Deniz and Kenny Original Songs

Bon Jovi #1 Single 25 Years - Thanksgiving 1986

2011-11-20T06:53:00.001-06:00

It was 25 years ago that Bon Jovi had their first number one single the week of Thanksgiving 1986. "You Give Love A Bad Name" hit number one November 29, 1986. Raised in New Jersey I had all of Bon Jovi's albums going back to 1984. I have seen Bon Jovi in concert 3 times, most recently on their Circle Tour 2010. Read the post on this blog "Bon Jovi Circle Rocks" posted March 10, 2010.

"You Give Love A Bad Name" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child and Richie Sambora about a woman who has jilted her lover. Although originally written for the band Loverboy, the song was recorded by Bon Jovi. The track was released as the first single from the album "Slippery When Wet" and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 29, 1986, Bon Jovi's first number one hit. The song reentered the charts at #29 after Blake Lewis performed it on American Idol. In 2009 it was named the 20th-greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

"Slipper When Wet" Bon Jovi's third studio album; of which "You Give Love A Bad Name" was Bon Jovi's first single from the album in August 1986. It is Bon Jovi's best selling album to date with 12 million copies in the U.S. and 28 million copies worldwide. Billboard named "Slippery When Wet" the best selling album of 1987 and the 21st best selling studio album of all time. The album spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was the top selling album 0f 1987.

Below is the original Music Video of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" singing in concert in 1986. I have also listed "You Give Love A Bad Name" Lyrics below, which is published on many websites today. Also, check out "You Give Love A Bad Name" Facts and Rumors that is included in this post. Congratulations to Bon Jovi on their 25th anniversary of their first number one single! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! - Kenny Leibow

There are 100s of sources confirming the facts mentioned throughout this post. I will name a few: Billboard, Rolling Stone, m.songfacts.com, lyrics007.com, Deniz and Kenny Original Songs, Official and Non-Official Bon Jovi websites.

Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name 1986

You Give Love A Bad Name lyrics

Songwriters: Bon Jovi, Jon; Sambora, Richard S.; Child, Desmond

Shot through the heart and you're to blame

Darlin' you give love a bad name

An angel's smile is what you sell

You promise me heaven then put me through hell

Chains of love got a hold on me

When passion's a prison you can't break free

Oh! You're a loaded gun, yeah

Oh! There's nowhere to run

No one can save me

The damage is done

Shot through the heart and you're to blame

You give love a bad name

(Bad name)

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name

(Bad name)

Hey, you give love a bad name

Paint your smile on your lips

Blood red nails on your fingertips

A school boy's dream, you act so shy

Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye

Whoa! You're a loaded gun

Whoa! There's nowhere to run

No one can save me

The damage is done

Shot through the heart and you're to blame

You give love a bad name

(Bad name)

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name

(Bad name)

You give love, oh!

Oh! Shot through the heart and you're to blame

You give love a bad name

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name

(Bad name)

Shot through the heart and you're to blame

You give love a bad name

(Bad name)

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name

(Bad name)

You give love

(Bad name)

You give love

(Bad name)

You give love

(Bad name)

You give love

You Give Love a Bad Name - Facts and Rumors

1. Desmond Child helped write this along with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. He was brought in by the record company to give Bon Jovi a more commercial sound. Among others, Child has written hits for Cher, Aerosmith, and Ricky Martin.

2. This was the first time Child worked with Jon and Richie. He came to New Jersey, where they worked on this in the basement of Sambora's mother's house. Child came up with the title, and Jon immediately thought up the first line ("Shot through the heart..."). From there, they put the rest of the song together, with "Shot Through The Heart" as the working title.

3. This song is about a guy whose girlfriend is extremely bad for him.

4. Jon Bon Jovi dated actress Diane Lane in the mid-'80s, and there are rumors that she was the inspiration for this song. We haven't found anything to confirm this.

5. This was the first big hit for Bon Jovi, but they did have a minor hit 2 years earlier. In 1984, "Runaway," from their first album, became popular in New Jersey and hit #39 in the US.

6. At one point, this was intended for the group Loverboy. Bon Jovi and Sambora started out writing it for them, but liked it so much they kept it for themselves.

7. This was the first Bon Jovi song to get played on MTV. Lead singer Jon Bon Jovi had big hair at the time.

8. The follow-up single, "Livin' On A Prayer", was also a #1 hit. Desmond Child also helped write and produce that one.

9. The album was recorded in Vancouver. They got the idea for the album title at a strip club they went to after recording sessions. "Slippery When Wet" is also a common road sign in America, but they were probably more inspired by the girls who danced in a shower at the club.

10. In 2005, this became a #1 hit in Poland when the Polish singer Mandaryna recorded it.

11. Blake Lewis performed this in 2007 on season 6 of American Idol, incorporating beatboxing into the song. The judges loved it, and Lewis performed it again on the season finale. Lewis came in second to Jordin Sparks. (thanks, Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR, for above 2)

W.A.S.P. I Wanna Be Somebody

2011-11-17T09:41:00.001-06:00

W.A.S.P. is a shock metal band that I first heard in 1989; however they had been around most of the 1980s. The song that caught my attention from their 1989 "Headless Children" album was "MEAN MAN". This album featured ex-Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali. The song "Mean Man" had the coolest lyrics I had every heard at that time: "Chewbacca in the rye, the water of fire, A terror in the flesh, a killer for hire". Awsome! Below is a YouTube video/audio with the lyrics to Mean Man. W.A.S.P. had to be one of the most successful shock metal bands of their time selling over 12 million albums worldwide.

Below is a biography, or more like a summary, of W.A.S.P. This bio is from Starpulse.com, so it is opinionated with the successes and failures of the band. W.A.S.P. released an album as recent as 2009, "Babylon". I have also included live videos of early hits "I Wanna be Somebody" and "L.O.V.E. Machine". It's fitting that W.A.S.P.'s first single "I Wanna Be Somebody" is ranked #84 in WH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. - Kenny Leibow

Warning: Videos below contain profanity

W.A.S.P. - L.O.V.E. Machine (LIVE)

W.A.S.P. Mean Man with Lyrics

W.A.S.P. I Wanna Be Somebody (1984)

W.A.S.P. Biography

Source: Starpulse.com

One of the heavier bands to come out of the early-'80s L.A. metal scene, W.A.S.P. quickly rose to national infamy thanks to their shock rock image, lyrics, and live concerts. Unfortunately, once the novelty and scandal began to wear off, the band found it difficult to expand, or even maintain, their audience by relying only on their music.

Leader Blackie Lawless (bass/vocals) was already a rock & roll veteran when he relocated to the West Coast and founded W.A.S.P. with guitarists Chris Holmes and Randy Piper and drummer Tony Richards. The band soon established a reputation as a ferocious live act, thanks in large part to Lawless' habits of tying a semi-naked model to a torture rack and throwing raw meat into the audience. And with the release of their self-explanatory independent EP, Animal (F**k Like a Beast), W.A.S.P. became impossible to ignore.

They signed to Capitol Records, and with songs like "I Wanna Be Somebody" (an absolute anthem to blind ambition) and "L.O.V.E. Machine" leading the way, their self-titled 1984 debut was an instant success. W.A.S.P. took their horror show on the road, and their momentum continued to build with the following year's The Last Command, which featured new drummer Steven Riley and the band's biggest hit, "Blind in Texas." Later that year, the band gained even more prominence as one of the biggest targets of Tipper Gore and the P.M.R.C. (Parents' Music Resource Center), a group of Washington housewives leading a crusade against violent, sexist song lyrics. Though the incident (which included Senate hearings on the issue with guest speakers as disparate as Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider from Twisted Sister) would cause more publicity than actual results, it served to make W.A.S.P. a household name -- for good and for worse.

Ironically, the band toned down their act for 1986's Inside the Electric Circus, a lackluster, repetitive album which saw Lawless switch to guitar (replacing the departed Piper) and the hiring of bassist Johnny Rod. The blood and guts were largely gone (as were the good songs), and despite releasing a strong live album entitled Live...In the Raw the following year, the band's popularity began to plummet. The all-time low arrived with the release of Penelope Spheeris' heavy metal "rockumentary" The Decline of Western Civilization 2: The Metal Years. An expose about the L.A. metal scene, the film's most dramatic and depressing sequence showed an inebriated Chris Holmes drinking himself into a stupor in full stage gear while lying on a float in his mom's swimming pool. In a movie filled with debauchery and decadence, this scene was by far the scariest.

1989's Headless Children (featuring ex-Quiet Riot sticksman Frankie Banali) was a return to form, but it couldn't revert the band's slump and W.A.S.P. disbanded soon after. Lawless eventually returned as a one-man show for 1993's The Crimson Idol, an ambitious rock opera/concept album billed as Blackie Lawless & W.A.S.P. Resurrecting the band's old shock rock antics, but alas, not fame and fortune, the album flopped, and the following year's greatest-hits set, First Blood...Last Cuts, seemed like their last chapter.

But the resilient Lawless returned once again, luring guitarist Chris Holmes back into the fold and recruiting bassist Mike Duda and drummer Stet Howland for 1996's Still Not Black Enough. This lineup has continued to tour and record for a number of independent labels, with their albums including 1997's K.F.D., 1999's Helldorado, and 2001's Unholy Terror. The band released Dying for the World in 2002, an exceptional collection of unusually serious material inspired by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It was followed in 2004 by the conceptual Neon God, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, with Dominator arriving in 2006. Eduardo Rivadavia, Rovi

Greatest Albums Sold Over 10 Million

2011-08-28T15:38:00.001-05:00

Led Zeppelin IV album sold more than 20 million copies in the U.S.A. It was not a greatest hits album; and the hard rock genre was not even mainstream even in it's time, which makes it even more incredible. Six Led Zeppelin albums made the list. Another interesting fact is that Def Lepard's early album "Pyromania" sold more than 10 million copies but was overshadowed by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album in 1983. Please add your comments regarding the list of the Greatest Albums Sold. - Kenny Leibow

The list below is from www.digitaldreamdoor.com. It represents the top selling record albums of all time. It is based in U.S. sales only through 2006. The numbers are approximate used to illustrate great artists and albums categorized by number of millions.

29 Million Albums Sold
Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 - Eagles (Elektra)

27 Million Albums Sold
Thriller - Michael Jackson (Epic)

23 Million Albums Sold
Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin (Swan Song)
The Wall- Pink Floyd (Columbia)

21 Million Albums Sold
Back in Black - AC/DC (Elektra)
Greatest Hits Volumes I & II - Billy Joel (Columbia)

20 Million Albums Sold
Double Live - Garth Brooks (Capitol Nashville)
Come On Over - Shania Twain (Mercury Nashville)

19 Million Albums Sold
The Beatles - The Beatles (Capitol)
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (Warner Bros.)

17 Million Albums Sold
Boston - Boston (Epic)
The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) - Whitney Houston

16 Million Albums Sold
The Beatles 1967-1970 - The Beatles (Capitol)
No Fences - Garth Brooks (Capitol Nashville)
Hotel California - Eagles (Elektra)
Cracked Rear View - Hootie & the Blowfish (Atlantic)
Greatest Hits - Elton John (MCA)
Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin (Swan Song)
Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette (Maverick)

15 Million Albums Sold
The Beatles 1962-1966 - The Beatles (Capitol)
Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack) - Bee Gees (Polydor/Atlas)
Appetite for Destruction - Guns 'N Roses (Geffen)
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (Capitol)
Supernatural - Santana (Arista)
Born in the U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)

14 Million Albums Sold
Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys (Jive)
Ropin' the Wind - Garth Brooks (Capitol Nashville)
Greatest Hits - Journey (Columbia)
Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf (Cleveland Intl.)
Metallica - Metallica (Elektra)
Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits - Simon & Garfunkel (Columbia)
...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears (Jive)

13 Million Albums Sold
Millennium - Backstreet Boys (Jive)
Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston (Arista)
Greatest Hits 1974-1978 - Steve Miller Band (Capitol)
Purple Rain (Soundtrack) - Prince and the Revolution (Warner Bros.)
Bruce Springsteen & E St. Band Live 1975-1985 (Box set) - Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)

12 Million Albums Sold
Abbey Road - The Beatles (Apple)
Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi (Mercury)
II - Boyz II Men (Motown)
No Jacket Required - Phil Collins (Atlantic)
Hysteria - Def Leppard (Mercury)
Wide Open Spaces - Dixie Chicks (Monument)
Pieces of You - Jewel (Atlantic)
Breathless - Kenny G (Arista)
Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin (Atlantic)
Yourself or Someone Like You - matchbox twenty (Atlantic)
Ten - Pearl Jam (Epic)
Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits - Kenny Rogers (Liberty)
Hot Rocks - The Rolling Stones (London)
The Woman in Me - Shania Twain (Mercury Nashville)
Forrest Gump (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (Epic)

11 Million Albums Sold
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (Capitol)
Human Clay - Creed (Wind-Up Records)
Falling Into You - Celine Dion (550 Music)
Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. II - Eagles (Asylum)
Devil Without a Cause - Kid Rock (Lava)
Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin (Atlantic)
No Strings Attached - 'N Sync (Jive)
Speakerboxxx/the Love Below - Outkast (So So Def)
Dirty Dancing (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (RCA)
James Taylor's Greatest Hits - James Taylor (Warner Bros.)
CrazySexyCool - TLC (LaFace)
Up - Shania Twain (Mercury Nashville)
Titanic (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (Sony Classical)

10 Million Albums Sold
Aerosmith's Greatest Hits - Aerosmith (Columbia)
1 - The Beatles (Capitol)
The Hits - Garth Brooks (Capitol Nashville)
Daydream - Mariah Carey (Columbia)
Music Box - Mariah Carey (Columbia)
Unplugged - Eric Clapton (Reprise)
Greatest Hits - Patsy Cline (MCA Nashville)
Pyromania - Def Leppard (Mercury)
Let's Talk About Love - Celine Dion (550 Music/Epic)
Fly - Dixie Chicks (Monument)
Best of the Doobies - Doobie Brothers (Warner Bros.)
Dookie - Green Day (Reprise)
Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em - Hammer (Capitol)
The Stranger - Billy Joel (Columbia)
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones (Blue Note)
Tapestry - Carole King (Ode)
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (Atlantic)
Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park (Warner Bros.)
Like a Virgin - Madonna (Sire)
The Immaculate Collection - Madonna (Warner Bros.)
Legend - Bob Marley & the Wailers (Island)
Faith - George Michael (Columbia)
'N Sync - 'N Sync (RCA)
Nevermind - Nirvana (DGC)
Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt (Trauma/Interscope)
Life After Death - Notorious B.I.G. (Bad Boy/Arista)
Greatest Hits - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (MCA)
Can't Slow Down - Lionel Richie (Motown)
The Lion King (Soundtrack) - (Walt Disney)
Oops! . . .I Did It Again - Britney Spears. (Jive)
The Joshua Tree - U2 (Island)
1984 (MCMLXXXIV) - Van Halen (Warner Bros.)
Van Halen - Van Halen (Warner Bros.)
Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder (Motown)
Eliminator - ZZ Top (Warner Bros.)

9 Million Albums Sold
All Eyez on Me - 2 Pac (Death Row/Interscope)
Greatest Hits - 2 Pac (Interscope)
The Sign - Ace Of Base (Arista)
Licensed To Ill - Beastie Boys (Colombia)
Cooleyhighharmony - Boyz II Men (Motown)
Garth Brooks - Garth Brooks (Capitol)
Sevens - Garth Brooks (Capitol Nashville)
Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey (Columbia)
Some Gave All - Billy Ray Cyrus (Mercury)
John Denver's Greatest Hits - John Denver (RCA)
Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits (Warner Bros.)
The Best Of The Doors - The Doors (Elaktra)
The Marshall Mathers LP - Eminem (Interscope)
Whitney - Whitney Houston (Arista)
Escape - Journey (Columbia)
Country Grammer - Nelly (Universal Records)
Elvis' Christmas Album - Elvis Presley (RCA Records)
Hi Infidelity - R.E.O. Speedwagon (Epic)
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins (Virgin Records)
Big Willie Style - Will Smith (Columbia)
Confessions- Usher (So So Def)
Footloose (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (Columbia)
Top Gun (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (Columbia)
Great Band Era - Various Artists (Reader's Digest Music)

8 Million Albums Sold
Toys In The Attic - Aerosmith (Columbia)
Christina Aguilera - Christina Aguilera (RCA)
Black & Blue - Backstreet Boys (Jive)
The Beatles Anthology, Vol 1 - The Beatles (Capitol)
Time, Love & Tenderness - Michael Bolton (Columbia)
Toni Braxton - Toni Braxton (Laface)
Secrets - Toni Braxton (Laface)
The Chase - Garth Brooks (Liberty)
In Pieces - Garth Brooks (Capitol Nashville)
The Writing's On The Wall - Destiny's Child (Columbia)
Hell Freezes Over - Eagles (Geffen)
The Eminem Show - Eminem (Interscope)
Greatest Hits - Fleetwood Mac (Warner Bros.)
Breathe - Faith Hill (Warner Bros.)
The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia)
Bad - Michael Jackson (Epic)
R. - R. Kelly (Jive)
Miracles: The Holiday Album - Kenny G (Arista)
Led Zeppelin I - Led Zeppelin (Atlantic)
Throwing Copper - Live (Radioactive)
Surfacing - Sarah McLachlan (Arista)
And Justice For All - Metallica (Elektra)
Hangin' Tough - New Kids On The Block (Columbia)
Synchronicity - The Police (A&M)
Greatest Hits - Queen (Elektra)
Greatest Hits - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullett Band (Capitol)
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel (Columbia)
Grease (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (RSO)
Core - Stone Temple Pilots (Atlantic)
Strait Out Of The Box - George Strait (MCA Nashville)
Achtung Baby - U2 (Island)
Whitesnake - Whitesnake (Geffen)

7 Million Albums Sold
Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul (Virgin)
Highway To Hell - AC/DC (Epic)
Get A Grip - Aerosmith (Geffen)
Pump - Aerosmith (Geffen)
New Jersey - Bon Jovi (Mercury)
Don't Look Back- BOSTON (Epic)
Don't Be Cruel - Bobby Brown (MCA)
Running On Empty - Jackson Browne (Asylum)
Songs You Know By Heart - Jimmy Buffett (MCA)
The Singles 1969 - 1973 - The Carpenters (A&M)
TimePieces/Best Of Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton (RSO)
Unforgettable With Love Natalie Cole - Natalie Cole (Electra)
August & Everything After - Counting Crows (Geffen)
No Need To Argue - The Cranberries (Island)
Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Atlantic)
Tuesday Night Music Club - Sheryl Crow (A&M)
No Way Out - P. Diddy and the Family (Bad Boy/Arista)
All The Way...A Decade Of Song - Celine Dion (550 Music/Epic)
The Long Run - Eagles (Asylum)
Live - Eagles (Asylum)
A Day Without Rain - Enya (Reprise)
Records - Foreigner (Atlantic)
Double Vision - Foreigner (Atlantic)
Use Your Illusion II - Guns 'n Roses (Geffen)
Use Your Illusion I - Guns 'n Roses (Geffen)
Off The Wall - Michael Jackson (Epic)
History: Past, Present & Future Book I - Michael Jackson (Epic)
Dangerous - Michael Jackson (Epic)
52nd Street - Billy Joel (Columbia)
An Innocent Man - Billy Joel (Columbia)
Glass Houses - Billy Joel (Columbia)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (MCA)
Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits - Janis Joplin (Columbia)
Sports - Huey Lewis & The News (Chrysalis)
Significant Other - Limp Bizkit (Interscope)
True Blue - Madonna (Sire)
Ricky Martin - Ricky Martin (C2/Columbia)
Crash - Dave Matthews Band (RCA Records)
Vs. - Pearl Jam (Epic)
Luck Of The Draw - Bonnie Raitt (Capitol)
Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner Bros.)
Greatest Hits - Linda Ronstadt (Asylum)
Santana's Greatest Hits - Santana (Columbia)
Savage Garden - Savage Garden (Columbia)
Waiting To Exhale (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (Arista)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Soundtrack) - Various Artists (Lost Highway)
Spice - Spice Girls (Virgin)
To The Extreme - Vanilla Ice (SBK)

Disclaimer: There is nothing 'Official' about these lists. They are compiled by the 'editor' using the stated criteria, and revised considering the competent suggestions of visitors to this website only.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

2011-06-28T00:59:00.003-05:00

Here I go again, no pun intended. You can't mention hard rock bands from 1987 without including Whitesnake. We know that David Coverdale goes back to the 1970s during the Deep Purple Days; however it was Whitesnake's huge album in 1987 that put them on the 80s classic rock map. With hits like "Still of the Night", "Is This Love", and "Here I Go Again" that attracted the big audiences fueled by the music videos featuring the HOT Tawny Kitaen. I remember watching Whitesnake music videos on MTV in Deniz' apartment in Miami Springs with friends. But I first saw Tawny in Tom Hank's classic movie - comedy "Bachelor Party". The 1987 album was the only Whitesnake album I ever purchased. The following year when I dated my wife; I played her the Whitesnake cassette and she loved the group.

Below are three music videos. Of course the first two are the famed original videos "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love". I also included from WhiteSnake's "Slide It In" album in 1984 the song "Slow An' Easy", which shows a little more of the hard rock side of Whitesnake. There is also a list of all the tracks from the Whitesnake album in 1987 that sold millions of copies and hit number 1 on the Billboard top 200. I found a very good bio of Whitesnake at 100XR Rock Web Station, which you can read below. Enjoy the trip to the past with Whitesnake. - Kenny Leibow

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

Whitesnake - Is This Love

Whitesnake - Is This Love by jpdc11

Whitesnake - Slow An' Easy

Track listing

All songs written by David Coverdale and John Sykes except where noted.

North American version
1. Crying in the Rain
2. Bad Boys
3. Still of the Night
4. Here I Go Again
5. Give Me All Your Love
6. Is This Love
7. Children of the Night
8. Straight for the Heart
9. Don't Turn Away

BIOGRAPHY

Formed in 1977 in North Yorkshire, ENGLAND and steered by the legendary ex-Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale, Whitesnake carry a rightful reputation as one of the world's leading Hard-Rock bands. During the early years, a remarkably diverse array of musicians, among them Roger Glover, Tim Hinkley, Simon Phillips, Bernie Marsden, Neil Murray, joined Coverdale on his new venture.
The group began touring throughout Europe and Japan and eventually Coverdale teamed-up with guitarists Mick Moody and Bernie Marsden, keyboardist Peter Solley, bassist Neil Murray and drummer David Dowell to record 1978's "Snakebite".

Over the next two years the group released two albums, "Trouble" and "Lovehunter"; both the LPs, recorded with Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord, were mid-chart success in Britain.

In the spring of 1980 arrived "Ready An' Willing" which marked the recording debut of another Deep Purple founding member, drummer Ian Paice. The album quickly bulleted into the top 10 in U.K. and peaked at #90 on The Billboard 200; opener "Fool For Your Lovin'" was their first U.K. top 20 hit single; with its clever combination of hit-savvy chorus and authentic bluesy resignation; the single also entered The Billboard Hot 100 in U.S. where it leapt to #53.

One year later, the band's fourth offering, "Come An' Get It", shot up to #2 on the U.K. Albums chart spawning two bluesy rockers top 20 hits "Don't Break My Heart Again" and "Would I Lie To You". Staside, the album failed to rise above #151 on the Billboard's Top 200 LPs & Tapes chart.

"Saints & Sinners" followed in late 1982, it climbed into the U.K. top 10 and produced the top 40 hit "Here I Go Again"; most Americans only came to know this song five years later as the group's fifth album was largely ignored in the States.

Whitesnake returned in 1984 with the new line-up that included Coverdale, Lord, Moody and the newcomers guitarist Mel Galley, bass player Colin Hodgkinson and drummer Cozy Powell. The sextet released "Slide It In" which cracked The Billboard 200 chart at #42 and subsequently went platinum on the back of the Mainstream Rock top 40 hits "Love Ain't No Stranger" and "Slow An' Easy". "Slide It In" took Coverdale and company to #1 on the British Albums chart for the first time; the disc included two U.K. sizeable hit singles "Guilty Of Love" and "Give Me More Time". On a quirky historical note, Coverdale fired most of the band soon after the album's release, replacing them with younger, prettier faces with which to better conquer America; there were several personnel changes and finally he enlisted guitarists Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge.
In April 1987 Whitesnake released an explosive eponymous album, which rocketed to #2 on The Billboard Top 200, to #5 on the Top Canadian Albums chart, to #8 in U.K. selling over six million copies; it generated two British top 10 hit singles: the quiet ballad "Is This Love" and the remix version of "Here I Go Again", both these singles stormed The Billboard Hot 100 peaking at the #2 and #1 spots, respectively; two more singles appeared in the top 30 of The Mainstream Rock chart: "Still Of The Night" and the re-recorded version of "Give Me All Your Love".

Once again Coverdale changed the line-up and issued "Slip Of The Tongue" in February of 1989; the album crashed into the top 10 of the Billboard Top 200 chart and eventually was certified platinum for sales of one million copies. The new version of "Fool For Your Loving" soared to #2 on The Mainstream Rock Tracks and was followed by "The Deeper The Love", #4 and "Now You're Gone", #15, on that same chart.

In early 1991, David Coverdale disbanded Whitesnake “indefinitely” only to be re-born in 1993 with the release of the platinum selling album "Coverdale Page", recorded in collaboration with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

After full nine years Coverdale resurrected the Whitesnake name and recorded "Restless Heart" with Adrian Vandenberg on guitar, Brett Tuggle on keyboards, Guy Pratt on bass and Denny Carmassi on drums. The album, credited to David Coverdale & Whitesnake, was released only in Europe to relatively little attention.

April 2008 saw Whitesnake return with "Good To Be Bad", their tenth studio album and first in over a decade. This time the line-up included Coverdale, obviously, on vocals, guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, keyboardist Timothy Drury, bass player Uriah Duffy and drummer Chris Frazier. The disc debuted at #62 on The Billboard 200, hit #23 on the Top Canadian Albums charts and also made it into the top 5 in Great Britain.

Whitesnake's new album "Forevermore" is scheduled to be released at the end of March 2011 by Frontiers Records. It includes the single "Love Will Set You Free".

Home Brew Guitar Jams - Willie Vega

2011-06-26T16:36:00.000-05:00

I met Willie Vega back in 1987 in Miami Springs. Willie and Deniz were good friends, which is how I was introduced. Deniz recorded one of his first tracks back in 1986 with Willie playing guitar. The song is called Tall Tales; you can listen on the original songs list in the music player on this blog. Willie now lives in New York City. We have connected again through social media. A lot of soul bleeds out when Willie Vega plays guitar. Check out his YouTube channel with videos of Willie Vega playing guitar at http://www.youtube.com/user/willievega. I have embedded some of his latest videos and quotes below. Yes, I have to mention that Willie Vega is a huge guitar Gear-Head! For you gear-heads out there, make sure you also visit www.ThatGuitarShow.tv.

Good friend and good times! - Kenny Leibow

Tweak Fuzz and Modtone Wah

"I did this video for my brother Rob 'Mr. Scumbag', cause he really digs this style.

The Tweak Fuzz is a Wah friendly pedal (not all fuzzes are).

Since I used a Seymour Duncan, Tweak Fuzz and a Modtone Wah, I am calling it a demo."

HBE (Home Brew Electronic) Power Screamer Blues

"Shot this little improv with no preparation. I'm a rambunctious bastard!"

Collage of Gear demos

Greatest Rock Keyboard Players - Pianists

2011-06-06T13:20:00.000-05:00

Rock keyboard players in bands don't get as much recognition for songwriting and performing as lead singers and guitar players do. Below is the complete list of the 100 Greatest Rock Keyboard players. Before you freak out about missing names; there is also a list below of the Greatest Rock Pianists. This list comes from the site, of which I have reposted other lists from before, www.digitaldreamdoor.com. Where is Foreigner? Foreigner has specialized in Synthesisers; and this is one of the reasons the band broke up in the late 1980s because of disagreements between Mick Jones and Lou Grahm regarding synthesisers verses a heavy rock guitar style. I didn't see any of the keyboard players from Foreigner like Ian McDonald or Mick Jones listed. Also, I believe David Bryan from Bon Jovi is underrated, but he at least received an honorable mention on the list below. My number one vote for greatest rock keyboardist is Jonathan Cain from Journey. I will not disclose my vote for greatest pianists because I am sure that there are more deep heated debates over that list. Please comment who you would vote for as the Greatest Rock Keyboardist and Pianist. - Kenny Leibow

Greatest Rock Keyboard Players
1. Keith Emerson (ELP)
2. Rick Wakeman (Yes)
3. Jon Lord (Deep Purple)
4. Ray Manzarek (The Doors)
5. Richard Wright (Pink Floyd)
6. Tony Banks (Genesis)
7. Billy Preston
8. Rod Argent (Zombies, Argent)
9. Steve Winwood (Traffic)
10. Al Kooper (Blood Sweat & Tears)
11. Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum, Solo)
12. Booker T. Jones
13. Ian Underwood (The Mothers Of Invention)
14. Gregg Allman (Allman Brothers Band)
15. Tony Hymas (Jeff Beck)
16. Jan Hammer
17. Nicky Hopkins (Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck)
18. Gregg Rolie (Santana, Journey)
19. Brian Eno
20. Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater, The Dregs)
21. Richard Tandy (ELO)
22. Dennis De Young (Styx)
23. Jens Johansen (Yngwie Malmsteen)
24. Kerry Livgren (Kansas)
25. Kevin Moore (Dream Theater)
26. T. Lavitz (The Dregs)
27. Don Airey (Rainbow, Ozzy, Deep Purple)
28. Garth Hudson (The Band)
29. David Sancious (Springsteen, Santana, Sting)
30. Ian Mclagan (Rolling Stones, Faces)
31. George Duke (Frank Zappa/Solo)
32. Allan Zavod (Frank Zappa)
33. Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello)
34. Max Middleton (Jeff Beck)
35. Billy Powell (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
36. Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater)
37. Jimmy Greenspoon (Three Dog Night)
38. Jon Carin (Pink Floyd, Roger Waters)
39. Tony MacAlpine
40. Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep)
41. Benmont Tench (The Heartbreakers)
42. Isaac Hayes
43. Stevie Wonder
44. Amos Milburn
45. Jonathan Cain (Journey, Solo)
46. Geoff Downes (Yes, Asia)
47. Allen Ravenstine (Pere Ubu)
48. Roy Bittan (E Street Band)
49. Patrick Moraz (Moody Blues, Yes, Solo)
50. Matt Bellamy (Muse) 51. Alan Price (The Animals)
52. Leon Russell
53. Michael Mcdonald (Doobie Borothers)
54. John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)
55. Bob Mayo (Frampton)
56. Mike Pinder (Moody Blues)
57. Tony Kaye (Yes)
58. Bill Payne (Little Feat)
59. Richard Tee (Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, James Brown)
60. Claudio Simonetti (Goblin)
61. Bernie Worrell (Talking Heads, Funkadelic)
62. David Rosenthal (Rainbow)
63. Roddy Bottum (Faith No More)
64. Robert Lamm (Chicago)
65. Michael Pinella (Symphony X)
66. Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (Grateful Dead)
67. Chuck Leavell (Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones)
68. Michael Brown (Left Banke, Stories, Montage)
69. Peter Bardens
70. Jools Holland (Squeeze)
71. Bobby Whitlock (Derek & The Dominos)
72. Mike Ratledge (Soft Machine)
73. Neal Doughty (REO Speedwagon)
74. Mike Garson (David Bowie)
75. Larry Knechtel (Bread, Smith)
76. Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)
77. Burton Cummings (Guess Who)
78. Gary Wright
79. Lee Michaels
80. Jeff Chimenti (Rat Dog, The Dead)
81. John Evan (Jethro Tull)
82. Chris Stainton (Joe Cocker's Grease Band)
83. Dick Sims (Eric Clapton, Bob Seger)
84. Rick Davies (Supertramp)
85. Paul "Wix" Wickens (Paul McCartney)
86. Roger Powell (Todd Rundgren, David Bowie)
87. Mark Mancina (Yes)
88. Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge)
89. Felix Cavaliere (Rascals)
90. Page McConnell (Phish)
91. Edgar Winter
92. Art Neville
93. Vincent Crane (Arthur Brown)
94. Roger O'Donnell (The Cure)
95. Mark Kelly (Marillion)
96. Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart)
97. Janne Warman (Children of Bodom, Warmen)
98. Goldy McJohn (Steppenwolf)
99. Kerry Minnear (Gentle Giant)
100. Manfred Mann

Doug Ingle (Iron Butterfly)
Geddy Lee (Rush)
Howard Jones
David Greenfield (The Stranglers)
John "Rabbit" Bundrick (The Who)
Tony Carey (Rainbow)
Steve Walsh (Kansas)
Brent Mydland (Grateful Dead)
Barry Goldberg (Electric Flag)
Donald Fagen (Steely Dan)
Stephen Stills
Eddie Jobson (UK, Roxy Music)
Greg Hawkes (Cars) Reese Wynans (Double Trouble)
Gene Taylor (Fabulous Thunderbirds)
Pete Townshend (The Who)
Eddie Van Halen
John "Jojo" Herman (Widespread Panic)
Keith Tippett (King Crimson)
David Bryan (Bon Jovi)
Andrew Fletcher (Depeche Mode)
Moby
John Herndon (Tortoise)
Alan Fitzgerald (Night Ranger)
Simon House (Hawkwind)
Alan Pasqua (sessions-Damn Yankees)

1. Jerry Lee Lewis
2. Professor Longhair
3. Ray Charles
4. Elton John
5. Billy Joel
6. Little Richard
7. Fats Domino
8. Randy Newman
9. Keith Emerson
10. Rick Wakeman
11. Dr. John
12. Huey "Piano" Smith
13. Tony Banks (Genesis, Solo)
14. Leon Russell
15. Bruce Hornsby
16. Ian McLagan (Small Faces)
17. Stevie Wonder
18. Nicky Hopkins (Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck)
19. Esquerita
20. Ben Folds
21. Gary Brooker (Procol Harum)
22. Ian Stewart (Rolling Stones)
23. Spooner Oldham
24. Roy Bittan (E-Street Band)
25. Freddie Mercury (Queen)
26. Carole King
27. Joe Jackson
28. Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello)
29. Paul McCartney
30. Laura Nyro
31. Neil Sedaka
32. Tori Amos 33. Jack Nitzsche
34. Alan Price (The Animals)
35. David Sancious (Springsteen, Santana, Sting)
36. Jools Holland (Squeeze)
37. David Foster
38. Larry Knechte (Bread, Smith)
39. John Cale (The Velvet Underground)
40. Warren Zevon
41. Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople)
42. Paul Carrack (Squeeze)
43. Jim Dickinson
44. Tom Waits
45. Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys)
46. Carly Simon
47. John Legend
48. Mark "Moogy" Klingman (Utopia)
49. Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac)
50. Van Dyke Parks
51. Chris Martin (Coldplay)
52. Pete Wingfield (The Olympic Runners)
53. Matt Rollings
54. John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting)
55. Russ Conway
56. Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane)
57. Sarah McLachlan
58. Dan Fogelberg
59. Ed Harcourt
60. Sheldon Miller (This Is Me Smiling)
61. Delta Goodrem
62. Alicia Keys
63. Brenda Russell
64. Rufus Wainwright

David Lee Roth – Van Halen to Diamond Dave

2011-02-19T06:40:00.128-06:00

David Lee Roth is one of the greatest Frontmen of all time; and it didn’t hurt that Diamond Dave was in one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Van Halen. Even though Van Halen was never as great after David Lee Roth left the band in 1985, Diamond Dave quickly was back on top with a solo career performing sold-out tours. David Lee Roth’s success was largely attributed to his unique music videos like “California Girls”. Just as they said in the “Hot For Teacher” music video, “David Lee Roth went on to Hollywood to become America’s favorite game show host”; well almost, he took over Howard Stern’s radio show in 2005. You can read Diamond Dave’s bio below. Also, check out some of the greatest Quotes from David Lee Roth over the years and some song facts. Of course, I have also included classic videos, Jump, Hot For Teacher, California Girls, and a not-so-well known classic video from 1981 “So This is Love” Van Halen live. – Kenny Leibow

David Lee Roth Discography

Van Halen 1976-1985

1978 Van Halen

1979 Van Halen II

1980 Women and Children First

1981 Fair Warning

1982 Diver Down

1983 1984

1996 Best of Van Halen

Solo Career 1985-Present

1985 Crazy From the Heat

1986 Eat 'Em and Smile

1988 Skyscraper

1991 A Little Ain't Enough

1994 Your Filthy Little Mouth

1997 Best of David Lee Roth

1998 DLR Band

2003 Diamond Dave

David Lee Roth - California Girls

Van Halen - So This Is Love 81 HQ

Van Halen - Hot For Teacher (HQ music video)

Van Halen - Jump (HQ music video)

David Lee Roth quotes

Source: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/david_lee_roth/

“Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.”

“I used to have a drug problem, now I make enough money.”

“I used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass.”

“Music is like girlfriends to me; I'm continually astonished by the choices other people make.”

“The world's a stage, and I want the brightest spot.”

“He who knows how will always work for he who knows why.”

“The problem with self-improvement is knowing when to quit.”

“It doesn't get better, it doesn't get worse, but it sure gets different!”

“You stick your head above the crowd and attract attention, and sometime, maybe somebody, will throw a rock at you. That's the territory. You buy the land, you get the Indians.”

“People ask me how far I've come. And I tell them twelve feet: from the audience to the stage.”

“A lot of rock bands are truly a legend in their own minds.”

“The light you see at the end of the tunnel is the front of an oncoming train.”

“I AM NOT THIS WAY, THE WAY I AM, BECAUSE I'M IN A BAND. I'M IN A BAND BECAUSE I'M THIS WAY.”

“When you get something like MTV, it's like regular television. You get it, and at first it's novel and brand new and then you watch every channel, every show. And then you become a little more selective and more selective, until ultimately... you wind up with a radio.”

“They want me to copy Howard [Stern]. But I refuse to regiment this show. ... I told them I would quit if they will not let me do what I was hired to do, which is create something unique.”

“Howard took his old audience. We're after a new one.”

“I'm going to give it a try. I've invested too much in this show not to.”

“I didn't know what I was doing. I asked for rehearsal, and they didn't give it to me.”

“I was booted, tossed, and it's going to cost somebody.”

“It's a huge disappointment and I love doing radio. We got canned 20 minutes before the hour.”

“[Roth — whose announcement ends months of rumors over just who'd be filling Stern's immense kicks — will take over in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Dallas and West Palm Beach, Florida.] You've built quite an empire here, and I'd like to think that they've saved it for the best guy, ... It will be a very interesting adventure.”

“You've done an extraordinary job and I hope I can honor it,”

“It requires someone of your stature to make [the medium successful].”

“EVERYBODY NEED BEER, EVEN DAVE ROTH.”

“I talked to the drummer [Alex Van Halen] about a week ago. And I think, eventually, the inevitable will happen.”

David Lee Roth - Panama Song Facts

Panama is a country in Central America famous for its canal, but it has nothing to do with the song. The lyrics are about a stripper David Lee Roth met in Arizona. As he explained on The Howard Stern Show, the song came about after an interview Roth gave in the early '80s; the interviewer accused him of only writing lyrics about sex, drugs, and fast cars. Allegedly, sometime either during or after the interview, Diamond Dave realized he'd never actually written a song about fast cars, so he started working on the lyrics to "Panama," which he later admitted in another interview that, as it turns out, he had been writing about a stripper he knew without realizing it. (thanks, Ryan - Eaton, IN)

- Source: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=444

David Lee Roth Biography

In the eyes of countless hard rock fans,David Lee Roth is the prototypical frontman. With a flamboyant, larger than life stage presence and a party-hearty surfer dude persona (not to mention his acrobatic leaps, long mane of blond hair, and skintight spandex outfits), Roth was an integral part ofVan Halen's meteoric rise to global dominance from 1978 through 1984. Born on October 10, 1955, in Bloomington, IN, Rothwas introduced to music at an early age, via his father's affinity for Al Jolson, Ray Charles,Frank Sinatra, and Louis Prima. By the dawn of his teenage years, his family had relocated to California, and by the early '70s,Roth had become a major rock fan (Led Zeppelin, Black Oak Arkansas, Grand Funk,ZZ Top, Alice Cooper, etc.). Roth was soon singing in local bands, including the Red Ball Jets, who would play shows along with another up-and-coming rock band from Pasadena, CA -- Mammoth.

The members of Mammoth, including brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen on guitar and drums, respectively, would often borrowRoth's PA system for their gigs, and a friendship was struck up. Soon after, Rothwas asked to join forces with the Van Halenbrothers, who had enlisted a new bassist as well, Michael Anthony. The new quartet decided on a name change by the mid-'70s as they played the Sunset Strip -- Van Halen(reportedly Roth's idea). By 1977, the quartet was signed to Warner Bros., and 1978 saw the release of their landmark self-titled debut, one of rock's all-time great recordings. Mixing heavy metal riffs with punk's fury, Van Halen were onto a whole new sound, which resulted in the band taking the world by storm. The band issued a string of classic mega-selling albums (1979's Van Halen II, 1980's Women and Children First, 1981's Fair Warning, 1982's Diver Down, and two years later, 1984), while becoming a major arena-headlining concert draw in the process.

Just as Van Halen had hit their peak and appeared they could do no wrong, Rothissued a four-track solo EP in 1985, Crazy from the Heat, with rumors swirling that the bandmembers were bickering behind the scenes and that the singer was going to make a major motion picture. Still, it was a shock to rock fans everywhere whenRoth left Van Halen later that year (Van Halen would soldier on with Sammy Hagarfilling Roth's spot) -- leading to a war of words in the press. When his plans for the movie proved to be a bust, Roth immediately formed a top-notch solo band, consisting of ex-Talas bassist Billy Sheehan (often called "the Eddie Van Halen of bass"), ex-Frank Zappa guitarist Steve Vai, and ex-Maynard Ferguson drummerGregg Bissonette. In 1986, Roth issued his first full-length solo effort, Eat 'Em and Smile, which was another hit and gave way to another sold-out tour.

Roth had also become a master of creating hilarious and highly original music videos (featuring a wide assortment of wacky characters), especially Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" and Roth's solo clips "California Girls," "Just a Gigolo," "Yankee Rose," and "Goin' Crazy." But while Roth's new solo band seemed to be on the way to a very promising future, the lineup began to splinter with each subsequent release (1988's Skyscraper, 1991's A Little Ain't Enough), until Roth was the only remaining member. With interest waning, Roth attempted to branch out musically on his experimental 1994 release, Your Filthy Little Mouth (produced by Nile Rodgers), but it was met with a cool reception, as was his attempt to break into the Vegas circuit around the same time.

By 1996, Van Halen had parted ways with Hagar, leading to an onslaught of rumors that a Roth/Van Halen reunion was in the works. The rumor appeared to become reality on September 4, 1996, when Van Halen and Roth appeared together at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York to present an award. Despite the fact that they had recorded several new songs the previous summer (two of which would appear on their forthcoming Best Of: Vol. 1 collection), the reunion was short-lived --Eddie and Roth got into a near fistfight backstage on the night of the awards show, as relations soured once again when it became known that Van Halen tricked Rothinto thinking that he was back in the band (meanwhile, they had secretly hired ex-Extreme singer Gary Cherone a few months prior).

Undeterred, Roth penned a tell-all biography, 1997's Crazy from the Heat, and issued his best solo album in years, 1998's back-to-basics DLR Band. WhenCherone was dismissed from Van Halen in 1999 after only a single album (the horrific Van Halen III), rumors began swirling once again about a possible Roth/Van Halen reunion. With both camps keeping things very hush-hush, Roth finally broke the silence in April of 2001, issuing a statement on his website that he and his former Van Halen bandmates had indeed regrouped the previous year in the recording studio, but that he hadn't heard back from them in months. Barely a week later, Eddie Van Halen went public with the fact that he was diagnosed with cancer; in May of 2002 he reported on his website that his cancer treatments had been successful and he had "just gotten a 100 percent clean bill of health -- from head to toe."

Meanwhile, the good news from Eddie Van Halen did not apparently coincide with a return of Roth to the Van Halen fold, as the singer's Diamond Dave, a 14-track collection of mostly covers that echoed the 1982 Van Halen classic Diver Down, was released in 2003. In 2005, Roth took over FM "Shock Jock" duties for the satellite radio-bound Howard Stern, and the following year he gathered friends for the tongue-in-cheek Strummin with the Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi

Greatest Rock Guitar Riffs

2010-12-26T20:28:00.023-06:00

When you are a teenager and first learn to play electric guitar, Iron Man by Black Sabbath or Day Tripper by the Beatles are some of the easier and more popular Riffs to play. A rock guitar riff is what makes the song catchy, not only to make you want to hear it over and over again, but entices you to act it out verbally or like air guitar etc. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen and Keith Richards have created some of the best known guitar riffs of all time.

Below is the top 100 greatest rock guitar riffs from www.digitaldreamdoor.com. I frequently quote their lists because they are pretty accurate compared to other published lists. Though we all don't exactly agree about the songs or order on the list. For example, I don't see Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" or Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot". My number 1 riff is based on being the very first in rock 'n roll, which is "Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry". The list below is not about technique or level of difficulty it is all about popularity. Please comment on your favorite rock guitar riffs. - Kenny Leibow

Technical Definition of a Riff

In music, a riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression, pattern, refrain or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments orsolo instrument, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a musical composition. Though they are most often found in rock music, Latin, funk and jazz, classical music is also sometimes based on a simple riff, such asRavel's Boléro. Riffs can be as simple as a tenor saxophone honking a simple, catchy rhythmic figure, or as complex as the riff-based variations in the head arrangements played by the Count Basie Orchestra.

Greatest 100 Rock Guitar Riffs

1. Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
3. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
4. Layla - Derek And The Dominos
5. Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
6. Iron Man - Black Sabbath
7. Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry
8. Heartbreaker - Led Zeppelin
9. You Really Got Me - The Kinks
10. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
11. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix Experience
12. Day Tripper - The Beatles
13. Walk This Way - Aerosmith
14. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Iron Butterfly
15. Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
16. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
17. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix Experience
18. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
19. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
20. Back In Black - AC/DC
21. Foxey Lady - Jimi Hendrix Experience
22. Frankenstein - Edgar Winter
23. Aqualung - Jethro Tull
24. Bad To The Bone - George Thorogood & Destroyers
25. Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
26. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
27. Money For Nothing - Dire Straits
28. Jumpin' Jack Flash - Rolling Stones
29. American Woman - Guess Who
30. Wild Thing - The Troggs
31. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
32. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
33. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
34. Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
35. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
36. Breaking The Law - Judas Priest
37. Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen
38. Enter Sandman - Metallica
39. The Hellion/Electric Eye - Judas Priest
40. Outshined - Soundgarden
41. Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor
42. Hells Bells - AC/DC
43. La Grange - ZZ Top
44. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
45. Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
46. Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits
47. Rusty Cage - Soundgarden
48. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love - Van Halen
49. Bring It On Home - Led Zeppelin
50. Man On The Silver Mountain - Rainbow
51. Panama - Van Halen
52. Maybellene - Chuck Berry
53. N.I.B. - Black Sabbath
54. Pinball Wizard - The Who
55. China Grove - The Doobie Brothers
56. Stranglehold - Ted Nugent
57. Ace Of Spades - Motorhead
58. Wipeout - The Surfaris
59. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
60. Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
61. Five Minutes Alone - Pantera
62. All Day And All Of The Night - The Kinks
63. Up Around The Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival
64. Bulls On Parade - Rage Against The Machine
65. Life In The Fast Lane - The Eagles
66. Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
67. Walk - Pantera
68. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N' Roses
69. I'm Broken - Pantera
70. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix Experience
71. Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
72. Working Man - Rush
73. Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
74. Pride And Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan
75. The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
76. Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band
77. Aenima - Tool
78. You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
79. School Day - Chuck Berry
80. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
81. Honey Don't - Carl Perkins
82. Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin
83. Rockin' In The Free World - Neil Young
84. Wake Up Little Susie - Everly Brothers
85. Taxman - The Beatles
86. The Ocean - Led Zeppelin
87. Lola - The Kinks
88. Hangar 18 - Megadeth
89. Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
90. Thunderstruck - AC/DC
91. Politician - Cream
92. The Trooper - Iron Maiden
93. I Feel Fine - The Beatles
94. Spirit Of Radio - Rush
95. Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden
96. Man On A Mission - Van Halen
97. Fear Of The Dark - Iron Maiden
98. Raining Blood - Slayer
99. Scuttle Buttin - Stevie Ray Vaughan
100. Hysteria - Muse

White Lion - When the Children Cry

2010-11-07T14:26:00.043-06:00

White Lion was a pop metal band in the 1980s; and unlike most bands in their genre they recorded songs of social and political issues. "When the Children Cry" is a song about children suffering under a war ridden country. You even hear the song today on YouTube videos of children who suffer in Palestine and Iraq. Songs like "Cry for Freedom" was about apartheid; "Broken Home" was about the effect of divorce on children; "Little Fighter" was about a Greenpeace ship that was destroyed by the French intelligence service; and even their third album cover "Big Game" in 1989 featured a lion's head hidden in tall grass with the White House in the background.

It's interesting, that I probably saw White Lion in concert and didn't even know it. Back in 1987 I was briefly living in Miami Beach at my grandmother's condo. Ace Frehley's, "Frehley's Comets", were performing on tour at the infamous Cameo Theater on Washington Avenue. I was a "Kiss" fan so I bought tickets to the show. I remember seeing a few opening bands, and supposedly White Lion was on tour with Frehley's Comets at the time.

Below you can read the complete bio of White Lion., and watch the original MTV video of "When the Children Cry", a song that even has significance today. You can also follow along with the lyrics of "When the Children Cry". Not all of White Lion's songs were about social or political issues. Their first hit "Wait" is a love rock ballad. Check out the original "Wait" video below. White Lion's best selling album was "Pride", which featured their biggest hit "When the Children Cry". - Kenny Leibow

White Lion - When the Children Cry

Sources: The Legend of Rock
Hair Metal Mansion
LetsSingIt

Lyrics - "When the Children Cry"

Little child

Dry your crying eyes

How can I explain

The fear you feel inside

´cause you were born

Into this evil world

Where man is killing man

and no one knows just why

What have we begun

Just look what we have done

All that we destroyed

You must build again

When the children cry

Let them know we tried

´cause when the children sing

Then the new world begins

Little child

You must show the way

To a better day

For all the young

´cause you were born

For the world to see

That we all can live

with love and peace

No more presidents

And all the wars will end

One united world

under God

When the children cry

Let them know we tried

´cause when the children sing

Then the new world begins

What have we begun

Just look what we have done

All that we destroyed

You must build again

No more presidents

And all the wars will end

One united world

under God

When the children cry

Let them know we tried

´cause when the children fight

Let them know it ain´t right

When the children pray

Let them know the way

´cause when the children sing

Then the new world begins..

White Lion - Wait

Band Members 1987

Mike Tramp - lead vocals
Vito Bratta - guitars
James LoMenzo - bass
Greg D'Angelo - drums

Pride Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	Hungry	Bratta, Tramp	3:55
2	Lonely Nights	Bratta, Tramp	4:11
3	Don't Give Up	Bratta, Tramp	3:15
4	Sweet Little Loving	Bratta, Tramp	4:02
5	Lady of the Valley	Bratta, Tramp	6:35
6	Wait	Bratta, Tramp	4:00
7	All You Need Is Rock N Roll	Bratta, Tramp	5:14
8	Tell Me	Bratta, Tramp	4:28
9	All Join Our Hands	Bratta, Tramp	4:11
10	When the Children Cry	Bratta, Tramp	4:18

White Lion - Bio

Fighting to survive
After moving from Denmark to New York in 1982, vocalist Mike Tramp (ex-Mabel,ex-Studs) met Brooklyn guitarist Vito Bratta (ex-Dreamer) and decided to form a band. The two recruited drummer Nicki Capozzi and bassist Felix Robinson (formerly of Angel) and named the group White Lion.

White Lion was signed by Elektra Records in 1983 and recorded their debut Fight to Survive. However, Elektra was unhappy with the final recording, and after refusing to release the album, terminated their contract.

Both Capozzi and Robinson soon left the band. Nicki Capozzi was replaced by former Anthrax drummer Greg D'Angelo, and Felix Robinson was replaced by bassist Dave Spitz (brother of Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz). Within a month of joining, however, Dave Spitz left to play bass with Black Sabbath and was replaced by James LoMenzo.

The album Fight To Survive was eventually picked up by RCA and released in Japan in 1984. The small US independent label Grand Slamm records finally released Fight To Survive in the US on November 9, 1985. A few months later, Grand Slam records went bankrupt.

In early 1986, White Lion, with a fictitious "female" member, had a brief part in the Tom Hanks/Shelley Long movie The Money Pit.

The road to success
Early in 1987, the band was signed by Atlantic Records (which ironically is a sister label to Elektra) and on June 21, 1987, their breakthrough album, Pride, was released. The first single, "Wait", was released on June 1, 1987, but did not make waves for nearly seven months.

The Pride tour started in July 1987 as White Lion opened for Ace Frehley's 80s band Frehley's Comet. The next year and a half was filled with constant touring, opening for such bands as Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Stryper, KISS and in January 1988 White Lion landed the opening slot for AC/DC on their Blow Up Your Video American tour. While touring with AC/DC, the Pride album and "Wait" single finally charted, due in no small part to MTV airing the "Wait" music video in regular rotation - nearly seven months after the single's release. "Wait" hit #8 on the singles chart, while Pride hit #11 on the album charts. Pride would remain on the top 200 Billboard album charts for a full year.

In August 1988, the album's second single "Tell Me" hit #58. Around the time this single was released, White Lion played at the Ritz club in New York City. Like Guns N' Roses before them, White Lion's show at the Ritz was filmed and later aired on MTV.

The Pride album's third single, a gentle acoustic ballad titled "When the Children Cry", made it all the way to #3 with heavy MTV rotation, making Pride one of about 20 hard rock albums to ever have multiple top 10 hits.

The success of "When the Children Cry" would eventually push sales of Pride over the two million mark. In addition, Vito Bratta was recognized for his instrumental talents by racking up Best New Guitarist awards with both Guitar World magazine and Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazine.

In the spring of 1989, the Pride tour finally ended, but rather than take a break, they instead chose to record the next album, a decision the group later came to regret due to the effects of fatigue from heavy touring on the final product.

Life after MTV
In August 1989, White Lion released their third album, Big Game, a musically eclectic follow-up to Pride that featured the singles "Little Fighter" (which peaked at #52), "Cry for Freedom" (did not chart), and a cover of Golden Earring's "Radar Love" (which peaked at #59). The album quickly went gold, but without a hit single, slowly declined, with a peak of #19 on the album charts.

After two years of writing and recording, the new album, Mane Attraction was released. During the recording sessions for this album, their record company allowed the band to make exactly the album they wanted to. As a result, the album is usually viewed as a mixed effort, where the band is trying to do too many things at once. The album charted at #61. This may also be due to the general public's shifting tastes towards grunge.

Greg D'Angelo and James LoMenzo left the band soon after the album's release, citing "musical differences", but White Lion carried on with bassist Tommy T-Bone Caradonna and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Suicidal Tendencies, Y&T, Fiona). After briefly touring in support of Mane Attraction, Tramp and Bratta decided to call it a day, their last show being held in Boston at the Channel in September 1991.

Social issues

Unlike most bands of their genre, White Lion recorded occasional songs that addressed social or political issues such as apartheid ("Cry for Freedom") and the effect of divorce on children ("Broken Home"). The song "Little Fighter" was about the Rainbow Warrior, a ship owned by the environmental group Greenpeace that was illegally destroyed by operatives of the French intelligence service. This concern for political and social issues was also hinted at in the cover art to their album Big Game, which featured a lion's head hidden in tall grass with the White House in the background.

After White Lion

Mike Tramp went on to form Freak of Nature. Freak of Nature released three albums, Freak of Nature, Gathering of Freaks, and Outcasts. Mike Tramp went on as a solo artist. He has released four studio albums and one live album so far; Capricorn, Recovering the Wasted Years, More To Life Than This, and Songs I Left Behind as studio efforts, with Rock n' Roll Alive as his sole live album. Today, Tramp continues his solo career, recording and releasing his own music. Through his website, fans can find media from his solo career, as well as White Lion.

James LoMenzo and Greg D'Angelo joined Zakk Wylde's band, Lynyrd Skynhead in the mid 90's which became the band Pride & Glory when Greg D'Angelo was replaced by Brian Tichy. Pride & Glory released one album, then James LoMenzo left the band. James went on to record and tour with ex-Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and toured with Zakk Wylde's band Black Label Society. In February 2006, James joined the legendary thrash band Megadeth on a permanent basis. Greg D'Angelo was the drummer for the band AntiProduct in 2006. Greg D'angelo is also filling in on drums for Britny Fox on 2007 US/European tour since their drummer Johnny Dee is unable to tour.

Vito Bratta stayed briefly with Atlantic Records to help produce an album for CPR, and later tried to form a new music group that never panned out. Sadly, despite a very dedicated worldwide following of guitar aficionados, Vito was not seen or heard from publicly since 1994 until his interview by Eddie Trunk live on February 16, 2007.

The New White Lion and legal issues

In 1999 Mike Tramp with new musicians released Remembering White Lion also released as The Last Roar and Ultimate White Lion which featured new versions of some of White Lion's classic songs and then in October 2003, Mike Tramp announced a White Lion reunion with the original line up. This statement was quickly denied by the other former members. Later Tramp said that Vito Bratta wanted nothing to do with a reunion. With summer festivals in Europe already booked, Tramp attempted to put together a "new White Lion" featuring former members James LoMenzo, and Jimmy DeGrasso, along with Warren DeMartini of Ratt. Vito Bratta filed suit claiming partial ownership of the name, and the tour was scrapped. Tramp later revealed that despite his willingness, "There will never be an original White Lion reunion".

In 2005, with legal battles finally out of the way, Mike Tramp again organized a group of unknown musicians and named the act Tramp's White Lion. 'TWL' (White Lion 2) played White Lion songs, touring and releasing a double-live CD entitled Tramp's White Lion: Rockin' The USA. In November and December 2006, Tramp's White Lion played several dates in Europe including Sweden, Norway, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. The UK dates with Crimes of Passion were abandoned due to illness.

On February 16, 2007, Vito appeared on "The Eddie Trunk" radio show in New York, stating that despite what Mike Tramp said, he had never turned down any offer to reform White Lion or refused a White Lion reunion, stating that what Mike Tramp had said was not true, but, rather, that at the time Mike had approached him, Vito's father was sick and dying and he could not leave him to do a reunion tour at that time. He added that he would still be open to the idea and has not closed the door to returning to the music industry again. Trunk also made it clear that Vito's involvement in the show was something that he had wanted to happen since White Lion first broke up in 1991. Vito took calls and answered questions from fans for almost 3 hours. On Friday April 6 and 7, 2007, at the L'Amours Reunion Shows in New York (the club that made White Lion), Vito made his first public musical appearances at both Friday and Saturday night's shows in over 15 years. Mike Tramp was not present.

Three weeks later Mike Tramp called the same show from Australia, speaking about Vito and the band's new album, including the tour dates that Tramp's White Lion had recently confirmed. Tramp said that he was thankful that Vito had finally answered fan's questions, the same questions he himself had been bombarded with over the past 15 years. He also stated that he felt uncomfortable answering on Vito's behalf, and that he was upset that Vito had withdrawn himself from the music industry.

A White Lion Definitive Collection album was released in 2007. Summer of 2007 Tour featuring Tramp's White Lion opening up for Poison and Ratt was canceled after threatened legal action by Bratta caused them to be dropped by the promoter.

This threatened legal action however did not stop the band from appearing at Rocklahoma in Pryor, Ok on July 13, 2007 with Poison, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Slaughter, Y&T,Gypsy pistoleros, Dirty Penny, Greg Leon Invasion and Zendozer. After this they also toured the US. A new studio album entitled "Return of the Pride" was released on March 14, 2008. The band are currently on a World tour to support the album.

Van Halen Monsters of Rock 1988

2010-09-03T03:55:00.007-05:00

As summer is ending here in 2010, it's a great time to remember the Monsters of Rock Tour from the summer of 1988. Monsters of Rock tours were very popular in the USA and worldwide back in the 1980s. Some of the best rock and metal bands played together on tour. In the summer of 1988, you could see 20,000 fans in Akron, Ohio withstanding the 100 degree plus heat just to see Van Halen headline the Monsters Tour at the "Rubber Bowl". Check out the cities and tour dates listed below. Van Halen had just released their "OUO812" album, which is a good album in the post David Lee Roth - Van Halen era. The Monsters Tour was a great warm up to Van Halen's "OU812" tour that followed. There were also other great bands like Dokken, The Scorpions, and Metallica on the Monsters Tour '88. Dokken was hitting the road even before Monsters of Rock that same year like with concerts in Buffalo, New York playing their newest and biggest hit "Dream Warriors".

I was at the Orange Bowl with friends in Miami, Florida that summer in June, 1988 going to the Monsters Tour where I saw Van Halen for the second time. It was loud, packed, and one giant party while the bands jammed and got the crowd off their seats screaming! It was difficult to find any professional videos of the 1988 Monsters of Rock Tour. I did find on YouTube a couple of cool commercials, and one amateur poor quality audio/video of Van Halen in San Francisco performing "Summer Nights" as their first song opening the Monsters of Rock concert. Please share your memories of Monster Tours you have attended. When I went tt wasn't a big expensive event like you may see today, however it was a memorable experience listening to big named bands with great raw metal music and lots of fun sharing with friends. - Kenny Leibow

1988 (year with most Monsters of Rock events - including a touring one in the USA)
Bands included Kingdom Come, Dokken, Metallica, Scorpions and Van Halen
• United Kingdom
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• The Netherlands
• Spain
• USA (toured - played several dates in several states)

Monsters of Rock Cities and Dates in the USA 1988
Pre-tour warmup gigs
• 23 May 1988: Los Angeles, California - The Troubadour (Metallica only)
• 24 May 1988: Los Angeles, California - The Troubadour (Metallica only)

Tour
• 27 May 1988: East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley Music Theater
• 28 May 1988: East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley Music Theater
• 29 May 1988: East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley Music Theater
• 4 June 1988: Miami, FL - Orange Bowl
• 5 June 1988: Tampa, FL - Tampa Stadium
• 10 June 1988: Washington DC - RFK Stadium
• 11 June 1988: Philadelphia, PA - JFK Stadium
• 12 June 1988: Foxboro, MA - Sullivan Stadium
• 15 June 1988: Pittsburgh, PA - Three Rivers Stadium
• 17 June 1988: Pontiac, MI - Pontiac Silverdome
• 18 June 1988: Pontiac, MI - Pontiac Silverdome
• 19 June 1988: Orchard Park, NY - Rich Stadium
• 22 June 1988: Akron, OH - Rubber Bowl
• 23 June 1988: Akron, OH - Rubber Bowl
• 24 June 1988: Oxford, ME - Oxford Plains Speedway CANCELLED
• 25 June 1988: Oxford, ME - Oxford Plains Speedway
• 26 June 1988: East Rutherford, NJ - Giants Stadium
• 27 June 1988: East Rutherford, NJ - Giants Stadium CANCELLED
• 2 July 1988: Houston, TX - Rice Stadium
• 3 July 1988: Dallas, TX - Cotton Bowl
• 6 July 1988: Indianapolis, IN - Hoosier Dome
• 8 July 1988: Memphis, TN - Liberty Bowl CANCELLED
• 9 July 1988: Memphis, TN - Liberty Bowl
• 10 July 1988: Kansas City, MO - Arrowhead Stadium
• 13 July 1988: Minneapolis, MN - The Metrodome
• 16 July 1988: San Francisco, CA - Candlestick Park
• 17 July 1988: San Francisco, CA - Candlestick Park CANCELLED
• 20 July 1988: Spokane, WA - Joe Albi Stadium
• 23 July 1988: Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum CANCELLED
• 24 July 1988: Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• 27 July 1988: Seattle, WA - Seattle Kingdome
• 30 July 1988: Denver, CO - Mile High Stadium

Original Monsters Of Rock Commercial – 1988

Van Halen - Summer Nights (live 1988) San Francisco
(Monsters of Rock Tour)

1988 Monsters Of Rock

Judas Priest - Steel Album 30 Years Old

2010-06-20T08:13:00.033-05:00

Judas Priest's 'British Steel' LP is now 30 years old. I remember back in 1980 at age 16, when I bought the Judas Priest 'British Steel' album. I didn't know who Judas Priest was until I first listened to the song "Breaking the Law", even though it was their sixth album. My favorite song from British Steel was "Living After Midnight". All the reviews say that Judas Priest puts on a great show, but I never did get to see them in concert. An interesting trivia note is that the 'British Steel' album was recorded at John Lennon's home in the studio at Tittenhurst in England. The 30th Anniversary release of the album , came with a Live DVD, and a Live CD recorded on August 17th, 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida as part of the British Steel 30th Anniversary tour. There are live versions of the British Steel tracks available for the game "Rock Band". Below is an article about the 30th anniversary with Rob Halford describing the making of the album, which is from the New York Daily News website at http://nydailynews.com. Check out the music videos of Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight". It's great to celebrate a ground breaking album like 'British Steel' from the launch of the 1980s Heavy Metal era. - Kenny Leibow

Judas Priest - Breaking The Law

Judas Priest - Living After Midnight

Judas Priest Singer Rob Harford on seminole 1980 album 'British Steel', metal's legacy & the parties

New York Daily News

June 1st, 2010

Judas Priest's Rob Halford has been hell-bent for leather since the mid-1970s. But the frontman and his band made a huge leap forward with the release of the seminal album, "British Steel," 30 years ago this year. Now, the Metal God takes the Daily News back in time to the sessions that marked a major breakthrough in heavy metal history and the legendary partying afterwards.

As you're making your music, you're absolutely clueless as to any significance it might have in your career and beyond. But there certainly seems to have been value and importance placed on "British Steel" three decades later.

The '80s were a blur of booze and sex and drugs. Hollywood was absolutely insane, the strip was alive every night. The Rainbow was packed to the gills, night after night after night. It was just a remarkable time. The sixties had the hippy movement, and then the hard rock/metal scene in the '80s, in America especially, was just the opposite end of that scale. Everybody was wondering will I wake up tomorrow and some of us didn't.

The music itself succeeded because of just the simple straight forward manner that it was put together in the very short space of time that we had. Tom Allom, our producer, insisted that we were in and out in 28, 29 days in John Lennon's former house in London, where we recorded the album.

That just seems inconceivable with today's way of doing things. I think from 1980 onward, we were banging out a record every year and a world tour. That's just what young hungry bands do. You get caught up in the excitement and the momentum and all you want to do is play and you'll do whatever you need to do to do that. The "British Steel" sessions were just the next in the process of delivering a release on time to our label. Dates had been booked for a world tour. We don't really have time to think about the situation.

There is a significant amount of fans that have literally been with us since day one – it's heartwarming. It's a bit like supporting your favorite team, whether it's the Mets or the Jets or the Lakers or the Suns. You sort of go through everything together. Then you see, you'll get these young metal heads that are picking on you to be their favorite band and that's mind-blowing.

But it is different era - phrases like "OMG" and "TMI," I mean we live in the speed of light now. I don't think any of us in Priest have become bitter or cynical, which are very easy traps to fall into in the entertainment business. But in fact you probably think it must be really hard now for bands to get a hold on the public's attention and given a fair chance of a listen. Because people are not listening to full releases, they're just going by a download here or a download there. Your body of work, as it was during the early days of Priest, is not being listened to as completely.

Everything changes. I'm going to turning 60 next year, which I can't wait for. I'm determined to be on stage somewhere, preferably in America, screaming out "Painkiller."

I was talking to Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx about that the other day, when I was with Nikki and Ozzy the other week talking abut the upcoming Ozzfest. And Nikki was like, "Man, I'm in bed by ten o'clock and I drive the kids to school." But, I think no matter where you go and what you do, at the end of the day, you just want to be able to walk out on stage and rock out. And do it like you want to do it and do it as the fans want to see you do it.

Not like some kind of decrepit old man trying to squawk a few notes. I'll be the first to hang up the microphone if I can't do my job correctly.

Some of these bands whether it's Priest or ACDC or Kiss or Ozzy, how many years have we been around? And we're still here, we're still doing what we love to do. We're still carrying the essence of rock and roll and people still want to see us.

You just don't want it to stop. I don't think any of us look forward to retirement. What other profession can you get away with having a 59-year-old man going on stage and screaming my lungs out?

The music will still be relevant in another forty years. It's indestructible. The source of it, the sound of it, the essence of what it does to people will always be needed, from generation to generation.

Motley Crue Interview 1987

2010-05-11T06:00:00.004-05:00

In 1987, Mötley Crüe was a Heavy Metal band on the climb. They had their big hit "Girls Girls Girls", which became a legendary MTV video. Mötley Crüe was filling arenas as they performed wild concerts on tour for their fans. I found two interesting short videos on You Tube from 1987. The first video is with Nikki Sixx discussing Mötley Crüe's music, the generation of fans at the time, and the direction of the band. Nikki Sixx had a good perspective of the Glam Rock music scene which was starting to peak. While the Nikki Sixx interview was more of a serious tone, the second video is an interview about the partying and fun the band, the road crew, and fans were experiencing. Check out the clothes, the hair and the Heavy Metal music in the videos below. - Kenny Leibow

The two video interviews are from Good Rockin' Tonite a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television from the early 1980s to 1993. The program, similar to the American Friday Night Videos, played popular music videos. It was produced at CBUT Vancouver and aired on Friday nights at midnight. The program also featured interviews with musicians, viewer contests and a countdown of the week's most popular singles and albums. The program's original host was Terry David Mulligan, who left to join MuchMusic in 1985. He was replaced by Stu Jeffries.

CHECK THIS OUT!
In my post on Mötley Crüe in June 2009, "Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood", I discussed the history and success of the band. I included some infamous music videos, which I invite you to go back and check out on this blog or click here: Mötley Crüe. ** There is another great interview with Motely Crue back in 1987 by Rolling Stone Magazine, where Mötley Crüe was on the cover "HEAVY METAL, It's Loud, It's Ugly, It Won't Go Away, On the Road with MOTLEY CRUE". Visit Rolling Stone to read the article.

Mötley Crüe Canadian TV 1987 Nikki Sixx

Mötley Crüe Canadian TV 1987 (It's Rock & Roll)

Mötley Crüe - Girls, Girls, Girls

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

Greatest 33 Rock Songwriters

2010-04-16T09:07:00.009-05:00

Look, it was just as difficult finding the greatest rock songwriters of all time as it was researching the greatest guitar players, drummers etc. Everyone's list is different. Forget the order except, no one argues that Lennon and McCartney are number 1. I finally found a list that sort of hits the mark at http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com. I had to stop the list at 33 because then it starts to lose credibility. Blatantly missing is Robert Plant/Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. The one thing I will agree on is that these 33 definitely belong in the mix as the greatest 100 rock songwriters. Please let me know who are your greatest rock songwriters of all time? - Kenny Leibow



1. John Lennon & Paul McCartney - The Beatles, Solo, 1960s, ("A Day In The Life", "Hey Jude", "Yesterday", "Let It Be", "Imagine") 2. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller 1950s, ("Jailhouse Rock", "Hound Dog", "Stand By Me", "Love Potion No. 9", "Kansas City") 3. Chuck Berry 1950s, ("Johnny B. Goode", "Maybellene", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Sweet Little Sixteen") 4. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier & Eddie Holland 1960s, ("Where Did Our Love Go", "Please Mr. Postman", "Baby Love", "You Keep Me Hangin' On") 5. Brian Wilson - The Beach Boys, Solo, 1960s, ("Good Vibrations", "God Only Knows", "California Girls," "Wouldn't It Be Nice,") 6. Bob Dylan 1960s, ("Like A Rolling Stone", "Blowin' In The Wind", "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Knockin' on Heaven's Door") 7. Smokey Robinson - The Miracles, Solo, 1960s, ("Tracks Of My Tears", "My Girl", "You've Really Got A Hold On Me", "Shop Around") 8. Stevie Wonder 1970s, ("Superstition", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Signed, Sealed Delivered I'm Yours") 9. Mick Jagger & Keith Richards - The Rolling Stones, 1960s, ("(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Sympathy For The Devil", "Paint It, Black", "Jumpin' Jack Flash") 10. James Brown 1960s, ("Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)", "Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud") 11. Carole King & Gerry Goffin 1960s, ("You've Got A Friend", "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman", "One Fine Day") 12. Fats Domino & Dave Bartholomew 1950s, ("The Fat Man", "Ain't That A Shame", "I'm in Love Again", "Blue Monday", "I'm Walkin'") 13. Buddy Holly 1950s, ("Not Fade Away", "True Love Ways", "Peggy Sue", "That'll Be The Day") 14. Elton John & Bernie Taupin 1970s, ("Candle In The Wind", "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", "Crocodile Rock", "Bennie and the Jets") 15. Bruce Springsteen 1970s, ("Born To Run", "Thunder Road", "Born In The USA") 16. Pete Townshend - The Who, 1960s, ("My Generation", "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Baba O'Riley") 17. Jerome "Doc" Pomus & Mort Shuman 1950s, ("This Magic Moment", ""His Latest Flame", "Viva Las Vegas", "Save The Last Dance For Me") 18. Prince 1980s, ("When Doves Cry", "Purple Rain", "Nothing Compares 2 U", "Kiss") 19. Joni Mitchell 1970s, ("A Case Of You", "Both Sides Now", "Chelsea Morning", "Big Yellow Taxi") 20. Otis Blackwell 1950s, ("Don't Be Cruel", "Great Balls Of Fire", "Fever") 21. Sam Cooke 1960s, ("A Change Is Gonna Come", "You Send Me", "Bring It On Home To Me", "Chain Gang") 22. Paul Simon - Simon & Garfunkel, Solo, 1960s, ("Bridge Over Troubled Water'", "The Sounds Of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson") 23. Ray Davies - The Kinks, 1960s, ("You Really Got Me", "Waterloo Sunset") 24. Curtis Mayfield - The Impressions, Solo, 1970s, ("People Get Ready", "Superfly") 25. Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich 1960s, ("Be My Baby", "Baby I Love You", "River Deep, Mountain High") 26. Van Morrison - Them, Solo, 1970s, ("Brown Eyed Girl", "Gloria", "Have I Told You Lately") 27. Felice Bryant & Boudleaux Bryant 1950s, ("Bye Bye Love", "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have To Do Is Dream") 28. David Bowie 1970s, ("Life On Mars", "Space Oddity", "Ziggy Stardust", "The Man Who Sold The World") 29. Neil Young 1970s, ("Heart of Gold", "Rockin' In The Free World", "Southern Man") 30. Bob Marley 1970s, ("No Woman No Cry", "One Love/People Get Ready", "Redemption Song") 31. Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff 1970s, ("If You Don't Know Me By Now", "When Will I See You Again", "Me And Mrs. Jones", "Love Train") 32. Little Richard 1950s, ("Tutti Frutti", "Lucille") 33. Bono & The Edge - U2, 1980s, ("With Or Without You", "One", "Sunday Bloody Sunday")

Bon Jovi’s Circle Rocks

2010-03-10T12:41:00.031-06:00

Last night, at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, I attended my third Bon Jovi concert in 23 years. The first time I saw Bon Jovi was with Deniz in South Florida in the late 1980s. It was September 2002 when I last saw Bon Jovi in Times Square with my friend Ernest from NJ, where we were just 5 feet from the stage. Today Bon Jovi still Rocks just as hard and puts on a fantastic performance.

The night opened with a young band called “Dashboard Confessional”. They are an American alternative rock band from Boca Raton, Florida. Dashboard Confessional has been around since the early 2000’s with several Gold Records. Personally I never really listened to them before. Dashboard Confessional puts on a good show; and I believe this should be a career boost for them to be able to open for a legendary band like Bon Jovi.

I took my wife to the Bon Jovi concert. Like many women she is crazy for Jon Bon Jovi. Yes, our personal song we danced to in 1988 was “Never Say Goodbye”, which by the way they performed last night. I would have thought that “Always” was the more popular love ballad, so this was a nice surprise. The other trivial connections are that I am also from New Jersey and that we share the same wedding anniversary as Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, whom were married in April 1989.

The Qwest Center was sold out of course. The seating capacity is about 16,000. I had to buy my tickets from a broker online, “StubHub” of which I have had good experiences getting tickets. The stage has a “Circle” which is connected with VIP seats inside. (See image of the The Circle stage diagram). Everyone was standing up - off their seats - screaming and singing during the entire concert. There was a lot of energy. Bon Jovi played songs from their new album, "The Circle", like “We Weren’t Born to Follow” and “Superman Tonight”. In an interview given to Rolling Stone Magazine, guitarist Richie Sambora says the album is a return to "rock and roll" and said "There’s going to be some big choruses on there. It sounds like Bon Jovi, but it sounds fresh. We experimented with a lot of new sounds and had a really good time working with John Shanks, who is also a really good guitar player, so he and I did a lot of ‘weaseling’ with the guitar sounds. There are a lot of really good guitar sounds and new kind atmospheres on the new Bon Jovi record, that I think makes it really modern. I think people are going to dig it, man. And it rocks hard." Personally I agree with Richie and do like the new music. Check out The Circle track listing and music video below.

There was a great mix of old legendary hits from the Slippery When Wet album like “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Never Say Goodbye” as well as some more current hits like “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” from 2006. Everyone screamed loud and crazy singing along to “Bad Medicine” from the New Jersey album. What was really cool was when Bon Jovi broke into the Door’s “Roadhouse Blues”. --- The encore was Awsome!! Jon Bon Jovi said “Oh oh, it’s 1984 again” and jammed into “Runaway”. Then Bon Jovi played their anthem “Wanted Dead or Alive” and the ultimate predictable finish was “Livin’ on a Prayer”. There’s no better way to end a Bon Jovi concert! It was great!

There were people from all ages at the concert. This demonstrates Bon Jovi’s fresh appeal that has outlasted all Glam Rock bands of their era. Bon Jovi is definitely a class act as they continuously thanked their fans throughout the concert. Below is a crude 55 second video clip from my iPhone of Bon Jovi performing “You Give Love a Bad Name”. I have also included the official video from the “The Circle” album of the song “We Weren’t Born To Follow”. – Kenny Leibow

Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name - Clip

(Qwest Center, Omaha, Nebraska March 9, 2010)

3/10/2010 I was just on the blameitonthelove blogsite and found a great and clear video clip of Bon Jovi performing "Never Say Goodbye" from the concert in Omaha. Check it out below:

source: www.shallownation.com

The Circle Track List

1. “We Weren’t Born to Follow”
2. “When We Were Beautiful”
3. “Work for the Working Man”
4. “Superman Tonight”
5. “Bullet”
6. “Thorn In My Side”
7. “Live Before You Die”
8. “Broken Promiseland”
9. “Love’s the Only Rule”
10. “Fast Cars”
11. “Happy Now”
12. “Learn to Love”

iTunes Bonus Track
13. “We Weren’t Born to Follow (Jason Nevins Remix)”

Bon Jovi "We Weren't Born To Follow"

Heavy Metal - Classic in the 1980s

2010-02-11T16:01:00.013-06:00

I have read many articles and books on the history of Heavy Metal; and I have written on this blog about several Heavy Metal bands mostly focused on the 1980s. I found on the internet an interesting book about the history of rock music at www.scaruffi.com/history. The story below shows how Heavy Metal is separated into categories such as Pop-Metal, Pomp & Doom, Speed Metal, Black Metal etc. You may not agree with all the bands listed or everything in this perspective of Heavy Metal history; however it does paint a complete broad stroke picture that touches all the types of Metal Music. If you enjoy Heavy Metal, you will appreciate the metal culture and music history described below. - Kenny Leibow

The Golden Age of Heavy Metal

Heavy-metal in the 1970s was Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Kiss, AC/DC, Journey, Boston, Rush, and it was the most theatrical and brutal of rock genres. It was not easy to reconcile this genre with the anti-heroic ethos of the punk era. It could have seemed almost impossible to revive that genre, that was slowly dying, in an era that valued the exact opposite of machoism, and that was producing a louder and noisier genre, hardcore.

Instead, heavy metal began its renaissance in the same years of the new wave, capitalizing on the same phenomenon of independent labels. Credit goes largely to a British contingent of bands, that realized how they could launch a "new wave of British heavy metal" during the new wave of rock music.

Motorhead (1), formed by ex-Hawkwind bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilminster, were the natural bridge between heavy metal, Stooges/MC5 and punk-rock. They played demonic, relentless rock'n'roll at supersonic speed: Iron Horse (1977), Metropolis (1979), Bomber (1979), Jailbait (1980), Iron Fist (1982), etc. It took Kilminster ten years to find the right balance and the right line-up, but eventually he delivered the album that Motorhead was meant for, Orgasmatron (1986).

The other pioneers of the new wave of heavy metal, Judas Priest (1) were rediscovering the evil iconography and gothic overtones of Blue Oyster Cult and Black Sabbath on their second album, Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976). They became stars in the 1980s, when they embraced a futuristic and sadomaso look, and began crafting melodic and magniloquent power-ballads.

The first album by Iron Maiden (1), Iron Maiden (1980), both anthemic and menacing, was another groundbreaking synthesis of classic styles, from Deep Purple to High Tide, from Led Zeppelin to Rush. It only took the addition of vocalist Bruce Dickinson to turn albums such as The Number Of The Beast (1982) or the complex Powerslave (1984), which is almost progressive-rock, into commercial successes.

Diamond Head (1), led by Guitarist Brian Tatler and vocalist Sean Harris, recorded one of the most original albums of British heavy metal, Lightning to the Nations (1980), that wed Black Sabbath and King Crimson.

Witchfinder General were the most influenced by Black Sabbath and therefore acted as a transmission chain from hard-rock of the 1970s to doom-metal of the 1990s with albums such as Death Penalty (1982).

These bands pioneered the revival of heavy metal, but they all had to wait until the mid 1980s before reaping the (commercial) benefits of its boom. By then, a new generation of metal-heads were storming the charts. One of the most successful acts, Def Leppard (1), masters of guitar fierceness, tempo shifts and angular counterpoint, added electronic arrangements to Pyromania (1983) and turned seismic jolts such as Pour Some Sugar On Me, off Hysteria (1987), into baroque artifices.

In the United States a band bridged, like no other, the worlds of new wave and of heavy metal: Van Halen (1), destined to become the first heavy-metal band ever to top the charts. Formed in Los Angeles by Holland-born virtuoso guitarist Eddie Van Halen (an acrobat of hammering chords, exhausting vibratos, melodic riffs and Hendrix-ian glissandos) and vocalist and sex-symbol David Lee Roth, they streamlined the genre on Van Halen (1978), making it more appealing to the everykid, and then they redefined it for an even larger audience when they introduced the synthesizer, thus Jump (1984).

By 1984, heavy metal had become one of the most popular genres around the world.

Black metal 1982-85

Between 1982 and 1985 a truly international phenomenon took place: the "gothic" subgenre of heavy metal became a full-fledged genre, "black metal". Angel Witch opened the floodgates with Angel Witch (1980). Venom (1) in England upped the ante of faster and louder metal with Welcome to Hell (1981), the album that pioneered growling vocals, and especially Black Metal (1982), while at the same time pushing the boundaries with the suite At War With Satan (1983). King Diamond's Mercyful Fate (1) in Denmark focused on macabre themes on Melissa (1983). The Swiss scene, galvanized by Hellhammer, who only released the EP Apocalyptic Raids (1984) and three demo cassettes, yielded Celtic Frost (1), a group that added symphonic arrangements, rhythm machines, samples and sopranos to albums such as Into The Pandemonium (1987). And Helloween (1) in Germany found the common denominator between heavy metal, Amon Duul and Wagner's operas: the epic and demonic ouvertures of Walls Of Jericho (1985) abused melodramatic and martial overtones, not to mention panzer-like tempos and machine-gun riffs.

Black metal was particularly successful in Scandinavia, where the scene was launched by the compilation Scandinavian Metal Attack (1984), and bands such as as Bathory, Mayhem and Candlemass ensured that gothic rock remained a leading genre for the rest of the decade.

After a "satanic" trilogy in the "thrash" style of Venom (that ended with the brutal albeit majestic eight-minute Enter the Eternal Fire), Sweden's Bathory (1), the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Quorthon (Thomas Forsberg), coined a truly "Nordic" style with the epic pagan mythological martial tour de force of the concept Hammerheart (1990), structured as a sequence of lengthy solemn oppressive suites.

Norway's Mayhem set an evil standard with the crushing EP Deathcrush (1987) but recorded an album only much later with De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994), after vocalist Per-Yngve "Dead" Ohlin had committed suicide (1991) and bassist Christian "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes had murdered guitarist Oystien "Euronymous" Aarseth (1993).

Pop-metal 1981-85

The idea was corrupted almost immediately by the bands of the "shock-rock" (or "metal-glam") scene, who owed more to Alice Cooper and Kiss than to Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin: Twisted Sister in New York, whose anthems Bad Boys Of Rock And Roll (1981) and We`re Not Gonna Take It (1984) were worthy of the Who; Motley Crue in Los Angeles, whose Live Wire (1982), Shout At The Devil (1983), Wild Side (1987) and Kickstart My Heart (1989) were depraved but catchy sermons of street life; and Gwar, the ultimate, vulgar instantiation of that idea.

Joan Jett, the former Runaways prodigy, created an image of independent, wild, angry, rebellious female. Visceral anthemic singalongs such as Bad Reputation (1981) were not particularly original (basically, hard-rock with catchy pop refrains), but they made Jett a charismatic leader of the movement that would be called "riot grrrrls".

However, in the 1980s in the USA, heavy metal remained mainly a "pop-metal crossover", a genre that would peak in the mid 1980s with New Jersey's Bon Jovi, led by melodramatic shouter John Bongiovi and acrobatic guitarist Richie Sambora, a band that coined a magniloquent style with You Give Love A Bad Name (1986), Living On A Prayer (1986), Bad Medicine (1988), Lay Your Hands On Me (1988) and Blaze Of Glory (1990), while at the same time exploiting sentimental cliches in the ballads Wanted Dead Or Alive (1986), I'll Be There For You (1988), Bed Of Roses (1992) and Always (1994).

A unique take on melodic hard-rock was pioneered by Savatage (1) in Florida. Power Of The Night (1985) and especially the rock opera Streets (1991) are both harrowing experiences and stylistic nightmares.

Pomp and doom 1982-85

Other heavy-metal originals pursued pompous and futuristic themes. In New York, remnants of the Dictators mutated into Manowar (1), a heavy-metal band that specialized in glacial atmospheres, majestic medieval visions, Teutonic and Scandinavian mythology, Wagner-ian grandeur, art-rock arrangements, and, last but not least, Conan-like cartoons. Not surprisingly, echoes of Blue Oyster Cult and Rush populate Battle Hymns (1982).

In Canada, Voivod (2) were even more explicit in their imitation of Conan The Barbarian, but even more unique in crafting a cerebral and claustrophobic style. War And Pain (1984) and, to a lesser extent, Rrroooaaarrr (1986) fine-tuned a spasmodic way to tell epic stories. Voivod finally achieved an original synthesis of heavy-metal jargons on Killing Technology (1987). After incorporating electronic instruments on Dimension Hatross (1988), they reached their artistic peak with Nothingface (1989).

A few USA bands pioneered the idea of insanely heavy riffs played at a slow pace, an extension and exaggeration of Black Sabbath's elementary, sub-human, horror hard-rock.

A Los Angeles band, Saint Vitus, had the idea that would provide a career to a new generation of heavy-metal bands: take Black Sabbath's slowest and gloomiest riffs, and just play them over and over again. Albums such as Hallow's Victim (1985) were obsessive repetitions of Black Sabbath cliches. A few years later, this music would be called "doom-metal".

Doom was also pioneered in Washington by Pentagram on albums such as Pentagram/ Relentless (1985) and the more professional Day of Reckoning (1987), and in Chicago by Trouble, whose Psalm 9 (1984) can lay claim to have been the first released doom album.

Building on those foundations, Sweden's Candlemass singlehandedly invented "epic" doom-metal on Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986) and especially Nightfall (1987) that codified their style of crawling tempos, huge melodic bass lines (Leif Edling), quasi-mystical guitar harmonies (Lars Johansson) and deeply-emotional operatic vocals (Bror "Messiah" Marcolin).

Dutch power-trio Gore specialized in instrumental-only minimalist repetition of elementary and crushingly heavy riffs on Hart Gore (1986) and Mean Man's Dream (1987).

Speed-metal 1983-85

Los Angeles' "street" scene fostered the cross-pollination of hardcore (Bad Brains, Black Flag) and glam-metal.

Expanding on an intuition by the humble hardcore band D.R.I., "speed-metal" was invented by Metallica (23). They began under the auspices of punk desperation, which they vented with the epileptic fits of Kill 'Em All (1983). The jugular shrieks (James Hetfield), the aerial raids by the guitars (Kirk Hammett, who had replaced original member Dave Mustaine, and Hetfield's rhythm guitar), the relentless rhythm (Danish-born drummer Lars Ulrich, bassist Cliff Burton) created a sense of suffocation that simply got worse as the album proceeded from Hit The Lights to Metal Militia. However, there were countless stylistic tours de force (reminiscent of Diamond Head) concealed in songs such as Pulling Teeth and Seek & Destroy and the anthemic Four Horsemen already belonged to another age. That age was officially inaugurated by Ride The Lightning (1984), a work that documented the metamorphosis of "thrash-metal" (in which all instruments were "thrashed" with no attention for detail or for harmony) into "speed-metal" (in which melody, guitar solos, tempo shifts and song dynamics began to prevail). Suddenly, the lengthy and intricate pieces of Master Of Puppets (1986) exhibited an elegant, glossy sound that was more appropriate for classical music than for rock'n'roll. The balance between supersonic instrumental prowess, narrative ingenuity and romantic urgency had only a few precedents in the realm of progressive-rock. The band's constant evolution led to the pretentious and austere And Justice For All (1988) and to the classy pop-metal of Metallica (1991), a pensive work that introduced mid-tempo ballads and chamber strings, and that crowned their quest for the gravest atmosphere with Enter Sandman.

In the meantime, the fire-power of Dave Mustaine's Megadeth (2) in Los Angeles was no less terrifying on their first album, Killing Is My Business (1985). The hyper-realism of Peace Sells (1986) opened new avenues for the genre, while a new and versatile line-up crafted Rust In Peace (1990), Mustaine's emotional zenith, as well as the pretentious Countdown To Extinction (1992).

The third member of the speed-metal triad, Slayer (1) were, first and foremost, the link between Venom's black metal and Death's death-metal, via Show No Mercy (1983) and a milestone such as Reign In Blood (1986).

One more band stands out among the progenitors of speed-metal: Exciter (1), from Canada, who co-founded the genre with the explosive Heavy Metal Maniac (1983).

San Francisco boasted a whole bunch of speed-metal weirdos who debuted between 1985 and 1986: Death Angel, with Ultra Violence (1986), Exodus, with Bonded By Blood (1985), Vicious Rumour, with Soldiers Of The Night (1985), and Testament, with The Legacy (1987).

New York groomed two of the best. Anthrax (1) crafted a few of the classics: Spreading the Disease (1985), their subversive tribute to manic hardcore, Among The Living (1987), a model of elegant incandescence, and, to some extent, the apocalyptic concept Persistence of Time (1990). White Zombie (2) had begun with Soul Crusher (1987) and a proto-grunge sound that was abominable and formidable in the tradition of MC5 and Blue Cheer, but embraced speed-metal on the derivative Make Them Die Slowly (1989), and then tweaked the genre to produce the campy horror melodrama La Sexorcisto (1992). A more serious attitude, coupled with futuristic production and nods to the fashionable cliches of grunge and industrial-metal, surfaced on Astro-Creep: 2000 (1995).

The second generation of speed-metal includes two bands from Arizona, Flotsam & Jetsam and Sacred Reich.

The band that made speed-metal a universal language was Sepultura (12), formed in Brazil by vocalist and guitarist Max Cavalera. They began their pursuit of USA-style speed-metal with Morbid Visions (1986), a poignant prophecy of moral decay, but affirmed an original style on their third album Beneath The Remains (1989). Arise (1992) completed their historical mission, of fusing the majestic virtuosity of Metallica's sound and the atrocities of the nascent death-metal sound. Then Sepultura aimed for the mainstream, relaxing some of the ferocity and adding a touch of Brazilian music, on Chaos A.D. (1993), their least original but also most successful album yet. Their masterpiece, Roots (1996), was a marriage of both worlds, a bold attempt at bridging the gap between avantgarde and mainstream via a cornucopia of promiscuous sounds (tribal orgies and horror extravaganzas, psychedelic solos and unorthodox sampling, catchy rigmaroles and panzer riffs).

Grindcore 1986-88

Under pressure from hardcore, the rhythm of heavy metal kept getting faster and faster, leading to Venom's Welcome to Hell (1981) and Slayer's Show No Mercy (1983), the two manifestos of a new, epileptic kind of music. In the mid 1980s, New York's Nuclear Assault (1), a spin-off of Anthrax, officially inaugurated "grindcore" with Game Over (1986), and perfected it with Survive (1988). The roots of grindcore can actually be found in two of Boston's hardcore outfits of the 1980s, that introduced the two key elements of grindcore: the frantic beat and the growling vocals. Deep Wound, featuring the young J Mascis (on drums) and Lou Barlow, played the micro-songs of the EP Deep Wound (1983) at supersonic speed (the precursor of death-metal's "blast beat"). Siege, who recorded only a six-song demo tape and three tracks for a compilation in 1984, featured the growls of vocalist Kevin Mahoney.

The genre became immediately popular in Britain, where it simply followed in the footsteps of Crass and Discharge. Napalm Death (1), led by the phenomenal trio of raving lunatic Lee Dorrian, epileptic drummer Mick Harris and kamikaze guitarist Justin Broadrick, defined a new standard of ultrasonic rhythm and fragmented melodies on Scum (1987) and raised it to a wall of desperate noise on their milestone recording, From Enslavement To Obliteration (1988).

The grindcore and death-metal cultures met when Carcass (1) released Reek Of Putrefaction (1988), a horror nightmare narrated by a zombie that made the term "magniloquent" seem a pathetic understatement. After approaching "music" on Symphonies Of Sickness (1989), they refounded the genre with the lengthy pieces (a contradiction in terms) of Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious (1991). Bolt Thrower (1) debuted with a concentrate of grindcore cliches, In Battle There Is No Law (1988), but their second album, the "fanta-macabre" concept Realm Of Chaos (1989), was one of the most original works of the school.

Death-metal 1987-89

In the meantime, under the same pressure of ever increasing frenzy, "black metal" was mutating into "death-metal". "Death-metal" was born from the fusion of Slayer's speed-metal, Helloween's black metal, and Napalm Death's grindcore. Death-metal rapidly developed easily recognizable features (because they were so extreme and so "un-musical"): disgusting horror lyrics, guttural growling vocals, distorted guitar, downtuned bass, epyleptic drums (the so called "blast-beats"), abrupt tempo and signature changes.

The term was coined by Possessed in San Francisco, for their Seven Churches (1985), but the cradle of the genre was truly Florida, that would soon count on a number of vicious, truculent, brutal bands.

Death (1) opened the party with Scream Bloody Gore (1987), but their most accomplished fantasy was Leprosy (1988), and they reintroduced technical skills on Human (1991), as well as coined a new "progressive" form of death-metal on Individual Thought Patterns (1993).

Even tighter and darker was Deicide (1990), although Deicide (1) would never match its bloodlust. Morbid Angel's Altars Of Madness (1989) and Obituary's Slowly We Rot (1989) were more predictable. Nonetheless, it would be Obituary's The End Complete (1992) that would establish death-metal as a viable mainstream genre, followed by Morbid Angel's Covenant (1993).

Compared with the simple canon of the Florida bands, the albums by San Francisco's Sadus (1), such as Illusions (1988), were articulate and (relatively speaking) baroque.

Death-metal conquered continental Europe via Consuming Impulse (1989), the second album by Dutch quartet Pestilence.

Progressive-metal 1986-89

Heavy-metal in the 1980s was not only frenzy and noise. There were bands experimenting with all sorts of crossovers and hybrids. New York's eclectic Living Colour (1), a group of Afro-Americans featuring Hendrix-ian guitarist Vernon Reid and drummer William Calhoun, offered a sophisticated mixture of blues, hard-rock, funk and jazz on Vivid (1988). 24-7 Spyz, coming from the same cultural roots, fused the sounds of the violent white youth (hardcore and heavy metal) with the sounds of the violent black youth (rap, funk, reggae). Another example of white/black fusion was Oregon's multi-racial Dan Reed Network.

Progressive-metal blossomed in Seattle, where Queensryche (1) penned one of its masterpieces, the concept album and psychodrama Operation: Mindcrime (1988). Other intricate and solemn metal albums were recorded in the Seattle area by Sanctuary, particularly Refuge Denied (1987), and keyboardist Greg Giuffria, whose long career peaked with House Of Lords (1988).

Ohio's Fates Warning attained an even higher level of abstraction than Queensryche with No Exit (1988) and especially Perfect Symmetry (1989), not to mention the 12-movement concept album Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997), albums highlighted by Ray Alder's psychotic vocals, convoluted rhythms and sophiticated counterpoint.

In Texas, King's X (1) pursued a brand of prog-metal similar to Rush's with Gretchen Goes To Nebraska (1989), while Pantera (1), who had been playing pop-glam-metal for the whole decade, eventually changed style and invented something new with the granitic Cowboys From Hell (1990).

A few guitarists ignored the lure of the group stardom and focused on their original style. Joe Satriani (1) led the pack with the soulful impressionism of Surfing With The Alien (1987), but it was Eric Johnson (1) who broke new ground with Tones (1986), a staggering display of virtuoso playing, although he became famous with the more conventional Cliffs Of Dover (1990).

Street sound, 1987

Los Angeles ended the decade with the epic sound of the "street scene", a wild and raw hard-rock sound that was drenched in hyper-realism, nihilism, anger and desperation; the quintessential soundtrack of urban alienation. In the tradition of the Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols, Guns N' Roses (11) were a band of psychopaths, delinquents, sex maniacs, junkies and alcoholics who liked to show and sound what they were. Appetite For Destruction (1987) was as harrowing an experience as being catapulted into a dark narrow alley of the worst Los Angeles neighborhood. William "Axl Rose" Bailey's nasty, offensive, anti-heroic vocal acrobatics fended off the double-guitar attack of Saul "Slash" Hudson and Jeff "Izzy Stradlin" Isabell, who indulged in unbridled concertos of screeching and reckless riffs. The noise, the energy, the lyrics transformed each song into a bloody fistfight. Use Your Illusion (1991) added artistic pretensions to the rebellious spirit of their performances, and, in a sense, declared the band's mission impossible.

The commotion was unjustified in the case of Jane's Addiction (1), one of the most over-rated bands of the era, led by hysterical singer Perry Farrell and demonic guitarist David Navarro. Nothing's Shocking (1988) was certainly a powerful fresco of moral decay and insecurity (expressionistic shrieks, heavy-metal thunders and psychedelic vertigoes), but its artistic pretenses were not supported by adequate skills, and Ritual De Lo Habitual (1990) sounded like a childish version of Led Zeppelin.

Faster Pussycat (1) harked back to the outrageous antics of Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and New York Dolls on Faster Pussycat (1987) and especially Wake Me When It's Over (1989). LA Guns were the least theatrical and violent of the founding fathers.

Not all L.A. metal band were glam-rockers: Big F (1) Big F (1989), led by John "Shreve" Crawford (who had written Berlin's hits), played an original mixture of blues-rock and heavy metal.

Funk-metal 1984-86

One of the great "fusion" ideas of the 1980s was the idea of integrating the brutal rhythmic and vocal styles of funk and rap music with the brutal guitar-driven style of heavy metal. The pioneering albums by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (2), Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984) and Freaky Styley (1985), basically discovered what George Clinton and Jello Biafra had in common. The punkish impetus of these albums was due in large part to the mesmerizing style of former Fear bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, but also to their (sub)cultural background: the decadent, histrionic and irreverent Hollywood scene. The excessive heavy-metal overtones of The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987) missed the point, and, when John Frusciante replaced guitarist Hillel Slovak who had died of an overdose, the band adopted a mainstream sound. Mother's Milk (1989) and Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) left the rage and the sarcasm behind, yet another sign that the whole Los Angeles scene was going through a painful rehabilitation program.

A milder and more satirical approach to funk-ska-soul-rock fusion was propounded by Fishbone (2). The best document of their frantic, exuberant, exhilarating style was their debut EP, Fishbone (1985). Fishbone continued a tradition that dated as far back as the Coasters and had survived via Madness. That party music modeled after high-school pranks grew into an art form on Truth And Soul (1988) and achieved a formidable synthesis of ancient and modern, of white and black, of "low" and "high" art, on Reality Of My Surroundings (1991), an album that was both ambitious and amusing.

San Francisco expanded on the idea with the creative and satirical work of two of the greatest bands of the late 1980s. Faith No More (12) created a stylistic hybrid that was both inventive, dynamic, driving and catchy. We Care A Lot (1985) attempted a fusion/fission of genres that were virtually in opposition, such as punk-rock, funk, progressive-rock, hip-hop, heavy metal, music-hall. The fearsome trio of keyboardist Roddy Bottum, vocalist Chuck Mosley and guitarist Jim Martin perfected their counterpoint on Introduce Yourself (1987), a cauldron of memorable riffs, anthemic melodies, eccentric sound effects, elaborate scores, fiery electronic sounds. The group shone across a repertoire that ran the gamut from naive and romantic to cold and symphonic. Mr Bungle's vocalist Michael Patton took the helm of the band on Real Thing (1989), which didn't change direction at all, despite increased mainstream appeal. The same balance of antipodal elements (of gloom and lightness, of ethereal and aggressive) propelled the versatile songs of Angel Dust (1992).

On the other hand, the reckless stylistic cross-breeding of Victim's Family, starting with their debut album Voltage And Violets (1986), harked back to the skewed jazz-core of Minutemen, despite the theatrics of guitarist Ralph Spight.

The first star of this new crossover style, Lenny Kravitz, recycled the fusion of soul, funk and rock pioneered by Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone and Prince on Let Love Rule (1989), while Terence D'Arby's Introducing the Hardline (1987) leaned towards the "soul" side of the equation.

Grunge 1985-86

New York witnessed a revival of hard-rock rooted in the blues-rock tradition with Raging Slab and the Masters Of Reality, but hard-rock staged its biggest come-back in Seattle. The influence of the new Seattle bands would be far greater than anyone imagined at the time. The groups that began their career in the second half of the 1980s coined the psychedelic/hard-rock style that would become one of the most sensational events of the following decade.

Green River (1) were formed by vocalist Mark "Arm" McLaughlin, bassist Jeff Ament and guitarists Steve Turner and Stone Gossard. Grunge was basically born with their debut EP, Come On Down (1985). The EP Dry As A Bone (1987) and the only full-length, Rehab Doll (1988), developed their passion for Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Sixties garage-rock. When Green River split, Gossard and Ament formed Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, while Arm and Turner formed Mudhoney.

Jack Endino's Skin Yard played cold, frigid, inhuman heavy metal influenced by the Swans and Black Sabbath, for example on Skin Yard (1986).

The Screaming Trees (2), led by vocalist Mark Lanegan, wed folk-rock, hard-rock and psychedelic-rock on their early albums, particularly Even If And Especially When (1987). They progressed from a punkish mixture of Sixties garage-rock, power-pop and roots-rock to a uniquely ethereal style, that reached a transcendent majesty on Sweet Oblivion (1992), an ambitious endeavour that ran the gamut from Blind Faith to Neil Young, and on Dust (1996), a largely atmospheric work whose arrangements were almost symphonic.

The Melvins (2) rediscovered "stoner-rock" by exaggerating Blue Cheer's and Black Sabbath's slow, heavy, dark grooves. Buzz Osbourne (vocals and guitar) Dale Crover (drums) and Matt Lukin (bass) first sketched out the idea on Gluey Porch Treatments (1987). After Lukin joined Mudhoney, Osbourne, Crover and new bassist Lori Black fully developed that idea with Ozma (1989), where songs became monoliths of ugly, repetitive, massive chords, stretched to titanic proportions; Tibetan meditation in hell. Thus their masterpieces were lengthy, monotonous, obsessive pieces, somewhere between a stream of consciousness and a slow-motion dinosaur walk: Boris, off Bullhead (1991); Charmicarmicat, off the EP Eggnog (1991); Hung Bunny, off the mini-album Lysol (1992). The trio abandoned that pathological mania on Houdini (1993) and Stoner Witch (1994), which collect "songs" and not just heavy loads of unpleasant riffs. Later, the Melvins became likely candidates to the title of most self-indulgent band in the world.

Green River's founders Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament formed Mother Love Bone, and started a new career with Apple (1990), an album that sounded like a collection of Led Zeppelin leftovers. When their vocalist, Andrew Wood, died of an overdose, the two formed yet another band, Pearl Jam (2) that went on to become one of grunge's icons. Pearl Jam invented (or re-invented) a hard-rock sound that changed the world, and established a new standard of professional ethics. Fronted by former San Diego surf-punk Eddie Vedder, they shunned any intellectual pretense and focused on the guitar riff. One could almost claim that their entire opus is made of one melodic idea and one riffing idea. They turned obsolescence into an ideology. Ten (1991) was majestic and theatrical, and clearly found a middle path between the extreme violence of hardcore and the brainy music of alternative rock, because Vs (1993) established the record of copies sold in the first week of release. Both more pensive and more melodic, Vitalogy (1994) showed that there was a soul underneath the cliches.

Mudhoney (2), Mark "Arm" McLaughlin's and Steve Turner's band, were, instead, garage-rockers. The incendiary, elementary sound inaugurated with the single Touch Me I'm Sick (1988), the EP Superfuzz Bigmuff (1988) and the album Mudhoney (1989) was an interesting blend of garage-rock cliches (visceral distortion, sloppy riffs, anthemic melodies) and hardcore cliches (thrashing rhythm, epileptic vocals, demented rigmaroles). Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (1991) tidied up the mess and sprayed the stench, but, basically, one could claim that Mudhoney continued to play the same song over and over again.

The riff became a totem with Soundgarden (2), fronted by Chris Cornell, one of the few vocalists who could be both emphatic and monotonous within the same song, propelled by guitarist Kim Thayil, one of Tony Iommi's and Jimmy Page's greatest disciples, and anchored to the seismic rhythm section of bassist Hiro Yamamoto and drummer Matt Cameron. Ultramega OK (1988) and Louder Than Love (1989) counterfeited the classic sound of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, and enhanced (at least on the former) it with a bit of punk-rock fury and heavy-metal tension, but the masses loved it, and the band's routine (and sell-out) led to the massive success of Badmotorfinger (1991), although Temple Of The Dog (1991), a joint effort between half of Pearl Jam and half of Soundgarden, was probably more sincere and original. The bad news is that Soundgarden was playing on automatic pilot, but the good news was that they were capable of crafting the most baroque form of hard-rock ever. The tour de force of Superunknown (1994) was not only the zenith of their mannerism, but perhaps grunge's ultimate swan song.

Other forms of proto-grunge were the loud and vulgar style of Tad (Tad Doyle's band), and the feverish and bluesy style of Voodoo Gearshift.

Seattle became a gold mine with Nirvana (2), formed by vocalist/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist "Chris" Novoselic. They, too, played hard-rock, but they also injected abnormal doses of emotion into it and had a melodic flair that the others lacked. Bleach (1989) was rudimentary, savage and fragile. Nevermind (1991), featuring new drummer Dave Grohl (ex-Scream), increased the melodic factor, and found an even more unlikely balance between pathos and disgust, tenderness and rage, melancholy and rebellion. If Nevermind had been the manifesto of an age, the brutal In Utero (1994) was Cobain's personal odyssey. Sounding like Neil Young's timid alter ego, they embodied the mood of their generation (the "teen spirit"). Their sound became the soundtrack of a generation's nervous breakdown. And more so when Cobain took his life in 1994.

100 Greatest Glam Metal Songs

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There are many lists that name the best Rock songs, Hard Rock and Metal songs of all time; but here is a fun list of the top "100 Glam Rock Songs". Like most lists, many of you will disagree with the song order, or discover some great song that is missing. My personal song list also differs from the one below, however what I like about this list is that they got most of the artists and bands right. My top 3 songs are: 1. Livin On A Prayer - Bon Jovi, 2. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses, 3. Rock and Roll All Nite - Kiss. Please comment on your top 3 Glam Rock Songs. - Kenny Leibow

100 Greatest Hair/Glam Metal Songs
Source: http://digitaldoor.nutsie.com

1. Photograph - Def Leppard
2. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
3. Jump - Van Halen
4. Rock You Like a Hurricane - Scorpions
5. Cum on Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot
6. Rock and Roll All Nite - KISS
7. We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
8. Dr. Feelgood - Mötley Crüe
9. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
10. You Give Love A Bad Name - Bon Jovi
11. Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
12. Rock of Ages - Def Leppard
13. No One Like You - Scorpions
14. Why Can't This Be Love - Van Halen
15. Detroit Rock City - KISS
16. Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) - Cinderella
17. Round And Round - RATT
18. Heaven - Warrant
19. November Rain - Guns N' Roses
20. Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard
21. Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
22. Panama - Van Halen
23. Is This Love - Whitesnake
24. Unskinny Bop - Poison
25. Love Bites - Def Leppard
26. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N' Roses
27. 18 and Life - Skid Row
28. Cherry Pie - Warrant
29. High Enough - Damn Yankees
30. Without You - Mötley Crüe
31. Heaven Sent - Dokken
32. Girls, Girls, Girls - Mötley Crüe
33. Turn Up the Radio - Autograph
34. Headed For A Heartbreak - Winger
35. Wanted Dead Or Alive - Bon Jovi
36. I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister
37. Love Of A Lifetime - Firehouse
38. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
39. Bringing On The Heartbreak - Def Leppard
40. The Final Countdown - Europe
41. Sister Christian - Night Ranger
42. When The Children Cry - White Lion
43. Love Song - Tesla
44. Once Bitten Twice Shy - Great White
45. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
46. Shout It Out Loud - KISS
47. Something To Believe In - Poison
48. To Hell With The Devil - Stryper
49. Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi
50. Fly To The Angels - Slaughter
51. Mama Weer All Crazee Now - Quiet Riot
52. When I Look Into Your Eyes - Firehouse
53. Patience - Guns N' Roses
54. Burning Like A Flame - Dokken
55. I'll Wait - Van Halen
56. Close My Eyes Forever - Lita Ford with Ozzy Osbourne
57. To Be With You - Mr. Big
58. Fly High Michelle - Enuff Z'nuff
59. Nobody's Fool - Cinderella
60. L.O.V.E. Machine - W.A.S.P.
61. House of Pain - Faster Pussycat
62. Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark - Y&T
63. I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS
64. Get The Funk Out - Extreme
65. I Remember You - Skid Row
66. Alone Again - Dokken
67. Lay It Down - RATT
68. Where You Goin' Now - Damn Yankees
69. Sentimental Street - Night Ranger
70. Metal Health - Quiet Riot
71. Edge Of A Broken Heart - Vixen
72. Just Like Paradise - David Lee Roth
73. New Thing - Enuff Z'nuff
74. Heartbreak Blvd - Shotgun Messiah
75. Cold Day In Hell - Steeler
76. Kickstart My Heart - Mötley Crüe
77. (Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection - Nelson
78. Never Let Go - Kick Axe
79. Someone Like You - Bang Tango
80. Rock the Night - Europe
81. Miles Away - Winger
82. Give It To Me Good - Trixter
83. Don't You Ever Leave Me - Hanoi Rocks
84. Naughty Naughty - Danger Danger
85. Wait - White Lion
86. Boyz Are Gonna Rock - Vinnie Vincent Invasion
87. Smooth Up In Ya - Bullet Boys
88. Feel The Shake - Jetboy
89. Rock Bottom - House of Lords
90. Up All Night - Slaughter
91. Bang Bang - Danger Danger
92. Teas'n, Pleas'n - Dangerous Toys
93. 10,000 Lovers (In One) - TNT
94. Set The Night On Fire - Pretty Boy Floyd
95. Soldiers Under Command - Stryper
96. Cryin' - Vixen
97. Sister of Pain - Vince Neil
98. Prime Mover - Zodiac Mindwarp
99. Long Way to Love - Britny Fox
100. Sleeping (In the Fire) - W.A.S.P.

Nightmare Before Christmas and Bon Jovi

2009-12-20T16:46:00.009-06:00

I needed a holiday posting for my blog, and I found the coolest video to end the year 2009. There is a YouTube video posted by "shaddow999999999music" with the Bon Jovi ballad "These Open Arms" to the movie animation of "The Nightmare Before Christmas". This is a beautiful song from 2007 by Bon Jovi. Just to clarify "The Nightmare Before Christmas" movie was released back in 1993 and this is not on the soundtrack. What a beautiful ballad with great lyrics. Please enjoy the video and lyrics below. Happy Holidays Everyone!! - Kenny Leibow

The Nightmare Before Christmas and Bon Jovi - These Open Arms

These Open Arms - Lyrics by Bon Jovi

What if everything you always took for granted was gone
And everything you ever thought was right was wrong
And what if everyone you ever loved just torn from the pages of your life
Would you reach out for tomorrow or try to turn back time ?

These open arms will wait for you
These open arms can pull us through
Between what's left and left to do
These open arms
These open arms
These open arms will wait for you

Did you even love the one you said you loved, that's right
Did you make a tender difference in somebody else's life ?
Tell me, is a song you can count on when you need a friend ?
Can you see I need a friend...

These open arms will wait for you
These open arms can pull us through
Between what's left and left to do
These open arms
These open arms
These open arms will wait for you

Can you lean me your skin ?
Walk in your own shoes !
You can't win if you don't know how to lose
Crawl, fall, try to get out of the learner, fly !

These open arms will wait for you
These open arms can pull us through
Between what's left and left to do
These open arms
These open arms
These open arms
These open arms
These open arms will wait for you

Source - www.stlyrics.com

Happy Thanksgiving; Let's Be Thankful for Ronnie James Dio

2009-11-26T20:40:00.007-06:00

I remember Ronnie James Dio as Ozzy Osbourne's replacement in Black Sabbath from 1979-1982. I did buy the "Heaven and Hell" album, which became a classic. I am a huge Ozzy fan as you can read in my previous posts; however Ronnie James Dio has made his mark in Heavy Metal history. Let's remember his contribution. - Kenny Leibow

By now, you've probably heard the sad news that Ronnie James Dio has stomach cancer. Cancer is a nasty beast, but all accounts say Dio's doctors caught the disease early. As such, the metal master will undergo treatment immediately. I don't know how long it takes to go through treatment for stomach cancer, but I imagine it's not exactly quick. Still, here's hoping Ronnie James Dio will be back singing on stage very soon.

Can you believe I've never seen Dio live? A shame, I know. He's definitely been on my must see list for awhile now...it just hasn't happened.

So, while you Americans enjoy Thanksgiving and the rest of the world goes about its collective business, maybe we should all pause and remember those people that are important to us. We should also give thanks for Ronnie and Metal -- because without music, we wouldn't have much to talk about! - allyson@bringbackglam.com

Source: http://www.bringbackglam.com

Ronnie James Dio - Killing The Dragon

Alice Cooper - Poison 1989

2009-10-03T09:46:00.019-05:00

Alice Cooper was a "Shock Rocker" born out of the 1970's hard rock music scene. Even in the early 80's I remember Alice Cooper was widely popular with a cult following when I was in High School listening to old huge hits like "I'm Eighteen" and "Schools Out". In 1989, Alice Cooper had a resurrection with the song "Poison" from his album "Trash". Alice Cooper's popularity continued to grow to legend status after his appearance in the 1992 film "Wayne's World".

Below see the original 1989 music video of "Poison" and a live performance of "School's Out". I have also included a complete biography of Alice Cooper. - Kenny Leibow

Poison -1989 Official Video

School's Out - Live Performance

Mini Biography

Source - IMDb

Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a minister. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at a young age and still lives in the state today. At 17 he formed a rock band called the Earwigs, who changed their name to The Spiders and then The Nazz, before finally settling on Alice Cooper. The line-up included himself, Dennis Dunaway, Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton and Neil Smith. Rumors (which the band did not necessarily make efforts to deny) to the contrary, the name was not chosen from a Ouija board reading nor was it named after a woman once burned at the stake for witchcraft -- it was picked because the random name had a twisted sense of originality and misleading innocence, complementing the band's bizarre and macabre stage theatrics and lyric themes.

The band got their first big break playing at the Whiskey-a-GoGo in L.A. one night in 1969 when Frank Zappa discovered them and signed them to his record label. After two albums-and relocating to Detroit -- they were signed by Warner Bros., hooked up with famous producer Robert Ezrin and came out with their third album, the break-through "Love It to Death" in 1971. Several albums followed, including "Killer", the highly successful "School's Out" and "Billion Dollar Babies", and "Muscle of Love". The band made an appearance in the movie Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) and their own theatrically released documentary Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974). Alice himself also starred in an episode of The Snoop Sisters (1972) (TV).

The original Alice Cooper band broke up in 1975, with the lead singer getting his name legally changed to Alice Cooper -- and performing under the name ever since -- while some of the other members formed a band called the Billion Dollar Babies. That same year saw the release of a Greatest Hits album, while Alice as a solo artist completed the "Welcome to My Nightmare" album and his incredibly theatrical tour. It was on this tour that he met his future wife Sheryl Cooper, who had been hired as a dancer.

Along with the album and tour came a TV special, Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975) (TV), and both included dialog from horror movie legend Vincent Price. Alice made a number of other TV and movie appearances in the second half of the decade, including "The Muppet Show" (1976), Mae West's final film Sextette (1978), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) and several appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962).

However, by the late 1970s Alice's problems with alcohol became life-threatening, and he was checked into a clinic for rehabilitation. He told of his experiences on the semi-fictional album "From The Inside" (there was also a comic book of the same title), and explored different sounds in the early '80s with four albums ("Flush The Fashion", "Special Forces", "Zipper Catches Skin", "DaDa"). After having a severe "falling off the wagon" to the point of almost dying, he sobered up once more -- this time for good -- and returned with the albums "Constrictor", "Raise Your Fist and Yell" and the 1989 album "Trash", which featured the hit song "Poison". The '80s also saw Alice starring in the horror flicks Leviatán (1984) (also known as "Monster Dog") and Prince of Darkness (1987), as well as having mostly new songs for the soundtracks to Roadie (1980), Class of 1984 (1982), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) and Shocker (1989).

It was the 1990s, however, that brought Alice's most memorable movie appearance: playing himself in Wayne's World (1992). The phrase uttered by characters Wayne and Garth in his presence, "We're not worthy!", became one of the most popular movie catch-phrases of the decade. Alice also played the father of Freddy Krueger in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and himself on "That '70s Show" (1998) and "Something Wilder" (1994). The decade also saw the release of his "Hey Stoopid" and "The Last Temptation". Alice toured occasionally but took a break from releasing albums until 2000, when he released "Brutal Planet". He followed this up with "Dragon Town", "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" and the "Dirty Diamonds", and continues to tour regularly, performing shows with the bizarrely dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.

KISS Tribute Band 1991

2009-09-05T14:32:00.012-05:00

Deniz performed live with several musicians in the 1990s including his bands Ankara and Sin. In 1991 at Penrods in Miami Beach, Florida, Deniz was on stage playing Paul Stanley in a Kiss Tribute performance. Read the story below by Rudy Landa; and see the video of the live performance with complete Kiss makeup. - Kenny Leibow

"Halloween of '91, while attending Career Institutes
of America in Miami Beach, some buddies of mine
and myself put together a KISS tribute band and
played at South Beach's "Penrod' s on
The Beach" for our school Halloween Party.....

Here's my guitar solo from that night,followed by a
little tune that KISS fans will recognize.....it was a wild
and crazy time the early 90s......so many memories." -Rudy Landa

Denniz (Paul Stanley), Randy (Peter Criss), Alex (Gene Simmons), and me Rudy (Ace Freeley).

KISS Tribute Band 1991

Deniz and Kenny Original Songs

Bon Jovi #1 Single 25 Years - Thanksgiving 1986

W.A.S.P. I Wanna Be Somebody

Greatest Albums Sold Over 10 Million

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

Home Brew Guitar Jams - Willie Vega

HBE (Home Brew Electronic) Power Screamer Blues

Greatest Rock Keyboard Players - Pianists

David Lee Roth – Van Halen to Diamond Dave

Greatest Rock Guitar Riffs

White Lion - When the Children Cry

Van Halen Monsters of Rock 1988

Judas Priest - Steel Album 30 Years Old

Motley Crue Interview 1987

Greatest 33 Rock Songwriters

Bon Jovi’s Circle Rocks

Heavy Metal - Classic in the 1980s

The Golden Age of Heavy Metal

The pioneers 1976-78

Black metal 1982-85

Pop-metal 1981-85

Pomp and doom 1982-85

Speed-metal 1983-85

Grindcore 1986-88

Death-metal 1987-89

Progressive-metal 1986-89

Street sound, 1987

Funk-metal 1984-86

Grunge 1985-86

100 Greatest Glam Metal Songs

Nightmare Before Christmas and Bon Jovi

Happy Thanksgiving; Let's Be Thankful for Ronnie James Dio

Alice Cooper - Poison 1989

Mini Biography

KISS Tribute Band 1991