Journey co-founder and the American rock band’s original guitarist George Tickner has died. He was 76.
It was fellow co-founding member Neal Schon that confirmed the news of Tickner’s passing, sharing a statement to his Facebook page on Thursday.
“Journey Junkies, I have some very sad news,” Schon, 69, wrote to his 263,000 followers. “George Tickner, Journey’s original rhythm guitarist and songwriting contributor on their first three albums, has passed away. He was 76 years old.”
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“Godspeed, George… thank you for the music. We will be paying tribute to you on this page indefinitely,” Schon continued.
“Our condolences to his family and friends, and to all past and present band members. So heartbreaking. I think we need to do a group hug, JJ’s.”
No cause of death has been shared publicly at this time.
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https://twitter.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1676644773254549505
The Grammy-nominated rock band Journey has sold more than 100 million albums, with their smash anthem Don’t Stop Believin’ having soared past one billion streams on Spotify.
Over the band’s career, 25 of their songs have charted on the Billboard Hot 100, including Open Arms, Who’s Crying Now and Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).
Only three albums ever have spent 600 weeks on the Billboard 200, and one of those is Journey’s Greatest Hits.
Journey was formed by Tickner, Schon – who is also known for his work in the band Santana – bassist Ross Valory, Gregg Rolie and The Tubes’ Prairie Prince in San Francisco in 1973, with the rock band’s first performance taking place on New Year’s Eve.
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Tickner, prior to founding Journey, was also a member of psychedelic rock band Frumious Bandersnatch with Valory. When they formed Journey, Tickner originally was the bass guitarist before moving onto the guitar.
He left Journey following the band’s release of its self-titled debut album in 1975 to pursue a career in medicine – Tickner studied at Stanford Medical School after securing a full scholarship, though was understood to be writing and performing music throughout his studies as a hobby.
When Journey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2005, Tickner joined them.
Currently, the band’s lineup consists of Schon as lead guitarist, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, lead vocalist Arnel Pineda, keyboardist Jason Derlatka, drummer Deen Castronovo and bassist Todd Jensen.
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