The guy Jon Bon Jovi tagged "The Voice" was born on this day in 1949 in Hanford, California. Stephen Ray Perry's father co-owned a radio station there and it's said the future front man of Journey was inspired to be a singer the instant he heard Sam Cooke's song Cupid on the radio. He was in a few bands starting in his early 20's, including Pieces, a group with Tim Bogert, bassist in the band Cactus and with the post Jeff beck Group Beck, Bogert & (Carmine) Appice. That was followed by time in a band known as Alien Project. A demo of one of that group's songs reached Journey manager Herbie Herbert, who was looking for a lead singer more suited to the direction he had in mind for the Bay Area band than Robert Fleishman, the lead singer at the time. Herbert kept his plan under the radar by adding Perry as a roadie and then having Steve do a song with the band during a sound check while Fleishman was out of the concert hall before a Long Beach show. Hearing Perry that night was like Perry hearing Sam Cooke to the other members of Journey. Fleishman was out, Perry was in and Journey was on its way to becoming one of the biggest bands in America.