Steve Perry falls in love with dying woman: 'I believe love can cure cancer' (2023)

American singer-songwriter Steve Perry has been away from the music industry for years, but has returned inspired by the dying woman he loves. Explore beautiful love stories.

Steve Perry is best known as the lead singer of the most commercially successful rock band Journey from 1977-1987 and 1995-1998.

In addition to leading bands, he enjoyed a successful solo career from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. However, he took a temporary break from the music industry before returning full-time in 2018.

Performed by American singer Steve Perry. [Left] | Steve Perry's ex-girlfriend Shirley Swaford smiles in the photo. [Right] | Photo: Getty Images

The rock star wrote and sang several hits, including "Oh Sherrie," which he wrote for his then-girlfriend.

He also returns to music after a long time because of a promise made to the dying woman he loves. Learn about Perry's love life and the stories behind it.

Journey member Steve Perry speaks at the 32nd Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center, April 7, 2017. Photo: Getty Images

Perry's relationship with Shirley Swaford

In the 1980s, Perry andShirley SwoffordThey were known as the Romeo and Juliet of the 80s because of their love story. From the power ballad "Open Arms" to the hit single "Separate Ways" and Journey's other hits, it's clear that Swaford and Perry are madly in love with each other.

Their love is so obvious that swoffordAward winningThe video for Perry's song "Oh Sherrie" was one of the hits from his first solo album Street Talk, released in 1984.

Swafford wrote a song for Perry and then serenaded him in an MTV videofavorite. Many fans believed that Perry and Swafford's relationship would last.

But this did not happen and their romance ended due to the stress of touring. After their split, little was known about Swaford until blogger Marc Tyler Nobleman found her in 2013 while searching.

She revealed that she has never been married and has no children. Swafford also said she is a beautician and yoga teacher, adding that she loves animals, growing flowers and life.

Swaford also revealed that she values ​​her friends, including her ex-boyfriend Perry, as well as her privacy, adding that when they were dating there was nothing but love.

In a 2011 interview, Perry recalled his relationship with Swafford. He said they were madly in love with each other but it was hard because his band (Journey) was at the top of their game.

He then stated that building a relationship with someone from a band like Journey is difficult, especially when you're in the middle of a journey like Journey.

Perry loses interest in music

Perry had many hits as a solo artist and singer for Journey. One of the band's most famous hits was the alto-anti-tenor "Don't Stop Believin", with which he recorded the song that is still known today.

Perry became interested in music at the age of six. Then he discovered that music is what sustains life. When Perry's parents were about to divorce, he discovered Sam Cooke and 45rpm Records. In an interview with the BBC he saidrevealed:

However, after breaking into music and finding success as a solo artist and with Journey, Perry lost his enthusiasm and left the band. He explained the reasons for his departure from the band,explain:

Perry instinctively knew that if he continued, the hole in his heart would only get bigger. He also knew he would fill this widening gap with bad behavior. That's why it had to stop.

During an interview with Glamor , Perry revealed that he turned off the music to get away from it all. He admits that Journey was a bit much when he stopped and admits that he was lucky to have had an amazing career. But he doesn't want to do it anymore.

A year before leaving the music industry, Perry lost his mother. Plus things are still going on at home and he doesn't want to lose his life. Heexplained“There is something called life and it's not just in the entertainment industry. Life is not all about singing and acting.

The beauty of music, Perry said, is that it's amazing if someone is lucky enough to be a part of it. However, if a person does not know how to brake themselves, this can cause the chain to choke as it rolls violently, he added.

He revealed that the management kept holding him and his teammates down and eventually he had to rest. After leaving the band, Perry returned to his hometown, a farming community in California's San Joaquin Valley.

While there, he visited his mother and grandparents at the cemetery. He also bought himself a custom Harley-Davidson Softail that he could hop on and ride the country roads he grew up on with the wind in his face.

After leaving Journey, Perry did not sing or write music again, fearing it would force him to fall back into old habits.

Perry also avoids singing in the shower. He only listens to ambient music, of which Liquid Mind is his favorite. This went on for several years until Perry finally started listening to music again.

A breakthrough in this regard, he revealed, was Luther Vandross' album Give Me The Reason. Perry said Vanderross sang very well on the album, listened to it on headphones and toured.

Love brought Perry back

Years after quitting music, things began to change, and Perry finally returned to record an album in 2018, his first since Journey's Trial by Fire in 1996.

However, the singer returned to singing after a sad love story. After leaving Journey, Perry never married, as he was too afraid of marriage after what he saw between his parents.

Also, many of his Journey bandmates went through several divorces in their time. Seeing his teammates lose half their fortune in a divorce didn't encourage Perry to look for love.

As a result, his only serious relationship was with Swaford. Even in this relationship he was not completely carried away by love, he did not feel it.

Everything changed in 2011 when his friend Patty Jenkins, the director of Wonder Woman, showed him clips from a TV movie about breast cancer.

While watching the video, Perry saw Kelly Nash, a cancer survivor undergoing treatment. Perry fell out with the woman and asked Jenkins for her e-mail.

Jenkins objected to giving Perry such information, but explained that something about Nas' smile was killing him. She begged Jenkins to email her and say he wanted to have lunch with her.

Jenkins agreed to do it, but told Perry that Nas was in remission, but her cancer had returned and invaded her bones and lungs. That's why he's fighting for his life.

Hearing what Jenkins had to say, Perry wondered if he should forget the thought. Finally, he decided to move on.

Nash and Perry had dinner and started dating. Perry began the relationship knowing that Nash would soon die. But he kept doing it. When asked what he expected from his brief relationship with Nash, he respondedexplain:

Before Nash died, she had Perry do itpromiselook at her Perry revealed that she made him promise not to quarantine again because she was afraid it would rob their relationship of meaninglessness.

Perry assured Nash that he wouldn't be going back to quarantine, but he laid in bed and thought about the promise he had just made. HeAdd to:

Perry mourned Nas' death for two years. He described his grief as a whole new level of grief. However, he overcame this difficulty and began to engage in music.

Eighteen months after Nash's death, the singertimesWhen he joined the band Eels (of which he was a fan), he played live on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Before Nash's death, Perry continued to make music. However, after her death, he began to work in earnest. He set up a home studio and collaborated with co-writers and musicians, although he had no record label partnership or management.

Finally in 2018 the Traces album was released. The album peaked at number 6 in the US and number 40 in the UK. Another album "The Season" was released in 2021.

AboutGo awayhe left the trip, but the promise eventually brought him backMUSIC. The involvement came from a tragic love story, but I'm glad he finally rekindled his love for music.