If you were surprised by the “Sopranos” series-ending cliffhanger, just imagine how show creator David Chase was feeling just days before the finale aired: He still had not received permission to use Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” in the show’s controversial final scene.

“The request came in a few weeks ago and it wasn’t until Thursday that it got approval, because I was concerned,” revealed former Journey singer Steve Perry on Tuesday (June 12). Perry and former bandmates guitarist Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain had to agree on the use of the song in the show, and though Perry said the trio don’t agree on much, the “Sopranos” denouement was one of the few times since Perry left the band in 1998 that the guys have shaken hands on something unanimously.

“I was not excited about [the possibility of] the Soprano family being whacked to ‘Don’t Stop Believin’,” said Perry, who watched the show with glee Sunday night and again on Monday. “I told them, ‘Unless I know what happens — and I will swear to secrecy — I can’t in good conscience feel good about its use.’” The show’s producers made Perry promise to keep it under his lid, which he did, and then they spilled the beans on how the song was used and how the show ends, after which Perry signed off.

Interestingly, Cain — who wrote the song with Perry and Schon — told The Associated Press that he didn’t know how it would be used when they agreed to the licensing. He kept the fact that the song would be used in the show a secret even from his family.

“I didn’t want to blow it,” he told AP. “Even my wife didn’t know. She looked at me and said, ‘You knew that and you didn’t tell me?’ ”

It was a great final episode and that song really did fit perfectly. Makes sense that Stever Perry wouldn’t let them use that song if they decided to kill Tony.

source: MTV