Virtuoso drummer Steve Smith will sit behind the kit with Journey when they hit the road in 2016 for a co-headlining tour with The Doobie Brothers. It will mark the first time fans can see Steve playing with Journey since the drummer departed in 1998.
Journey made Steve's return official in an update posted on Facebook: "We welcome back Steve "Machine Gun" Smith!"
Previous Journey drummer Deen Castronovo's legal and personal issues led to his exit earlier in 2015. The band initially addressed that problem by recruiting session ace Omar Hakim as a temporary fill-in.
Steve first joined Journey in 1978 and made his album debut on 1979's 'Evolution', which spawned the band's first Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 single, Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'.
Steve left the group in 1998 when he exited along with former lead vocalist Steve Perry.
Journey's founding member and lead guitarist Neal Schon and Steve Smith have always remained close friends and musical collaborators. Steve is featured on several of Schon's solo albums, including 'The Calling', and, most recently, 'Vortex'.
