In 1954, a future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was born in Massachusetts, and he had barely learned to walk before he started making noise behind a drum kit.
Steve Smith, best known for his multiple stints behind the drums with Journey, turns 72 on Aug. 21.
Nicknamed “Machine Gun” by bandmate Steve Perry for his formidable skills behind the kit, Smith helped power Journey through the band’s enormously successful early-’80s run, playing on hits including “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” “Any Way You Want It,” “Faithfully” and “Who’s Crying Now.”
But despite becoming one of rock’s most celebrated drummers, Smith has always considered himself a jazz musician at heart.
Steve Smith Started Playing Drums as a Child
Born Aug. 21, 1954, Smith received his first drum kit when he was just 2 years old. He began taking formal lessons at 9 from Boston-area jazz drummer Bill Flanagan and got his first “real” drum set at 12.
Those early jazz influences would stay with him throughout his career. In a 2023 interview with Glide Magazine, Smith recalled becoming deeply interested in jazz by the time he was about 12, listening to the big bands of Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton, Count Basie and Maynard Ferguson.
It wasn’t until later in the ’60s that Smith developed an interest in rock, thanks in part to drummers such as Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Mitch Mitchell, Cream’s Ginger Baker and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, whose jazz-influenced approaches appealed to him.
After studying at the Berklee College of Music, Smith toured with jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and later Ronnie Montrose before joining Journey in 1978.
Smith told Glide that replacing Journey drummer Aynsley Dunbar wasn’t intimidating, in part because he wasn’t interested in simply copying his predecessor.
“I was coming in with a new concept and that was my focus,” Smith said, explaining that he wanted to bring something new to Journey’s music rather than emulate Dunbar’s playing.
Steve Smith Helped Power Journey’s Biggest Years
Smith’s first Journey stint lasted from 1978 to 1985, putting him behind the kit for the band’s blockbuster albums Escape and Frontiers, among others. He later returned from 1995 to 1998 and again from 2015 to 2020.
His work during Journey’s peak years eventually helped earn Smith a place among the most celebrated drummers in rock history.
Rolling Stone ranked Smith No. 36 on its list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time, praising the “superhuman chops” he brought to Journey and singling out his intricate open-handed drum pattern on “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The publication argued that Smith’s work on the song is “as exceptional as Perry’s skyscraping vocals.”
Smith’s accolades don’t end there. Modern Drummer readers voted him Best All-Around Drummer for five consecutive years from 1987 through 1991. He was inducted into the publication’s Hall of Fame in 2002 and later earned Best Fusion Drummer honors in 2012 and 2015, as well as Best Rock Drummer and MVP in 2017.
Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, putting Smith in the Rock Hall alongside Perry, Dunbar, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain and Ross Valory.
Interestingly, Smith doesn’t consider Escape or Frontiers his finest Journey performance.
Asked by Glide which Journey album found him playing at his highest level, Smith chose 1996’s Trial by Fire, the reunion album that marked the final studio release featuring the band’s celebrated Perry-era lineup.
“My drumming at that point had evolved a lot,” Smith explained, saying he had spent years developing his technique and gaining additional studio experience. “I’m really happy with my performance top to bottom on Trial By Fire.”
Steve Smith Has Always Considered Jazz His ‘Home Base’
Despite his place in Journey history, Smith has spent much of his career pursuing the music that first captured his attention as a child.
He formed the jazz fusion group Vital Information in 1983, and the band has continued recording and performing across the decades. Smith has also played with a staggering range of artists, from Mariah Carey and Bryan Adams to Andrea Bocelli, as well as numerous jazz musicians.
Smith told Glide that playing rock nevertheless had an important effect on his musicianship, teaching him to develop drum parts specifically designed to serve individual songs rather than relying primarily on improvisation.
But when given the choice between the two genres, there’s little question where Smith’s heart lies.
“My career has always, in my mind, been about playing Jazz,” he told the outlet, adding that while he enjoys recording rock, he prefers the freedom of performing jazz live.
More than six decades after Smith began taking drum lessons, that childhood passion is still keeping “Machine Gun” behind the kit.
Related: Steve Perry Reunion? Journey Legend Drops Surprise Hint Ahead of Final Concert
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