Intro (Edit)

White Lion is an American glam metal band from New York City. The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist Mike Tramp and guitarist Vito Bratta. After two successful singles, Wait, and When The Children Cry, the band disbanded in 1991.

In 1983, vocalist Mike Tramp and guitarist Vito Bratta met and decided to form a band. They recruited drummer, Nicki Capozzi, and bassist Felix Robinson, and they decided to name their band White Lion.

Elektra Records signed the band in 1984. On their signing, they recorded their debut album, Fight To Survive. After the record label heard the album, they refused to release it because they were unhappy with the final recording. After that, the label ended White Lion’s contract.

After the band had their contract cut-off, Capozzi and Robinson left the band. After some band member changes, the next line-up of the band included, vocalist Mike Tramp, guitarist Vito Bratta, drummer Greg D’Angelo, and bassist James LoMenzo.

With the new line-up, the band re-recorded their debut album, Fight To Survive. The album was released in Japan by RCA Records in 1984. In the U.S., a small label released the album, Grand Slam Records, on November 9, 1985. The album did not chart, and a few months later, Grand Slam Records went bankrupt.

The band’s next album, Pride, was released on June 21, 1987. The album spawned two successful singles, Wait, and When The Children Cry. The songs, Wait and When The Children Cry, peaked at number 8 and number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively. The album sold over two million copies, staying on the Billboard 200 chart for a full year and peaking at number 11.

In support of the album, the band toured for the next year and a half. On their tour, they opened for bands such as Aerosmith, Ozzy, KISS, AC/DC, and Stryper. While on tour, their album and the song, Wait, finally charted.

After their tour ended, the band decided to record their next album right away. Eventually, the band regretted this decision. The final product of their recording was Big Game. On August 10, 1989, the band released their next album. The album peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album went gold rather quickly, but had no hit single, so the sales of the album declined steadily.

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History (Edit)

In July of 1991, the band released their next album, Mane Attraction. The album peaked at number 61 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was released after the grunge explosion, so the album didn’t reach the top 20. Shortly after the release of the album, Greg D’Angelo and James LoMenzo left the band for ‘musical differences’. Mike Tramp and Vito Bratta recruited, Tommy Caradonna to play bass and Jimmy DeGrasso to play drums. After a short tour in support of the album, the band decided to call it quits.

Even though the band was disbanded for about a year, Atlantic Records released the first greatest hits compilation. On September 15, 1992, The Best of White Lion, was released. The album did not chart.

After White Lion disbanded, vocalist Mike Tramp formed a new band called, Freak of Nature. His band released three albums, Freak of Nature, Gathering of Freaks, and Outcasts. Mike has also released four solo albums, Capricorn, Recovering The Wasted Years, More To Life Than This, and Songs I Left Behind. He also released a live album called Rock n’ Roll Alive.

James LoMenzo and Greg D’Angelo joined Zakk Wylde’s band, Lynyrd Skynhead. Eventually the band switched names and Greg D’Angelo and James LoMenzo left. LoMenzo went on the play with David Lee Roth, Black Label Society, and Megadeth. D’Angelo went on to play for AntiProduct and Greg Leon Invasion.

Vito Bratta did some work for Atlantic Records and eventually left. He tried forming a new band but it didn’t work out. In 1994, he disappeared from the public eye until he was interviewed by Eddie Trunk live on February 16, 2007.

In 1999, Mike Tramp released the album, Remembering White Lion, with new musicians. The album featured newly recorded versions of White Lion’s classic songs, such as, Wait and When The Children Cry.

In 2003, Tramp formed a new line-up of White Lion with James LoMenzo, Jimmy DeGrasso, and Warren DeMartini of Ratt. Vito Bratta filed a law suit claiming partial ownership of the name and the tour was over.

In 2005, Mike Tramp recruited some unknown musicians and started a band with them called, Tramp’s White Lion, TWL, or White Lion 2. Tramp’s White Lion released a double-live CD called, Tramp’s White Lion: Rockin’ The USA.

On February 16, 2007, Vito Bratta was interviewed by Eddie Trunk. He said that he had never refused to do a White Lion reunion, saying that he wouldn’t do the previous one was that his father was sick. Over the course of the interview, Bratta said that he was never opposed to the thought of a White Lion reunion and he wanted it to happen since the band first broke up in 1991.

After the legal issues were solved, the new line-up of White Lion released a new album in 2008. The album was called, Return of The Pride, and was released on March 14, 2008 in Europe. It was not released in North America until April 29th. The album did not chart. In support of the album, the band went on a world tour.

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