(CNN) – In , I was working as an arts writer for a newspaper when my editor sent me to review a Journey/Def Leppard concert at an outdoor amphitheater in suburban Salt Lake City. Thanks to the internet, I recently dug up my review.

“If this had been a battle of the bands, the British pop-glam-metal rockers would have blown Journey off the stage,” I wrote, calling Journey “a guilty-pleasure nostalgia act.” In five years, I predicted, “we may see these guys playing the state fair.”

Almost 18 years later, Journey is one of the most beloved classic rock acts in the world. The band is currently wrapping up a triumphant 50th anniversary tour, then playing some dates in Europe before returning to the US for a series of summer stadium shows with … Def Leppard. They may be more popular than ever.

My reasoning back then was defensible. The San Francisco band, which formed in the ‘70s, hadn’t had a top-10 hit in more than 20 years and was struggling to find a true frontman after the departure of lead singer Steve Perry, known for his luminous voice.

But my timing was terrible. I was so wrong. And it’s all because of David Chase, some TV executives and one enduring song.

Journey’s surprising second act

Ten months later, in russian brides dating , millions of viewers were glued to the series finale of “The Sopranos” when Tony Soprano dropped some coins into a restaurant booth jukebox and dialed up Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The song played out, almost in its entirety, for four tense minutes as Carmela and Anthony Jr. walked in, Meadow did some shaky parallel parking, Tony glanced repeatedly at the door and everyone waited for something bad to happen.

With its abrupt, cut-to-black ending, the episode had viewers talking for weeks and catapulted “Don’t Stop Believin,’” which came out in 1981, back up the digital sales charts. The song got another big boost two years later when it was featured in the pilot for Fox’s “Glee” and then six more times over the course of the series – bringing it, and Journey, to a new generation of listeners. Read More >