Journey: Wheel In The Sky

The year was 1977 and Journey had been looking for the addition of a lead vocalist to provide a greater presence to the unit and take them to a higher performance plane. Between the albums “Next” and “Infinity,” Robert Fleischman was hired to be the band’s front man. He lasted nine months before parting ways – some say because of conflicts between his manager, Barry Fey, and Journey’s manager, Herbie Herbert. Others indicate that it was because of irreconcilable musical or personality differences.

Whatever the reason, Fleischman was gone and Steve Perry was hired as his replacement – and “the rest,” as they say, “is history.” The triple platinum “Infinity” album defined a new sound for this San Francisco band which had started as a spinoff of Santana. Journey wasn’t Fleischman’s only near miss, he had joined the band Asia, but left the project citing that John Wetton was a better vocalist than he and they should count on Wetton as being the lead vocalist.

While Fleischman’s voice does not appear on the finished album, he did leave his mark on some of the songs. He contributed to three of the albums ten songs including today’s bubbling under hit “Wheel in the Sky.” This song started as a poem by the wife of Journey’s bassist, Ross Valory. Diane Valory was inspired by a 16th century woodcut entitled “The Vision of Ezekiel.” Rob Fleischman then added to the lyrics and guitarist Neil Schon composed the music.

The author with Neil Schon in 1981; autographed in 1986.

With the addition of Steve Perry’s vocals and Roy Thomas Baker’s vocal layering production techniques, a classic AOR track was born. The album was released on January 20, 1978 with “The Wheel in the Sky” as the LP’s first single. Truly a bubbling under hit, “The Wheel in the Sky” only reached #57 on the US charts.

The LP was notable as it was also the last that drummer Ansley Dunbar had performed with Journey. Although Prairie Prince (of The Tubes) was the band’s initial drummer, Dunbar had been with the group since its first LP. For those who care about such things, Ross Valory used an altered tuning on his bass to provide an even lower end. Instead of using the standard tuning of E-A-D-G, Valory tuned his bass one-fourth lower as B-E-A-D.

Live Version from German Television

Robert Fleischman & Journey Demo of "Wheel"

Lyrics

Winter is here again oh Lord,
Haven't been home in a year or more
I hope she holds on a little longer
Sent a letter on a long summer day
Made of silver, not of clay
Ooh, I've been runnin' down this dusty road

[Chorus:]
Ooh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
I don't know where I'll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'

I've been trying to make it home
Got to make it before too long
Ooh, I can't take this very much longer, no
I'm stranded in the sleet and rain
Don't think I'm ever gonna make it home again
The mornin' sun is risin'
It's kissing the day

[Chorus]
Ooh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
I don't know where I'll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
Whoa . . . My, my, my, my, my... For tomorrow

(Guitar solo)

Oh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
Oh, I don't know where I'll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps me yernin'
Oh, I don't know, I don't know

Oh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
Ooh, I don't know where I'll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
Ooh, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know-oh-oh
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
Don't know where I'll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
Oh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'