A
Hair Metal band that started in the
70s and lasted into the
90s. This band was
David Coverdale (also of
Deep Purple). He started it in
1977 and reformed the band with entirely new lineups several times over the years. From
Europe, this band was more successful there and in
Japan, than in the
U.S. in their early years. The first iteration of
Whitesnake came to an end in 1982 when Coverdale's daughter fell ill and he took off to take care of her.
The second iteration began in 1984. Coverdale reformed the band with an new lineup and released Slide It In. With this album Whitesnake gained more popularity in the states. Then in 1987 the band released their self-titled album. This album was the height of the band. On this album are the songs I think of when I think Whitesnake, Still of the Night, Here I Go Again, and Is This Love.
Even with all that success Coverdale revamped the band in 1989. This third iteration of the band included master guitarist Stevie Vai, but their 1989 release Slip of the Tongue never did as well as Whitesnake. It still sold a lot of copies and I remember the song Slip of the Tongue. The band could not regain the popularity they had with the self-titled release. Coverdale soon disbanded the band once again.
There hasn't been a fourth iteration of the band. Coverdale has done some work under the Whitesnake name including compilations and collaboration work. But, Whitesnake as a band has never been resurrected.
I had some friends that were big Whitesnake fans. While I was a Stevie Vai fan I never really got into Whitesnake. Probably because I always thought of them as a power ballad band and never was a fan of bands that only did power ballads. I know now that Whitesnake had more range, but they always held that stigma in my mind.
- albums
- Starkers in Tokyo (live) -- EMI (1998)
- Whitesnake's Greatest Hits -- Geffen Records (1994)
- Box Set -- Alex Records (1992)
- Slip of the Tongue -- Geffen Records (1989)
- s/t -- Geffen Records (1987)
- Slide It In -- Geffen Records (1984)
- Greatest Whitesnake -- Polydor Records (1983)
- Saints & Sinners -- Geffen Records (1982)
- Come An' Get It -- Geffen Records (1981)
- The Best of Whitesnake -- Carrere Records (1981)
- Ready An' Willing -- United Artists (1980)
- Live at Hammersmith -- Sunburst Records (1980)
- Live in the Heart of the City -- Geffen Records (1980)
- Love Hunter -- Geffen Records (1979)
- Trouble -- Geffen Records (1978)
- Snakebite -- Geffen Records (1978)