July 31, 1981: Journey Release "Escape"
July 31, 1981: The rock band Journey release their album Escape . It turns out to be their biggest hit, with their signature song, "Don't Stop Believin'," and what a 2003 VH1 special called the top "power ballad" of all time, "Open Arms." The cover lists the title as " E5C4P3 ," as it it's a personalized license plate, and someone already had the California plate reading "ESCAPE." It's an early example of what the Internet would come to call " Leetspeak." Left to right: Jonathan Cain, Ross Valory, Neal Schon, Steve Perry, Steve Smith. In 1983, Bally Midway released a video game based on the album, with Atari licensed to produce a home version. The premise was that each of the 5 members at the time had to get past various obstacles, in the fashion of games like Breakout, to reach their instruments: L ead singer Steve Perry his microphone, Neal Schon his guitar, Ross Valory his bass guitarist, Jonathan Cain his ...