Was Ken really asked to sing for Journey, Foreigner and Motley Crue?
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I saw this and realized it had never been answered.
Ken chose his family over rock stardom.
It was at a time when he was in a tough spot, financially speaking. He needed the work. He was known for his vocals and guitar work and was getting offers from a number of groups.
Among the offers Ken got were Foreigner, Deep Purple, Motley Crue, Peter Frampton, INXS, Journey, and Black Sabbath.
The deal to take any of these jobs was: 5 year contract, 9 months per year on the road, Two months per year in the studio, and one month per year off. Ken grew up as a teen without his father in the home (I use the term "home" loosely, as things were kind of rough, and not too cozy). Ken's son was 13 at the time and his daughter about 15. He did the math and realized that he would be doing to his family what had happened to him. He would be back about the time his son would graduate from high school. Ken said no, and took another, harder, less in-the-spotlight path and stayed to be with his family.
This would be a hard choice for most of us. Ken is a man of integrity, and he made the only choice he could make in that situation.
Bob
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Yeah Bob, I always wanted to know what it was like to make it big. That's a pretty big sacrifice, that might be worth it for a 20 something year old, but not for a guy who has a family. I love being able to see my kids every day.Even though Inxs replacement JD Fortune had a good look and voice, it doesn't seem like it was worth it for him in the end.I hear things aren't perfect for Arnel Pineda of Journey either.Its a business, and those guys who "own" the band treat the new guys like the hired help that they are.
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@highmtn very true, my kids are #1 to me.@cgreen JD went from being at the top to about as low as you can go, I saw youtube vids of him trying to put his career back together and it's pretty pathetic. It doesn't matter how talented you are, ALWAYS have a plan B for making a living. There's a lot of articles on JD like the one below, so this isn't a gossip or fictional account of JD's failures.The Arnel thing may just be a lot of rumor and swirl, but there's been a lot of swirl, and there is probably some modicum of truth to a guy getting burned out with constant touring and Schon being challenging to work for. Of course I also read Arnel is worth $15million... that blows me away because that's got to be coming mostly from them touring. I didn't know musicians could make that kind of money unless they owned songs, got copyrights etc... Arnel seems like a cool guy, I hope everything is working out for him.
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Like ya even more Ken!! Stuff fame and fortune, it never makes u happy like a family of our own can!!
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good points @johnjohnI love playing and performing, but I don't know how it feels for these guys who pretty much play the same tunes on tour every few days, then on to the next town etc... for months at a time.Performing once a week for a couple hours, then going home has been really fun for me, and maybe that's my threshold.
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@johnjohn: One of the best quotes I ever heard was an interview with the Eagles. I can't recall who said it, but it was something like "We were blessed with the ability to play the same song a thousand times and not get bored!"After playing a song 50 or 100 times and cringing when someone requests it now, hats off to them for being able to do that... I'm not so sure I could...

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@johnjohn: Nice!! Can you say the song name, or no? I'm curious. That's really great!
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Wow. I know Ken's vocals are awesome, but I never could have imagined that a high bari like him would have been chosen to sing for Journey. I have read alot on some other vocal forums where some (most likely jealous) people deride Ken's voice as "undesirable" and a "David Coverdale clone." It would be funny to show them how many AMAZING bands with difficult vocal parts have asked him to be the lead singer. My mind is blown.
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@johnjohn: Yes, that's what I was asking... I'll go find that and check it out. Thanks!
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@johnjohn: Fun song! I enjoyed it!
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@johnjohn: I get how you could feel that... it is very lightweight sounding, I could hear that, but not so much to be considered "bad"...
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Incredible stuff. Thanks for sharing! Ken has done what's good for his family and us!
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I didn't know that. That is amazing.
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WOW....who knew? It's never too late. I imagine if Ken wanted to sing with any of these bands again, he could. The guys I'm seeing in these bands now....all the bands from the 80's that are still touring... these guys are in their 50's and 60's and lots of the players are not originals. But, 9 months on the road can be tough, I'm sure.
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Personally, I don't think Ken gave up anything career-wise. He's known around the world as one of the best singers out there (I've heard him play guitar too, and he's a bad ass), he makes his living doing what he loves, and has a happy tight knit family. What more could one man ask for?
Peace, Tony
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We are defined by what we do, not by what others think we are, or the great things we could do.
Ken's legacy will be that he has taught many to be wonderful singers, and by the family he has chosen to take care of.
I say, "Bravo! to you, Ken."
May you be bountifully blessed, in and for, the choices you have made.
Boyd Bob
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