Don’t Stop Believin (Journey) – 1981

Jonathan Cain’s conversation with his father shortly after moving to Los Angeles in search of a big break inspired one of Journey’s greatest rock hits, “Don’t Stop Believin.” After being sidelined by his previous band, The Babys, he spoke to his father about just giving up and coming home. But his father encouraged him to stick to it and used the exact words “don’t stop believing.”

After penning his father’s words in his lyric book, he was soon hired as the keyboardist for Journey and became rock’s most famous keyboardist and songwriter. Eventually, the lyrics surfaced as the title and refrain of the song written for Journey’s 1981 album “Escape.”