Schon was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on August 23, 2013. Schon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017.\n', '

Neal Joseph Schon was born at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, the son of Matthew and Barbara Schon. He is of German ancestry. Schon first picked up the guitar at "around the age of five." A quick learner, he joined Santana as a teenager at 15. Schon has said he was asked by Eric Clapton to join Derek and the Dominos, but that he joined Santana instead, performing on the albums Santana III and Caravanserai. Schon also played in Azteca before moving on in 1973 to form Journey, a group he has continued to lead to the present day.\n', '

Schon\'s guitar style has been described as soulful, taking inspiration from 1960s-era soul singers such as Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, and blending it with blues runs similar to B. B. King. He was influenced by guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana and Wes Montgomery.\n', '

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