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WHITE LION BAND PAGE
 WHITE LION
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CURRENT NAME
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White Lion | |
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FORMER NAMES
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- | |
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ORIGIN
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New York, New York, USA | |
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STATUS
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Active | |
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FORMED IN
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1983 | |
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LABEL
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Currently unsigned | |
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GENRE
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Hard rock | |
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STYLE
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- | |
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LYRICAL THEME
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- | |
| BAND ADDED | 2006-03-21, 19:07 | |
| LAST UPDATE | 2008-02-29, 01:46 | |
Biography | Band members | Discography | Shows | Forum
| Band biography |
The album took a while to catch on, but when MTV latched onto the quartet's melodic rocker "Wait," the floodgates opened for the band and Pride raced up the charts. Landing prime tour opening slots with the likes of AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Ozzy Osbourne didn't hurt matters either and the group toured for the better part of 1988, resulting in Pride holding steady on the charts. But it was more than a year after the album's release that White Lion enjoyed their biggest success, with the gentle acoustic ballad "When the Children Cry," which would eventually push sales of Pride over the two million mark (in addition, Bratta was being recognized for his instrumental talents by racking up Best New Guitarist awards with several guitar-based magazines). But like numerous other young bands that enjoy big-time success early on in their career, White Lion felt the pressure to deliver once more on their follow-up recording, which they decided to write and record directly after coming off ! tour rather than taking time off to re-focus.
The decision would ultimately prove to be a detrimental one for White Lion, as proven by the lackluster chart performance of 1989's Big Game. Although the album spawned a pair of videos that racked up substantial MTV airplay (the Greenpeace tribute "Little Fighter" and a cover version of Golden Earring's classic rock standard "Radar Love"), Big Game stalled on the charts and quickly faded away after being certified gold shortly after release. Down but not out, White Lion regrouped for 1991's Mane Attraction, which saw the group slightly toughen up their sound on such tracks as the politically charged "Warsong." But with hair metal's audience quickly drying up (and such Seattle bands as Nirvana and Soundgarden waiting in the wings), the album fared even worse than its predecessor. To add insult to injury, both LoMenzo and d'Angelo left the band shortly thereafter, replaced with newcomers Tommy "T-Bone" Caradonna on bass and future Megadeth member Jimmy DeGrasso on drums. But ! before the new lineup could record, Tramp and Bratta came to the realization that their best days were behind them and quietly laid White Lion to rest.
After White Lion's split, both Lomenzo and D'Angelo reappeared in Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde's Southern rock outfit Pride & Glory (although D'Angelo would exit the group before their self-titled 1994 release was recorded), while Tramp issued a solo album in 1998, Capricorn (despite all the accolades he received for his playing, Bratta failed to resurface after the group's breakup). In addition to their four studio albums, the group has also been the subject of a "hits" set, 1992's 13-track The Best of White Lion.
This biography was written by Greg Prato for Allmusic.com.
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7.5 / 10 Read our review here | ||
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