Happy birthday to guitar phenom Neal Schon, born on this day in 1954 on Tinker Air Force Base outside of Oklahoma City. He was tinkering with guitar when just five and got good enough by the age of 15 to be invited by two of the world's best to join their bands. Neal choose Santana over Eric Clapton's invite for him to join him in Derek & The Dominos. 
In 1973, Schon and keyboard player Greg Rolie parted with Carlos to join a group being put together by Santana manager Herbie Herbert to do session work backing other Bay Area bands. By the end of that year, The Golden Gate Rhythm Section had decided to become a full-fledged band. Journey made its debut on New Year's Eve at Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom.