Whitesnake is an English band, formed in 1977. The band’s early material was compared to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980’s they changed their sound and image to fit the glam metal scene.

Intro (Edit)

Whitesnake is an English band, formed in 1977. The band’s early material was compared to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980’s they changed their sound and image to fit the glam metal scene.

In 1977, vocalist David Coverdale founded the band in North Yorkshire, England.
The band was formed as The White Snake Band while on tour for David’s solo releases, White Snake and Northwinds. The band’s music was known as blues rock, but David called it, progressive R&B.

In 1978, the band started calling themselves, Whitesnake. They recorded and released their first EP called, Snakebite. The EP wasa released in June of 1978. The EP included the band’s first hit, a cover of, ‘Ain’t No Love In The Heart of The City’ by Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland. This EP started to bring attention to the band.

In October of 1978, the band released their second album, Trouble. The album peaked at number 50 on the UK album charts. While on tour in support of the album, the band recorded their first live album in Japan called, Live At Hammersmith. The album was recorded in November of 1978, but it wasn’t released until March of 1980.

Love Hunter, was the band’s third album and was released in October of 1979. The album featured a controverial cover. The cover included a naked woman who was straddling a snake. The cover art was designed by artist, Chris Achilleos. The album did not chart.

On May 31, 1980, the band released their next album called, Ready An’ Willing. The album was the first to chart outside of the UK for the band. The album peaked at number 90 in the US and at number 32 in Norway. The album also charted at number 90 on the Pop Albums chart in America. The album had two successful singles, Fool For Your Loving, and Ready An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction). In the UK the songs charted at number 13 and 43, respectively. In August of 1980, the song, Fool For Your Loving, peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the US.

Live…In The Heart of The City, was the band’s second album. It was released on November 1, 1980. Part of the album includes recordings from their tour in support of, Ready An’ Willing, and the other part of the album was recordings from their first live album, which was only released in Japan, Live At Hammersmith. In the US, the album peaked at number 146 on the Pop Albums chart in 1981.

The fifth album from the band was, Come An’ Get It. The album was released on April 11, 1981. The album peaked at number 2 in the UK and 151 on the Pop Albums chart in the US. The album had two singles, Don’t Break My Heart Again, and Would I Lie To You.

The next release from the band was, Saints & Sinners, which was released on November 20, 1982. During the recording, every band member left, except for Jon Lord. Coverdale hired new musicians to replace the old members, except guitarist Micky Moody, who decided to return to the band. The album had two notable songs, Crying In The Rain and Here I Go Again, which were eventually re-recorded.

In January of 1984, the band released, Slide It In. The album was released in two versions, the US release and the Europe release. In the European release, the bass guitar and keyboards are more noticeable, where in the US release, the drums and guitar are mostly prominent. The reviews were mixed for the UK release, critics thought it sounded flat, regardless, it was a success on the charts in the UK.

During the tour, tensions rose in the band, resulting in Micky Moody’s final departure from the band. Jon Lord also left the band for a Deep Purple reunion.

While this all was happening, the album was a success and there was a demand for Whitesnake. The band toured the US in support of Dio and Quiet Riot. MTV was playing the songs, Slow An’ Easy and Love Ain’t No Stragner in constant rotation. In 1992, the RIAA had certified that the album went double platinum, selling over two million copies, mostly due to the success of the album, Whitesnake.

Three years later, the band released their next album, Whitesnake. The album was called 1987 in Europe. It was released on April 7, 1987. The album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US and number 8 on the UK albums chart. There were four singles from the album. They were, Still of the Night, Here I Go Again, Is This Love, and, Give Me All Your Love. The single, Here I Go Again, charted at 1 and 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Mainstream Rock Tracks Charts, respectively. Is This Love, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and Still of the Night at number 18 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album went eight times platinum, selling over eight million records.

Once the album was recorded, Coverdale fired all of the musicians, except Adrian Vandenberg. The line-up in the videos was the touring line-up, which included, Vivian Campbell, Adrian Vandenberg, Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldrich, and David Coverdale.

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History (Edit)

The band’s next album was, Slip of the Tongue, which was released on November 18, 1989. The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 Chart in the US and on the UK Albums Chart. The albums four singles, Fool For Your Loving, Slip of The Tongue, The Deeper The Love, and Now You’re Gone, were successful. All four singles charted in the Top 40 for the Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart, in the US, and the songs, The Deeper The Love and Fool For Your Loving, peaked in the top 5.

After this, the band went into a time of inactivity. The band officially went on haitus in 1991. In this time, David Coverdale recorded an album with Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, in 1992. The album was called, Coverdale-Page, and was a success, being awarded the platinum album award by the RIAA. After that album, the band was done.

In 1994, Geffen Records decided to release a greatest hits compilation by the band. So, Coverdale formed a new line-up for the band and they toured in support of the album. The new line-up included, David Coverdale on vocals, Warren DeMartini, also of Ratt, on lead guitar, guitarist Adrian Vandenberg, bassist Rudy Sarzo, drummer Denny Carmassi, and keyboardist, Paul Mirkovich. The greatest hits, called, Whitesnake’s Greatest Hits, peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and number 161 on The Billboard 200 Chart in the US. In September of 1998, the album had gone Platinum, selling over one million copies in the US.

Restless Heart, was the band’s next release. It was released in 1997 and was the first studio album since, Slip of the Tongue, from 1989. The album was originally planned to be a David Coverdale solo album, but his record company forced the album to be released as Whitesnake. The album was not released in the US and it did not chart.

On June 30, 1998, Whitesnake released a live acoustic album, called Starkers In Tokyo. The album was recorded with only David Coverdale singing, and Adrian Vandenberg playing the acoustic guitar. The performance was released as a DVD under the same name.

After this, the band went into hiatus again until December of 2002. In December of 2002, Coverdale reformed Whitesnake with new members to get ready and tour for their 25th year anniversary. The new line-up consisted of David Coverdale, guitarists, Doug Aldrich, Reb Beach, also of Winger, bassist, Marco Mendoza, drummer Tommy Aldridge, and keyboardist, Timothy Drury. They headlined the 2003 Rock Never Stops Tour. They toured with Warrant, Kip Winger, and Slaughter.

In 2006, Whitesnake signed with SPV / Steam Hammer Records and released a live album called, Live: In The Shadow Of The Blues. The album was released on October 27, 2006. It contained four new studio songs, Ready To Rock, If You Want Me, All I Want Is You, and Dog. The album did not chart.

The band toured off and on until they released their next album called, Good To Be Bad, on April 21, 2008. This is the first Whitesnake album since 1997’s, Restless Heart, except in the United States, it is the tenth Whitesnake album to be released. The album peaked at number 62 on the Billboard 200 Chart, staying there for two weeks and it charted at number 7 on the Hard Rock Albums chart for one week, in the US. In the UK, the album peaked at number 5 on the UK Album Chart. In November of 2008, the band received the, Classic Rock Best Album, award for the album.

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Update (Edit)

On August 11, 2009, Coverdale suffered an injury to his vocal cords. He suffered from severe vocal fold edema, which is caused by voice overuse. As of Febuary 2010, Coverdale has announced that his voice has fully recovered and that he was recording demos and hoping to release a new Whitesnake album.

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