In a new report published by Ultimate Classic Rock, Rappaport detailed the tensions between the band’s iconic frontman Steve Perry and their original manager, Herbie Herbert — a conflict that reached a boiling point just as Journey was climbing the heights of superstardom.
“Make no mistake: There’s no Journey without Herbie Herbert. Herbie went up to Neal Schon and said, ‘I want to build a band around you, around your guitar playing.’ That’s how Journey started,” Rappaport explained. “Herbie was sort of like the godfather of this Journey thing. He shepherded it through Steve Perry and through a lot of tumultuous times.”
But as Perry’s influence within the band grew, so did the internal friction. According to Rappaport, what followed was a bitter power struggle that changed the course of the band’s history.
“Steve Perry had a terrible animus toward Herbie,” he continued. “Part of his negotiations were to minimize Herbie’s influence over the band.”
The tension escalated into a full-blown political shake-up inside the group, with Perry emerging as a dominant force.
“Steve Perry became very powerful in the band and there was a political shakeup and there were power plays,” Rappaport said. “Herbie got the brunt of it. It shouldn’t happen but you know, it’s the business. It was between him and Steve, and it wasn’t pretty. Herbie was hurt by it. And so the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame comes and Herbie almost didn’t want to go because he just kind of felt bad, you know, having left in that fashion. I guess Steve just needed to fix it [with Rock Hall acceptance speech praising Herbie Herbert].”
In a moment that stunned fans and insiders alike, Perry extended an olive branch during the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, publicly crediting Herbert as the foundational force behind Journey’s success.
“The first thing he says is, ‘I need to tell everybody in this room and anybody who’s listening on radio or on YouTube that guy right there, Herbie Herbert, is the reason that I’m here,’” Rappaport recalled. “There is no Steve Perry in Journey without Herbie Herbert – and the world needs to know it.”
The emotional acknowledgment served as a long-overdue reconciliation in a story marked by ambition, betrayal, and ultimately, a bit of healing.
