"
Who's Crying Now" is a
songIn music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
recorded by the American
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
JourneyJourney is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
. It was written by
Jonathan CainJonathan Cain is an American musician, best known for his work with The Babys, Journey and Bad English.-Early life:...
and
Steve PerryStephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
. It was released in
1981See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –...
as the first single from
Escape-Personnel:*Steve Perry - Lead Vocals*Neal Schon - Guitar, Vocals*Ross Valory - Bass, Vocals*Steve Smith - Drums, Percussion*Jonathan Cain - Keyboards, Piano, Guitar, Vocals-Additional personnel:*Wally Buck - Engineer, Assistant Engineer...
and reached #4 on both the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and the
Mainstream Rock TracksHot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
charts. The song charted at #46 in the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and was the band's highest charting single in the United Kingdom until "
Don't Stop Believin'"Don't Stop Believin is a popular song by the American rock band Journey, originally released as a single from their 1981 album Escape, which became a #9 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 on its original release. It re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2009 as a result of increased prominence of digital...
" (also released as a single from the
Escape album in 1981) incurred a resurgence in worldwide popularity in 2009.
The song is highlighted by
Steve PerryStephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
's lyrics, piano playing by
Jonathan CainJonathan Cain is an American musician, best known for his work with The Babys, Journey and Bad English.-Early life:...
which interludes with a bass riff by
Ross ValoryRoss Lamont Valory is Journey's noted bass player. He and Neal Schon are the only original members of the band still performing with the group. Aside from his termination from the group during the Raised on Radio album sessions in 1986, Ross has played on all of Journey's albums...
, and guitars. At the end of the song,
Neal SchonNeal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums...
plays a repeating guitar solo that sounds similar to
SantanaSantana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
. Originally, according to Schon on
In the Studio with RedbeardIn the Studio with Redbeard is a North American radio program, produced and hosted by Dallas, Texas based rock and roll disc jockey Redbeard....
(which devoted an entire episode to the making of
Escape), he recorded an aggressive, experimental guitar solo which he liked but Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain did not. He then recorded a second, the "simplest thing he could play off the top of his head" as said by Perry. That one was appreciated much more by bandmates. Additionally, drum playing by
Steve SmithSteve Elliott Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...
is only found in the choruses and towards the end of the song.
Randy CrawfordRandy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
did a cover version on her 1992 album
Through The Eyes Of Love.
In 2008, the song was featured in the CBS's series Cold Case in the episode "The Dealer".
The song was featured in the 2009 movie
Monsters vs Aliens.