David Chase, creator of “The Sopranos,” has at last cleared up any confusion about the series’ controversial final scene, which aired more than 14 years ago. Though he once sort of admitted that the screen went dark because Tony had been whacked, this was the first time he affirmed that this song playing on the diner’s jukebox was cut short because so was Tony’s life. In a recent interview with Hollywood Reporter he said,
I had no idea it would cause that much of an uproar. … What was annoying was how many people wanted to see Tony killed. That bothered me. They wanted to know that Tony was killed. They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know? And I just thought, “God, you watched this guy for seven years and I know he’s a criminal. But don’t tell me you don’t love him in some way, don’t tell me you’re not on his side in some way. And now you want to see him killed? You want justice done? You’re a criminal after watching this shit for seven years.” That bothered me, yeah.
It’s been almost exactly 40 years since this song was released as the second single from Journey’s most successful LP, “Escape,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and sold more than 10 million copies. The single only reached No. 9 when it was released, but it became even more successful in the digital age after “The Sopranos.” It is still the most-downloaded digital song from the 20th century.
There is, of course, no such place as “south Detroit” — Windsor, Canada, is south of the city. Steve Perry has said, “I tried north Detroit, I tried east and west and it didn’t sing, but south Detroit sounded so beautiful. I loved the way it sounded, only to find out later it’s actually Canada.” That doesn’t stop Detroit Red Wings fans from belting out the line when it’s played at home games.
The afterglow from the song’s use in “The Sopranos” was so strong that when the series “Glee” debuted in 2009, “Don’t Stop Believin'” was the featured tune in the pilot episode, and became the best-selling single of the many singles released by the show’s cast; it reached No. 4 on the Hot 100. Sadly, three of the young actors who appear in this video clip have since died.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JseWhrUz9TY