After releasing two 45s on Dial label as Johnny Lee from tapes recorded at Golden Voice in South Pekin, Illinois, he released a 45 under the name of Jonathan Cain on "October" on an obscure independent label. In 1976, Cain released another record as the Jonathan Cain Band,
Windy City Breakdown, on
Bearsville Records. In 1979, he joined
the Babys, appearing on their albums
Union Jacks and
On the Edge. In 1980, Cain left the Babys to join the rock band
Journey, taking
Gregg Rolie's place on keyboards. Cain aided Journey's rise to the top of the charts with his first collaborations on the album
Escape, composing and playing the piano on songs such as "
Don't Stop Believin'", described by
AllMusic as "one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock". Perhaps his most notable contribution was as sole author of the Journey ballad "
Faithfully", a song about life on the road while in a band. Cain would go on to appear on at least 13 other Journey albums and compilations. The song "
Working Class Man" sung by
Jimmy Barnes is one of Cain's compositions and is considered to be Barnes'
signature song. Cain reunited with former Babys bandmates
John Waite and
Ricky Phillips, fellow Journey bandmate
Neal Schon, and future Journey drummer
Deen Castronovo to form the band
Bad English. The band released two albums before disbanding in the early 1990s. In 1996, the Journey lineup from the album
Escape was briefly reunited. Cain is known to perform a piano solo at every Journey concert, usually right before the band performs "
Open Arms." He started this tradition when he first joined the band in 1980. In addition to his work with Journey, Cain has released eight solo albums and contributed to solo albums by fellow Journey member
Neal Schon. His solo work includes a move to making Christian music since 2016. Cain serves as the worship leader at City of Destiny, where his wife
Paula White is the pastor. In May 2018, Cain became a published author with the release of his memoir, ''Don't Stop Believin': The Man, the Band, and the Song That Inspired Generations.'' ==Personal life==