George Tickner, founding rhythm guitarist of Journey, dead at 76

WASHINGTON (TND) — George Tickner, a medical professional and guitar player that co-founded the rock band Journey, died Tuesday at the age of 76.

His death was announced by Neal Schon, his fellow Journey co-founder and guitar player, on Facebook Tuesday night.

“Journey junkies, I have some very sad news,” Schon wrote in a post. “George Tickner, Journey’s original rhythm guitarist and songwriting contributor on their first three albums, has passed away. Godspeed thank you for the music.”

Tickner was born on September 8, 1946 in Syracuse, New York. By the time he was 21, he made his way to San Francisco, where he was the member of a then-little known psychedelic rock band called Frumious Bandersnatch that self-released one self-titled EP in 1967 (the gained a cult following in the ensuing decades).

While many of Tickner’s Bandersnatch bandmates would go on to join the Steve Miller Band, he and bassist Ross Valory would end up joining a new venture in 1973 put together by Santana manager Herbie Herbert. Schon, the only original member of Journey left, and keyboardist Greg Rollie (a founding member of the Santana band) left Carlos Santana’s namesake group in 1972 and that duo paired with the Bandersnatch members to form the band that would become Journey.

The rhythm guitarist would only record with his Journey bandmates on the group’s first eponymous album and first handful of gigs, when the group was still strongly rooted in the progressive rock and jazz fusion of Santana, before he left the band and the music business to attend Stanford Medical School on a full scholarship. He would receive songwriting credit on the group’s next two albums: “Looking into the Future” and “Next.”

Schon commented that Tickner would attain his Ph.D. and referred to him as “Dr. George” in his Facebook post.

Journey would achieve worldwide commercial success and secure its place in pop culture for decades when vocalist Steve Perry would join in 1977 at the same the group took a more hard rock but pop-friendly sound that would be perfect for the emergent album-oriented radio format on FM rock radio and the eager-market for arena bands.

Tickner publicly reunited with his bandmates prominently in 2005 when many past members of Journey joined the current line-up to receive the group’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.