Journey’s Jonathan Cain first met Charlie Kirk in 2016 outside the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The conservative firebrand was in rare form, recalls Cain. The activist held a Big Government Sucks sign and vowed, “We’re gonna change the world.”

'I said to Paula, "He could be president someday,"' he says. 'He had the drive and the wisdom of the ages. … He reached generations.'

Kirk did just that. He started a youth movement in Turning Point USA. The organization empowered conservative college students nationwide and played a pivotal role in President Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign.

His viral debates woke up countless Gen Zers to the power of faith and conservative values. And following his Sept. 10 murder, his legacy sparked a conservative college revival.

'No one else'

Cain, a singer/songwriter and keyboardist for Journey for 45 years, got to know Kirk via his wife, President Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain.

“It was such a blow to free speech, a mockery of everything he had done,” Cain tells Align of Kirk’s murder. The musician decided to write a pastor appreciation song for the slain leader.

“Not many pastors came close to what he accomplished … the revival, bringing kids back to church, having them look at their family values,” Cain says.

That impulse became “No One Else,” a new single dedicated to Kirk’s memory and cultural impact.

No one else reached generations
Could heal with truth and conversation
Setting all differences aside
No one else could question hate
Turn hearts and minds with true debate
From the battle our nation will arise
Faithful servant, you’ve done well
No one else

Like a few songs in his decades-long repertoire, this one came to him quickly.

“I went into my studio. ... Thirty minutes later, I fleshed out everything I wanted to say,” he says.

Men of faith

The track, like Kirk’s death, brought out the worst of the venomous left.

“The social commentary was really disgusting,” Cain recalls of some online reactions. “They accused me of trying to make money. … There’s very little money in music any more.”

Cain is an industry veteran, so he shrugged off the naysayers. He still seems stunned that he tried to get Rolling Stone magazine interested in covering his song, to no avail.

“They didn’t want to touch an interview with me,” he says. “The song was about Charlie.”

Like Kirk, Cain is a man of deep faith, as is his wife. The Cains’ Trump connection found them running into Kirk often over the years. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member was continually struck by how Kirk got “into the hearts and minds” of his young followers, sharing his conservative Christian values along the way.

“I said to Paula, ‘He could be president someday,'” he says. “He had the drive and the wisdom of the ages. … He reached generations.”

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MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/AFP via Getty Images

'He saved you for music'

Cain credits his father, a “prayerful man,” for instilling faith in him at an early age. His faith was shaken by a 1958 fire at his school in Chicago, a disaster that took the lives of 93 children and three nuns.

“How could that evil happen?” he asked himself at the time.

His father, again, nudged him toward a spiritual path. He took the youngster to music school, imploring him to share his gifts with others.

“He saved you for music,” his father told him. The 8-year-old couldn’t initially get his hand around a guitar, but he did as he was told, and the music began to flow through him.

That wasn’t all.

“The idea of Jesus stayed with me, firmly planted,” he says.

Fateful Journey

The rest, as they say, is music history. Cain released his first solo record in 1976, joined the Babys three years later, and, in 1980, took over as the keyboardist for Journey. The band became a sensation, with Cain contributing keyboards and critical songwriting for the iconic band.

He played a key role in the band’s most famous song, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” with lyrics inspired by his father.

Now, at 75, he is prepping for Journey’s 2026 tour, complete with a reconstructed knee. Journey may keep rocking, but Cain knows when it’s time to step away from the band.

“I don’t want to die on the road. I’ve been out there for 50 years. … It feels like the time to get off the train is here,” he says.

He admits that matters have not always been smooth with longtime bandmates like Journey founder Neal Schon, including legal dustups in recent years.

“It’s sad, but it happens to most bands,” he says, noting that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards aren’t mates in the traditional sense, given their decades of acrimony. Still, the show must go on, and Cain appreciates his bandmates and, even more, the fans.

“They’re the gold that has given me a career. ... I’m grateful and thankful for them. I want to go out the right way,” he says. “I’ll be 77 to 78 [by the time the tour ends]. That’s enough.”