April 30. He wrote: "In 1986 the JOURNEY 'Raised On Radio' record was released and in it was a song I've always felt was a diamond in the rough.

"I've known Trevor Lukather since he was 9 years old and he is a very gifted musician. One day we were talking about his new band, THE EFFECT… He surprisingly mentioned 'It Could Have Been You' is one of his favorite tracks from that record, I told him I felt the same. I then said, why don't you record it? He asked if I would sing on it if they did, I said... 'Of course my most precious!'

"I must say, singing on their powerful track brought out a vocal experience in me from years ago ! So now... Releasing on May 7th on all socials and streaming is a very powerful reimagined version of, 'It Could Have Been You' by... THE EFFECT. Have a listen!"

Trevor added: "Steve and I go way back. Other than my Pop, @steveperrymusic has been a mentor to me. When he heard @theeffectband he called me and expressed how much he really loved what we were doing. It meant the world. On that same call, I started raving about a deep cut #Journey tune 'It Could Have Been You'. The idea came up about THE EFFECT doing our own version of it. I asked Steve if he would sing on it and he was in. Even though we were done with our album, it was just too good of an idea to pass up. Any chance to work with my dear brotha Steve is one I'll happily take.

"I built up the production with [singer] Emmett's [Stang] lead vocal to really present to him our vision of what we had in mind. Steve came by the studio while we were tracking drums. I'll forever bottle up his first reaction after the playback. His excitement that we could resurrect an overlooked JOURNEY song with new life obviously connected to the pipes because Steve came in the next day and shook the house with his vocal performance. I think our neighbors thought it was the Northridge earthquake all over again.

"The power of Steve's vocals is on another level. One of a kind. That's why he’s the GOAT.

"To add to the pressure of doing it justice, not only did I want to knock it out of the park for my friend and mentor but for my father in law, @jonathancainofficial who is the co writer on this epic tune. I sent him the master when we finalized. He called me stunned and blown away. He praised the arrangement and performances and he said how SP sounded like a million bucks. To get the approval from them both was everything but we have a feeling the world will connect to our version the way we all did making it.

"Thank you SP for not only for the honor, but for your belief in us and what we do. That is never taken for granted!"

In the fall of 2018, Perry made his long-awaited return with the release of "Traces", the legendary musician's first new album in 25 years. The LP's personal expression of love, inspiration and renewal resonated with both critics and fans around the world, thrilled to have their "voice of a generation" making new music once again.

Two years later, Steve released "Traces (Alternative Versions & Sketches)" via Fantasy Records. On that LP, Perry revisited several of his favorite tracks, stripping away the grand production touches, taking the songs down to their essence. Presented acoustic and raw (including some in sketch form),tracks like "Sun Shines Gray", "No Erasin'", "No More Cryin'" and "Most Of All" took on new and richer meaning.

Perry's first solo album in more than two decades, "Traces", was released in October 2018 via Fantasy Records (a division of Concord Records/UMG). He credited his late girlfriend, psychologist Kellie Nash, who died more than 11 years ago, with helping him want to sing again; she'd made him promise he wouldn't go back into isolation when she passed.

In 2019, Perry told "The Jim Brickman Show" that the response to "Traces" had been "really great. It's been an interesting experience to release a record in this age that we live in. Meaning, it's such a different landscape… Now we're streaming, now we've got everything… all this stuff. And so it's been such an interesting experience to release music into the new landscape of what it all means. We're streaming, we're still selling some on iTunes…. Nobody sells records anymore; everybody's streaming. But I didn't do this to sell records. If people wanna own it and take it with them, then that's beautiful. But if you wanna listen to it, that's also beautiful, 'cause all I wanted to do — and I said this to many of my friends… The reason I make music again was, number one, to keep a promise that I wouldn't go back into isolation. And number two, I wanted to just see if I was viable as a songwriter, singer, arranger, mixer, producer. I wanted to see if I could even remotely do some sort of creative involvement with all that. And in the beginning, it was challenging, because of the new technologies. But now I've embraced the living crap out of all of it. I have a great studio."

Perry dated Nash for nearly two years before she died in December 2012 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. He mourned for two years, and then began recording again.

Upon its release, "Traces" was met with wide acclaim and tremendous excitement from fans and critics all over the world. The album entered the Billboard 200 Albums chart at No. 6, Perry's highest debut as a solo artist and earned the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer his best-ever chart entries in the U.K., Germany, Canada and Japan.

Perry reunited with JOURNEY for the first time in years as they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2017. The iconic singer appeared onstage with his former bandmates as they each gave speeches, but did not perform with the group later in the event.