Whitesnake

Whitesnake biography

Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1976 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's most popular hit was 1987's Here I Go Again which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in October of that year. The early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style. The band's 1987 self-titled album was their most commercially successful, and contained two of their most recognisable songs, "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love". In 1988, Whitesnake was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. In 2005, Whitesnake was named the 85th greatest hard rock band of all time by VH1.

History

Formation (1976)

David Coverdale founded Whitesnake in 1976 in North Yorkshire. The core line-up had been working as his backing band The White Snake Band on the White Snake album tour and they retained the title before officially being known as Whitesnake. They toured with Coverdale as his support band and for both of the solo albums he released, White Snake and Northwinds, between exiting Deep Purple and founding Whitesnake. At this time, the band was made up of David Coverdale, Bernie Marsden, Micky Moody, Neil Murray and drummer David "Duck" Dowle with keyboardist Brian Johnston. Johnston would soon be replaced by Procol Harum organ player and keyboardist Pete Solley. Because of Solley's producing commitments he was replaced by the former Deep Purple keyboard player Jon Lord, during sessions for the first LP.

Early years and commercial success (1978–1983)

thumb Whitesnake recorded the EP Snakebite which was released in 1978 and included a cover of a Bobby "Blue" Bland song "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City", which became the first hit from the band. The EP had some success in the UK and subsequent reissues of this EP included four bonus tracks from Coverdale's second solo album Northwinds produced by Roger Glover. A blues rock/R&B debut album Trouble, was released in the autumn of 1978 and peaked at #50 in the UK album charts. Whitesnake toured Europe to promote the album and their first live album Live at Hammersmith was recorded on this tour and released in Japan in 1979. Whitesnake released Lovehunter in 1979, which courted controversy due to its risqué album cover by artist Chris Achilleos, which featured an illustration of a naked woman straddling a coiled snake. The album made the UK Top 30 and contained the minor hit "Long Way From Home" which reached #55 in the single charts. Tracks from the EP Snakebite were included in a reissue of the album Trouble in 2006. Shortly after that Ian Paice replaced David Dowle giving Whitesnake three ex-Deep Purple members. The new line-up recorded the 1980 release Ready an' Willing, which was a breakthrough hit for the band reaching the UK Top 10 and becoming their first entry into the U.S. Top 100. The single "Fool For Your Loving", which the band originally wrote for B.B. King, made #13 in the UK single charts and #53 in the US, and the title track also hit #43 in the UK charts. The Ready an' Willing tour included the Saturday night headline appearance at the 1980 Reading Festival, highlights of which were broadcast by BBC Radio One in UK. While still mostly unknown in the US, the modest success of Ready an' Willing helped Whitesnake increase awareness there as an opening act for established bands such as Jethro Tull and AC/DC. The band also released Live...In The Heart Of The City, which contained recordings made in 1978 and 1980 and achieved a #5 ranking in the UK album charts.

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