stephen ray perry (born january 22, 1949) prato's colleague john franck praised perry's as a soaring "whale of a voice". is an american singer and songwriter. he is best known as the lead singer of the rock band journey. he was with journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. perry also had a successful solo career between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.