As I bring to a close this three-week look at major artists who failed to achieve a #1 hit, I wanted to save a big one for last.
Journey has released two Platinum, five multi-Platinum, and one Diamond studio album. They also lay claim to two Platinum or multi-Platinum live albums, and a greatest hits collection that went 18X Platinum. That’s a lot of platinum!
And yet, despite releasing some of the most iconic pop rock songs of the 70s and 80s, Journey has never reached the top of the Hot 100.
The band managed six top ten hits and another seven in the Top 20. Their most recent top ten hits were 1985’s ‘Only the Young’ and 1986’s ‘Be Good to Yourself.’ ‘Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)’ made it to #8 in 1983.
The other three came from 1981’s Escape, by far the band’s most successful album. That iconic record was a favorite of mine throughout my childhood, and one I feel like revisiting right now as I write about it.
You might think, as I did, that ‘Don’t Stop Believin” is Journey’s highest-charting song. If so, you would be wrong. That legendary track made it only to #9. Lead single ‘Who’s Crying Now’ fared better, peaking at #4.
But it was today’s SOTD, ‘Open Arms,’ that gave the band their best shot at a #1 hit. The power ballad made it to #2 in early 1982, where it spent six weeks, kept from the top spot first by the J. Geils Band’ ‘Centerfold’ and then by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ ‘I Love Rock ‘N Roll.’
Damn, the 80s were a blast.
Lying beside you
Here in the dark
Feeling your heartbeat with mine
Softly, you whisper
You’re so sincere
How could our love be so blind?
[Pre-Chorus]
We sailed on together
We drifted apart
And here you are
By my side
[Chorus]
So now, I come to you
With open arms
Nothing to hide
Believe what I say
So here I am
With open arms
Hoping you’ll see
What your love means to me
Open arms
[Verse 2]
Living without you
Living alone
This empty house seems so cold
Wanting to hold you
Wanting you near
How much I wanted you home
[Pre-Chorus]
But now that you’ve come back
Turned night into day
I need you to stay
[Chorus]
So now I come to you
With open arms
Nothing to hide
Believe what I say
So here I am
With open arms
Hoping you’ll see
What your love means to me
Open arms
Meet Me In Montauk 
Wow! This one really is shocking. I can’t believe “Open Arms” was not a number 1 song,
I bet that “ Don’t Stop Believing” would have made it back to number 1 after the Sopranos finale, much like “Running Up That Hill” did after being used in Stranger Things, if Billboard had begun counting streaming, YouTube, etc. at that time (and those platforms were as big as they later became).
This one shocks me! I love all the songs you mentioned. Clearly hitting #1 matters far less than the number of weeks spent on the charts.
I, too, may need to revisit Escape.