Warrant is an American glam band from Hollywood, California. The band is had their peak of success in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, before the grunge movement.

Intro (Edit)

Warrant is an American glam band from Hollywood, California. The band is had their peak of success in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, before the grunge movement.

The band was formed in July of 1984 by guitarist Erik Turner. He started recruiting members for the band, starting with bassist Jerry Dixon. After line-up changes while playing gigs, the band finally got a solid line-up of Jani Lane on vocals, Erik Turner on guitar, Steven Chamerlin on drums, Jerry Dixon playing bass, and Joey Allen also on guitar.

In January of 1988, Warrant got signed to Columbia Records. A few months later, they began recording their debut album, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich was released on January 31, 1989. The album proved to be a success, spawning three hit singles. The songs, Heaven, which peaked at number 2, Down Boys, which peaked at number 27, and Sometimes She Cries, which peaked at number 20. All three songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album itself peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Follow the release of the album, the band embarked on a successful tour. The band toured with many artists such as, Cinderella, Poison, and Mötley Crüe, to name a few.

After the tour, the band started to record their next album. The band released Cherry Pie on September 11, 1990. Cherry Pie is the band’s most known and highest selling album. It featured three hit singles, the title track, Cherry Pie, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and I Saw Red. The songs Cherry Pie and I Saw Red both peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, peaked at number 19 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Touring started for the band after the release of the album. They toured with Poison, David Lee Roth, Firehouse, and Trixter.

On August 25, 1992, the band released their next album called, Dog Eat Dog. Although the album did achieve gold status in the US, it wasn’t near as successful as their previous two releases. Despite the downfall in sales, some critics and fans claim that, Dog Eat Dog, is the band’s strongest album. The album didn’t have any successful singles but it spent 13 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 25.

On March 7, 1995, the band released a new album called, Ultraphobic. The release came after a short break-up of the band and was marketed as the band’s comeback album. The album’s sound was influenced by the, then popular, grunge sound. Lyrically, the album was influnced by the divorce Jani Lane went through during the recording of the album. The album did not chart.

The Best of Warrant, was released on April 2, 1996. It is the first compilation album from the band. The album contains songs from the first three albums from the band, but none from the fourth. There is also two bonus tracks included in the album. The song, Thin Disguise, is a B-side from the Cherry Pie single, and the other bonus song is a cover of Queen’s, We Will Rock You. The version of, I Saw Red, is an acoustic version as well.

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History (Edit)

Although their compilation album did not chart, the album did sell fairly well, and on October 1, 1996, the band released their next album called, Belly To Belly. The album has been described by band members as a concept album of a person who goes from rags to riches with fame and fortune and back to rags again. This album did not chart.

Warrant released their first live album on July 29, 1997. The album was recorded live at Harpos in Detroit Michigan. The actual audio recordings were recorded on November 22, 1996. The live album includes songs from every studio album they had released. The album did not chart.

Greatest & Latest was the next album and second compilation from the band. The album was released in 1999. The album features their classic greatest hits and three new, unreleased songs, The Jones, Southern Comfort, and, Bad Tattoo. The album was re-released twice in 2004 with the new titles, Cherry Pie: All The Hitz ‘N’ More, and the second version was titled, Most Wanted. Each release had a different track listing.  With each new release, two more, new, cover songs were added to the album. None of the three versions charted.

The band’s next album, Under The Influence, was released in 2001. It is a cover song album with two new songs, Face and Subhuman. The band covers bands such as, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, David Bowie, Queen, etc. This was the last album to feature lead vocalist, Jani Lane.

Then And Now, was the next greatest hits album from the band. The album includes songs that came out after the release of their first greatest hits album. Most of the songs on the album come from the two albums, Belly To Belly and Warrant Live ‘86-’97. No songs from Greatest & Latest or Under The Influence were included in this compilation. The album did not chart.

The band’s next album was called, Born Again. It was released in 2006. The album is the first and only to feature new vocalist, Jaime St. James, formerly of the band, Black N’ Blue. Videos were shot for all the songs on the album and they appear on the DVD, Born Again DVD: Devils Video Diaries. The album did not chart.

In January of 2008, the band’s agency had confirmed a reunion of the band by posting a picture on their website, with Jani Lane being the most prominent figure in the picture. However, the reunion wasn’t long lived, because on September 5, 2008, Jani Lane left the band. His replacement is Robert Mason, formerly of Lynch Mob.

On the departure of Jani Lane, the band issued the following statement:
“It is with the deepest regret that we have to announce that Jani Lane will no longer be performing with Warrant. From the beginning of our reunion talks to the last note of our last show together in Houston this past weekend (on August 31 at the Rock the Bayou festival), we have had nothing but good intentions of bringing a quality original Warrant show to our fans and friends. We wish Jani nothing but the best and remain friends. We are very excited that we have found an unbelievable voice in Robert Mason (Lynch Mob), an old friend of the band. We have three dates confirmed, come out and judge for yourself… We don’t think you will be disappointed!”

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Update (Edit)

To this date, Robert Mason is now a permanent member of the band and it has been said that the band is now working on a new album.

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