Cain was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Leonard and Nancy Friga, who were Italian. At the age of eight, Cain began accordion lessons, and by the time he was in his teens, he was playing accordion and piano at parties and in clubs. He also plays guitar, bass, and harmonica. Cain was a survivor of the Our Lady of the Angels school fire of 1958, in which 92 students and 3 nuns died. In 1968 Cain graduated from East Leyden High School in the Chicago suburb of Franklin Park, Illinois and later attended the Chicago Conservatory of Music before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, and eventually to Los Angeles, California.\n', '

In 1976, Cain released his first record as the Jonathan Cain Band, Windy City Breakdown, on Bearsville Records. In 1979, he joined The Babys, appearing on their albums Union Jacks and On the Edge. In 1980, Cain left The Babys to join the rock band Journey, taking Gregg Rolie\'s place on keyboards. Cain aided Journey\'s rise to the top of the charts with his first collaborations on the album Escape, composing and playing the piano on songs such as "Don\'t Stop Believin\'", described by AllMusic as "one of the best opening keyboard riffs in rock". Perhaps his most notable contribution was as sole author of the Journey ballad "Faithfully", a song about life on the road while in a band. Cain would go on to appear on at least 13 other Journey albums and compilations.\n', '

The song "Working Class Man" sung by Jimmy Barnes is one of Cain\'s compositions and is considered to be Barnes\' signature song.\n', '

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