“Godspeed, George...thank you for the music. We will be paying tribute to you on this page indefinitely... Fly free above the stars, Sir,” Schon wrote in his post.Schon and Tickner founded Journey in 1973 along with singer Gregg Rolie, bassist Ross Valory, and drummer Prairie Prince . Prior to joining Journey, Tickner was a member of the
psychedelic rock band Frumious Bandersnatch along with Valory; the band was also road-managed by Herbie Herbert, who would go on to manage Journey as well. Tickner received a number of writing credits on Journey’s early albums, including “Topaz,” “Mystery,” and “Of A Lifetime,” on their 1975 self-titled debut, the latter of which Schon called “one of my favorite songs ever” in his Facebook post.Tickner left the band after the release of Journey’s debut to earn his PhD in medicine from Stanford University on a full scholarship. Upon his departure, Schon took over as sole guitarist until Jonathan Cain joined the band in 1981.
While Tickner never re-joined the lineup, he was also given writing credits on a handful of songs that appeared on the band’sLook Into The FutureHe also stayed involved in the music industry by opening a recording studio called The Hive, as well as forming a short-lived band called VTR with Valory and keyboardist Stevie ‘Keys’ Roseman that released a single album, titled, in 2005.