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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Music by Decade»1970s Music
    1970s Music 1980s Music Music W 3 Mins Read

    Whitesnake

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    After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977.

    In the glut of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late 70s, their first albums got somewhat lost in the shuffle, although they were quite popular in Europe and Japan.

    During 1982, Coverdale took time off to take care of his sick daughter. When he re-emerged with a new version of Whitesnake in 1984, the band sounded revitalised and energetic.

    whitesnake_022

    Slide It In may have relied heavily on old Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple tricks but the band had a knack for writing hooks and the record became their first platinum album.

    Three years later, Whitesnake released an eponymous album which was even better.

    Portions of the album were blatantly derivative (Still Of The Night was a dead ringer for early Zeppelin) but the group could write powerful heavy rockers like Here I Go Again that were driven as much by melody as riffs, as well as hit power ballads like Is This Love?.

    Whitesnake was an enormous international success, selling over six million copies in the USA alone.

    Before they recorded their 1989 follow-up, Slip Of The Tongue, Coverdale again assembled a completely new version of the band, featuring guitar virtuosos Steve Vai.

    Although the record went platinum it was a considerable disappointment after the success of Whitesnake.

    whitesnake_73821

    Coverdale put the band on hiatus after that album. In 1993 he released a collaboration with Jimmy Page that was surprisingly lacklustre.

    A new incarnation of the band went on a short tour in Europe in 1994 to promote their Greatest Hits album, with former Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartini playing lead guitar and Denny Carmassi on drums.

    Adrian Vandenberg, one of Whitesnake’s earlier guitarists also returned to the fold. Shortly thereafter (and with the hits compilation selling poorly) the band lost their recording contract.

    In 1997 Coverdale and Vandenberg regrouped again – ostensibly to promote the album Restless Heart, which was originally intended as a Coverdale solo album but the record company pressured to release it under the Whitesnake name.

    The album produced the blues ballad Too Many Tears which reached #46 in the UK singles chart. The band folded again at the end of the year.

    Coverdale reformed the band again in December 2002, for their 25 year anniversary and the band have stayed together since – albeit with the usual line-up changes.

    In fact, the next time you are at an after-show party – of any hard rock band in the world – shout out the question “has anyone here ever been a member of Whitesnake?”. You can bet good money that at least two people in the room will raise their hand.

    Guitarist Mel Galley passed away in 2008. Galley played on the albums Saints & Sinners (1982) and Slide It In (1984) and wrote such tracks as Give Me More Time and Love Ain’t No Stranger, but had been forced to quit the group after breaking his arm during a drunken night out in Germany.

    Guitarist Bernie Marsden died on 24 August 2023. He was 72.

    TRIVIA
    Whitesnake are the favourite band of Lois Griffin from Family Guy.

    whitesnake_827

    David Coverdale 
    Vocals
    Bernie Marsden

    Guitar
    Micky Moody

    Guitar
    Mel Galley

    Guitar
    John Sykes

    Guitar
    Adrian Vandenberg

    Guitar
    Steve Vai

    Guitar
    Brian Johnstone

    Keyboards
    Pete Solley

    Keyboards
    Jon Lord

    Keyboards
    Neil Murray

    Bass
    Colin Hodgkinson

    Bass
    Dave Dowle

    Drums
    Ian Paice

    Drums
    Cozy Powell

    Drums
    Aynsley Dunbar

    Drums

    Video


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