Don Dokken

Last updated

Don Dokken
Dokken - Wacken Open Air 2018 25.jpg
Dokken at Wacken Open Air 2018
Background information
Birth nameDonald Maynard Dokken
Born (1953-06-29) June 29, 1953 (age 71)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1976–present
Labels
Member of
Website dokken.net

Donald Maynard Dokken (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and founder of glam metal band Dokken. [1] He is known for his vibrato-laden, melodic vocal style which has made him an influential figure in American glam rock.

Contents

After enjoying mainstream success with Dokken, he parted ways with the band in 1988 and pursued a solo career. His 1990 solo album, Up from the Ashes , spawned two singles and achieved modest success. He released his second solo album, titled Solitary , in 2008, which was a stylistic departure from his Dokken material.

Don reformed Dokken in the early 1990s and has been continuing on with the band ever since. He is the only remaining original member of Dokken.

Biography

Early success

In the late 1970s, Don Dokken was playing in a Los Angeles–based band called Airborn, and had the opportunity to reach a record deal in Germany. After seeing the band Xciter with future bandmates George Lynch and Mick Brown, he tried to recruit them for a new band. Lynch and Brown were not interested in joining forces with him when he first contacted them. Don, with the help of one of Xciter's songs, secured the deal in Germany and convinced Lynch and Brown, along with bassist Juan Croucier, to join him in Dokken soon after he received it.

During his time in Germany, Dokken befriended the German hard rock band Scorpions, and sang with them in rehearsals for their Blackout album while lead vocalist Klaus Meine was being treated for nodes on his vocal cords. Don has stated that he recorded scratch vocals for "No One Like You", "You Give Me All I Need", and "Dynamite". [2] Don also stated, "I was just helping Klaus out", and "You’ll never hear those [tracks]… because it’s not fair to the Scorpions." [3] Meine recovered and returned to record the album.

In 1983, America saw the release of the first Dokken album, Breaking the Chains , which got a moderate reception. After Juan Croucier left the band to join Ratt, Jeff Pilson was brought in for their second release, Tooth and Nail , and at this time metal fans and critics began to take notice of the band.

Solo release

In the late 1980s, however, personal tension between Dokken and Lynch took its toll on the band. In 1988, after the Monsters of Rock Tour and a further platinum album, Don Dokken decided to break up the band and they went on their separate ways. Don Dokken originally wanted to continue on under the Dokken moniker, but since the other three members shared partial ownership over the Dokken name, he was forced to put out his next album under his own name, and it became known as his first solo album.

The album, titled Up from the Ashes , was released in 1990, and was very similar to the Dokken catalog. This project was a supergroup of sorts, made up of guitarists John Norum (of Europe fame) and Billy White (of Watchtower fame), bassist Peter Baltes (of Accept fame), and drummer Mikkey Dee (of King Diamond; later Motörhead and Scorpions). John Norum's drummer Hempo Hildén was initially part of the band but was replaced by Dee before the album was recorded. Baltes had previously been a member of Dokken during the late 1970s for a brief period. Two music videos were made for the singles "Mirror Mirror" and "Stay", respectively. Also, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Don spent time as a producer for the metal band XYZ.

He also made a guest appearance on the German progressive metal band Vanden Plas's Spirit of Live album as the vocalist for their live performance of Dokken's "Kiss of Death", the studio version of which can be found on Vanden Plas's Far Off Grace album.

Dokken reunion

Dokken performing in 2008 Don Dokken.jpg
Dokken performing in 2008

Around late 1993, Don started to talk with Mick Brown, who had recently left George Lynch's new group, Lynch Mob. They joined up with Jeff Pilson, and started to write new songs. In 1994, they sent what they had written to George Lynch, who was impressed with the material. Together, they decided to reunite and tour again. This reunion lasted for three years and resulted in two new Dokken albums, an acoustic live disc, and a full live concert recorded in Japan in 1995.

In the late 90s, Dokken once again parted ways with George Lynch, gained guitarist Reb Beach, and later kicked off a new era with guitarist John Norum after the departure of Reb Beach. That union didn't last long, as Norum soon departed to re-unite with Europe. Norum was briefly replaced by Italian guitarist Alex De Rosso for the live tour [4] until 2003 when Don managed to find a permanent replacement in guitarist/lawyer Jon Levin.

Since 1994, Dokken has released six studio albums, two live albums, a Greatest Hits album, as well as their first two DVDs. Don Dokken released a new solo album titled Solitary in 2008, and Dokken released a new album titled Lightning Strikes Again during the same year. On March 1, 2010, the band Dokken's second greatest hits album, aptly titled Greatest Hits, was digitally released to iTunes and Amazon.com. The physical album with additional tracks was released in US by Cleopatra Records May 4, 2010, and in Japan May 11, 2010, by King Records (Japan).

On September 22, 2010, in an interview with BraveWords.com, Don Dokken revealed that he would be undergoing vocal surgery, to correct problems with nodes and tears in his vocal cords. [5] February 4, 2011, Anchorage, Alaska was Dokken's first show since surgery. In addition to the vocal cord surgery, Dokken underwent treatment for cancer around the same time. He has since recovered and his voice has seen great improvement over the past few years.

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US
[6] 		SWE
[7] 		SWI
[8]
1981 Breakin' the Chains ———
1990 Up from the Ashes 502738
2008 Solitary ———
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Tribute album appearances

Other appearances

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scorpions (band)</span> German rock band

Scorpions are a German hard rock band formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker. The longest-running and most successful line-up of the band included Schenker, Klaus Meine (vocals), Matthias Jabs, Francis Buchholz (bass), and Herman Rarebell (drums), and lasted from 1978 to 1992. The band's only continuous member has been Schenker, although Meine has been with the band continuously since their first album Lonesome Crow (1972). Jabs has been a consistent member since 1978, while bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee have been in the band since 2003 and 2016, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dokken</span> American rock band

Dokken is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band has had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as "Alone Again", "In My Dreams", and "Burning Like a Flame", and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. The live album Beast from the East was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Lynch (musician)</span> American guitarist

George Lynch is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the hard rock band Dokken and his post-Dokken solo band Lynch Mob. He is regarded as one of the most renowned and influential rock guitarists of the 1980s, noted for his distinctive playing style and sound.

<i>Blackout</i> (Scorpions album) 1982 studio album by Scorpions

Blackout is the eighth studio album by the German rock band Scorpions. It was released in 1982 by Harvest and EMI Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Norum</span> Norwegian-Swedish guitarist

John Terry Norum is a Norwegian-Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist.

<i>Tooth and Nail</i> (Dokken album) 1984 studio album by Dokken

Tooth and Nail is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released on September 14, 1984 through Elektra Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Pilson</span> American bassist (born 1958)

Jeffrey Steven Pilson is an American musician best known for being the bass player in the glam metal band Dokken and currently classic rock band Foreigner. He has also had an extended stint with Dio in the 1990s.

<i>World Wide Live</i> 1985 double live album by Scorpions

World Wide Live is a live album by German rock band Scorpions, released in 1985. The original audio recording was produced by Dieter Dierks. A VHS was released at the same time with footage of Scorpions' world tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman Rarebell</span> German drummer

Hermann Erbel, known professionally as Herman Rarebell, is a German musician, best known as the drummer for the hard rock band Scorpions from 1977 to 1996, during which time he played on eight studio albums. Aside from playing drums, Rarebell wrote or co-wrote several songs for the group such as "Another Piece of Meat", "Falling in Love" and "Passion Rules the Game". He wrote the lyrics for some of the band's most well known songs such as "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Blackout", "Make It Real", "Arizona", "Bad Boys Running Wild" and "Tease Me Please Me".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Baltes</span> German bassist

Peter Baltes is a German musician, best known as former bassist of heavy metal band Accept and as current bassist of U.D.O.

<i>Erase the Slate</i> 1999 studio album by Dokken

Erase the Slate is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released in 1999. It is the only Dokken studio album to feature former Winger guitarist Reb Beach and the last one with long-time bassist Jeff Pilson.

<i>Up from the Ashes</i> (Don Dokken album) 1990 studio album by Don Dokken

Up from the Ashes is the first solo studio album by Don Dokken, best known as the lead singer of American glam metal band Dokken. The sound of the album continues the more commercial sound that Dokken began to incorporate into their music with Under Lock and Key. Whilst working on the album, it was originally intended to be a new Dokken album as a band with a new lineup rather than a solo album, but due to the lawsuit between Don Dokken and his former bandmates, it was released under Don Dokken's name.

<i>Breaking the Chains</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Dokken

Breaking the Chains is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken. It was originally released in Europe as Breakin' the Chains on the French label Carrere Records, in 1981. This version contains different mixes and titles of songs from the later U.S. edition. "Paris Is Burning" is called "Paris", and is actually a studio version as opposed to the live recording in Berlin from December 1982. The album also contains a song called "We're Illegal", which later turned into "Live to Rock ".

<i>Long Way Home</i> (Dokken album) 2002 studio album by Dokken

Long Way Home is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released in the spring of 2002. It is the only Dokken album which features Europe guitarist John Norum and the first featuring bassist Barry Sparks.

<i>Back in the Streets</i> 1979 EP by Dokken

Back in the Streets is a 1979 EP by the American heavy metal band Dokken, recorded in 1979 during the band's tour of Germany.

<i>From Conception: Live 1981</i> 2007 live album by Dokken

From Conception: Live 1981 is a live album by American heavy metal band Dokken, released in 2007.

<i>XYZ</i> (XYZ album) 1989 studio album by XYZ

XYZ is the 1989 debut album by the American hard rock band XYZ. There were two hits off the album, "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You". The album was a moderate success, charting at No. 99 on the Billboard 200. There were two music videos made, for the songs "Inside Out" and "What Keeps Me Loving You", which both aired on MTV between 1989 and 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breaking the Chains (song)</span> 1983 single by Dokken

"Breaking the Chains" is a song by American heavy metal/glam metal band Dokken, appearing on the band's debut album of the same name. The song was originally released as a single "Breakin' the Chains" in 1981 through Carrere Records exclusively in Europe, appearing as the B-side to the "I Can't See You" single. "Breaking the Chains" was released as a single in 1983 through Elektra Records, being the band's first American single. The song was a modest success, peaking at #32 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The song remained on the chart for 13 weeks.

<i>Alone Again and Other Hits</i> 2003 compilation album by Dokken

Alone Again and Other Hits is a compilation album released by the 1980s heavy metal band Dokken.

References

  1. ↑ Harris, Craig. "Biography: Don Dokken". AllMusic . Retrieved May 6, 2010.
  2. ↑ R.Y.A.N. - Season 2, Episode 1: Don Dokken , retrieved September 21, 2022
  3. ↑ "Scorpions' songs for 'Blackout' album with Don Dokken on lead vocals will never be released". Sleaze Roxx. December 3, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Dokken". musicmight.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.
  5. ↑ "DON DOKKEN Talks About Vocal Surgery, RONNIE JAMES DIO, Spring Acoustic Tour Plans". BraveWords . September 22, 2010. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Don Dokken Album & Song Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard . Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  7. ↑ "swedishcharts.com – Swedish charts portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community und Music Community". hitparade.ch. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  9. ↑ An alternate recording of Breaking the Chains was released by Carrere Records in 1981 which featured the Don Dokken moniker. https://www.discogs.com/Don-Dokken-Breakin-The-Chains/release/9315979
  10. ↑ Dokken, Don (n.d.). "Dokken". Artist Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Joy Williams. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.