The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 487

Number 487

Whitesnake

"Here I Go Again"

(1982 & 87)

Genre:Rock

Its not unusual, as you might think it would be, to have a song re-enter the charts ... for example: Billy Idol's "Mony Mony" 1981 & 1987 (Number 558) or Cliff Richard's "Living Doll" 1959 & 1986 (Number 666) and those two examples are just in this countdown. Other songs that come to mind is Elton John's "Candle In The Wind" 1973 & 1997 and Chubby Checker's "The Twist"1960 & 1962, also noting "The Twist was actually a cover from 1959. Some songs just wont die a natural death. I would include Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" [actually released in 1975, became a #10 Hit 1n 1977 .. figure that one out] and duets with Run DMC in 1986 (Number 520) but the technicality being, the single was released under Run DMC's name ft. Aerosmith.

Speaking of Aerosmith, only 6 more sleeps [tic + you can only play "Slow Ride" so many times] till Guitar Hero 3 Aerosmith Edition is released! wo0t! Also, please let me know if you can think of anymore duplicate re-entries and no .. not the rude kind.

Can you hear me?

After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. In the glut of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late '70s, their first albums got somewhat lost in the shuffle, although they were fairly popular in Europe and Japan. During 1982, Coverdale took some time off, so he could take care of his sick daughter. When he re-emerged with a new version of Whitesnake in 1984, the band sounded revitalized and energetic. Slide It In may have relied on Led Zeppelin's and Deep Purple's old tricks, but the band had a knack for writing hooks; the record became their first platinum album. Three years later, Whitesnake released an eponymous album (titled 1987 in Europe) that was even better. Portions of the album were blatantly derivative -- "Still of the Night" was a dead ringer for early Zeppelin -- but the group could write powerful, heavy rockers like "Here I Go Again" that were driven as much by melody as riffs, as well as hit power ballads like "Is This Love." Whitesnake was an enormous international success, selling over six million copies in the U.S. alone.
Wern't the 70's great?

Before they recorded their follow-up, 1989's Slip of the Tongue, Coverdale again assembled a completely new version of the band, featuring guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Although the record went platinum, it was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of Whitesnake. Coverdale put Whitesnake on hiatus after that album. In 1993, he released a collaboration with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page that was surprisingly lackluster. The following year, Whitesnake issued a greatest-hits album in the U.S. and Canada -- focusing solely on material from their final three albums (as well as containing a few unreleased tracks).

Purple death

In 1997, Coverdale resurrected Whitesnake (guitarist Adrian Vandenberg was the only remaining member of the group's latter-day lineup), issuing Restless Heart the same year. Surprisingly, the album wasn't even issued in the United States. On the ensuing tour, Coverdale and Vandenberg performed an "unplugged" show in Japan that was recorded and issued the following year under the title Starkers in Tokyo. By the late '90s, however, Coverdale once again put Whitesnake on hold, as he concentrated on recording his first solo album in nearly 22 years. Coverdale's Into the Light was issued in September 2000, featuring journeyman guitarist Earl Slick. After a lengthy hiatus that saw the release of countless "greatest-hits" and "live" collections, the band returned in 2008 with the impressive Good to Be Bad. ~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide]

For Billy Idol see Number 588

For Cliff Richard see Number 666 & #739

For Elton John see Number 531

For Chubby Checker see Number 743

For Run DMC see Number 520

For Deep Purple see Number 686

For Led Zeppelin see Number 577 & Number 957

For Steve Vai see Number 896

What does Bowling Gnome think about Whitesnake?

Originality is not an essential virtue in heavy-metal circles. Even so, few heavy-metal acts have ever delivered anything as unblushingly derivative as Whitesnake. You'd think the album was some sort of perverse research project. From the epic crunch of "Crying in the Rain" through the brisk, synth-spiked pomp of "Straight for the Heart" to the hyperstrummed overdrive of "Children of the Night," the group spits back every worthwhile mannerism and lick in the heavy-rock vocabulary. In fact, a few tunes – the Scorpions-style rocker "Bad Boys" and the Foreigner-like ballad "Is This Love" – offer such dead-accurate impressions it's hard not to wonder if singer David Coverdale didn't pick the wrong reptile in naming his group. After all, wouldn't it make more sense to call this group Chameleon?

A Vandenberg

Coverdale and company hit their stride with "Still of the Night," a full-blown Zep-a-rama that finds the singer unleashing his best Robert Plant howl as the arrangement apes the stop-time guitar of "Black Dog," the monolithic stutter of "Kashmir" and the spacey bridge from "Whole Lotta Love" – and that's just in the first couple of minutes. What makes it such a guilty pleasure, though, is that Coverdale isn't simply stealing licks; he and guitarist John Sykes understand the structure, pacing and drama of the old Led Zeppelin sound and deserve credit for concocting such a convincing simulacrum.All in all, Whitesnake is shamelessly alluring, coming at the listener with hook after eerily familiar hook. Never mind that there's more lyrical content in most Pepsi commercials. White-snake does what it sets out to do: it delivers the goods. What more could a metalhead want? ~ [Source:RS 502] ~ Well, we know where Rolling Stone stands with Whitesnake.

For Scorpions see Number 545

For Robert Plant see Number 845

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '487th Song of all Time' was "Under The Boardwalk" by The Drifters. The Drifters have not appeared in The Definitive 1000

Other songs with reference to Whitesnake #925, #959

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (We don't like them) the Album ranked at (Do you get it through your thick head c'barred?)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 75.9 out of 108

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again
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