Willie Nelson Joins Steve Perry for Update of a Journey Classic

Steve Perry has released a surprise cover of Journey's power ballad "Faithfully" with Willie Nelson. Watch the video below.

Nelson takes the first verse, with Perry joining as the song turns to its chorus. A weeping steel guitar played by Scott Sanders replaces Neal Schon's soaring original parts. The group of backing players includes pianist Mike Rojas, bassist Steve Mackey and acoustic guitarist Kent Wells, who also produced.

“No one has a voice or vocal phrasing anything like Willie Nelson," Perry said in an official statement. "Singing this duet with Willie has been something I've always wanted to do. After recording 'Faithfully' with Journey, I always felt it would be a great song for Willie, too. What a wonderful experience it was to finally sing with Willie. I’m so proud of what we have accomplished together."

"Faithfully" was the six-times platinum Top 15 second single from 1983's Frontiers, written by Perry's erstwhile bandmate Jonathan Cain. The song remains a setlist staple for Journey decades after Perry's departure from the lineup.

It's not yet clear if this is a stand-alone Dark Horse Records single or part of an album-length collaboration. All proceeds will go to the non-profit Farm Aid organization, cofounded 40 years ago by Nelson.

Pairing Nelson with Perry isn't as offbeat as it might sound at first: Nelson's career is dotted with covers of rock songs by the likes of Neil Young, ZZ Top, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and the Beatles, among others. Perry has also occasionally dabbled in duets – and has even worked with country royalty. He and Kenny Loggins scored a Top 20 hit in 1982 with "Don't Fight It." More recently, Perry joined Dolly Parton on an update of Journey's "Open Arms" for her 2023 album Rockstar.

Steve Perry's 'Faithfully' Cover Follows Years of Holiday Classics

Nelson just announced the date and lineup for this year's Farm Aid. Fellow cofounders Neil Young and John Mellencamp will appear on Sept. 20 in Minneapolis with Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, Margo Price, Billy Strings and Nathaniel Rateliff, among others. Nelson has released more than 100 studio albums; the most recent was April's Oh What a Beautiful World, featuring 12 songs by songwriter Rodney Crowell.

"Working with Steve Perry on 'Faithfully' was a meaningful experience," Nelson added. "It was a pleasure to collaborate on this song. I'm proud that we could create something meaningful and use it to give back through Farm Aid."

Perry's cover of "Faithfully" is his first release since the latest expanded update of 2021's The Season arrived last November. A 2018 cover of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" kicked off this run of holiday-related projects, followed by the Silver Bells EP in 2019. The Season was his first LP since 2018's Traces, a comeback that was almost 25 years in the making. A deluxe edition then expanded The Season for the first time in 2022, with 10 more tracks including Perry's first original Yuletide song, "Maybe This Year."

Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio 'Journey: Worlds Apart,' available now at all major bookseller websites.