In a monumental achievement, the American Recording Industry Association, known as RIAA, has announced that JOURNEY's iconic anthem "Don’t Stop Believin'" has been certified 18 times platinum. This prestigious recognition signifies that, between sales and various forms of consumption such as streaming, the song has surpassed at least 18 million equivalent units in the United States alone, solidifying its status as the greatest song of all time.
Prior to this historic milestone, the song had only been certified quadruple platinum, a mark it achieved in May 2013. Over the following decade, the RIAA had not issued any additional certifications for the hit, but evidently, it had been accumulating millions of sales and equivalent units behind the scenes.
"Don't Stop Believin'" was originally released in October 1981 as the second single from JOURNEY's seventh studio album, "Escape." The song, composed by keyboardist Jonathan Cain and co-written by Steve Perry and Neal Schon, was produced by Kevin Elson and co-produced by Mike Stone. It is widely regarded as the band's most famous track.
"I told John Cain that I wanted something with black [four-beat musical figures]. I've always liked certain songs that had a beginning with blacks: 'Penny Lane' (THE BEATLES) had blacks on the piano, 'One' by THREE DOG NIGHT had blacks on the piano... we never had a song with that. He starts playing some changes, I start singing, and that's how it started. Then, John Cain and I got together later and wrote the lyrics. It was just another song we believed in, like the rest — I'm not saying it to make a joke, but we did — it just had a life of its own."
With its enduring appeal and universal message of hope, "Don't Stop Believin'" continues to resonate with audiences worldwide, cementing its place as an immortal classic in the annals of music history.