Here I Go Again

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"Here I Go Again"
WhitesnakeHereIGoAgain.jpg
Single by Whitesnake
from the album Saints & Sinners
B-side "Bloody Luxury"
ReleasedOctober 1982 [1]
Recorded 1982
Studio Goodnight L.A. Studios, Los Angeles, US
Genre
Length5:09
Label Geffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Martin Birch
Whitesnake singles chronology
"Would I Lie to You"
(1981)		"Here I Go Again"
(1982)		"Victim of Love"
(1982)
Music video
"Here I Go Again" on YouTube
"Here I Go Again"
Hereigoagain.jpg
Single by Whitesnake
from the album Whitesnake
B-side "Children of the Night" (US)
"Guilty of Love" (UK)
ReleasedJune 1987 (US)
October 1987 (UK)
Recorded1985–1986
Genre Glam metal [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Length
  • 4:36 (album version)
  • 3:54 (radio edit mix)
Label Geffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Whitesnake singles chronology
"Still of the Night"
(1987)		"Here I Go Again"
(1987)		"Is This Love"
(1987)
Music video
"Here I Go Again '87" on YouTube

"Here I Go Again" is a song by British rock band Whitesnake. Originally released on their 1982 album, Saints & Sinners , the power ballad was re-recorded for their 1987 self-titled album. It was re-recorded again the same year in a new "radio-mix" version, which was released as a single and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 10 October 1987 (the band's only No. 1 on that chart), and also No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart on 28 November 1987. The 1987 version also made No. 1 on the Canadian RPM singles chart on 24 October 1987. In 2018 at the BMI London Awards, it received the "5 Million Performances Award", [9] while in 2022 it garnered the "8 Million-Air Award". [10]

Contents

Background and writing

The song was written by lead singer David Coverdale, and former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden. The most notable difference between the original and re-recorded versions are a slight change in the bluesy lyrics and pace. [11] The re-recording of the song in 1987 was advised by record labels bosses Al Coury and David Geffen as a negotiation deal with Coverdale to re-record "Crying in the Rain" for the band's self-titled album Whitesnake , released in 1987. [12] [13] [14]

The chorus of the original version features the lines:

And here I go again on my own
Goin' down the only road I've ever known
Like a hobo I was born to walk alone

In an interview, Coverdale explained that initially the lyrics had "drifter" but as that was already used in different songs he decided to use "hobo" instead. However, the lyric was changed back to "drifter" in the re-recorded '87 version, reportedly to ensure that it would not be misheard as "homo". [11] [13]

The song was used in the climax of romantic comedy film Man Up (2015). [11]

Composition

The composition is in the key of G major and a tempo of 91 BPM. [15]

Music video

The '82 music video features the band performing the song onstage. [13] The music video for the '87 re-recorded version was directed by Marty Callner. [16] The video includes, besides the band's stage performance, appearances by model Julie E. "Tawny" Kitaen, who was married to Whitesnake's David Coverdale from 1989 to 1991. [4] [13] Her notable sex-appeal was immediately recognized; she filmed memorable unchoreographed scenes dressed "in a white negligee, writhing and cartwheeling across the hoods of two Jaguars XJ" which belonged to Coverdale (white) and Callner (black). [16] [17] [18] Coverdale recalls that he brought choreographer Paula Abdul to the set to show Tawny some moves, but Abdul exclaimed that Tawny was already so accomplished regarding this video that she couldn't "show her anything". [19] [20] [21] Coverdale's iconic white Jaguar once again appeared in the music video for the single "Shut Up & Kiss Me" from the 2019 studio album Flesh & Blood . [19] [22]

The song's 1987 music video was listed as one of the 15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos by The New York Times. [23]

Single versions

There are several different versions of the song, all recorded officially by Whitesnake. [13]

In 1987, EMI released a limited Collectors Poster Edition 'USA Single Remix' 7" vinyl [EMP 35], the B-side of which consists of an engraved signature version, and the sleeve of which unfolds into a poster of the band. [26] In 1997 Whitesnake recorded an acoustic version, released on their Starkers in Tokyo live album. [13]

Impact and legacy

In 2003, Martin Popoff listed the song at number 274 in The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time , [27] while Q magazine ranked it at 962 on their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever". [28] In 2006, the 1987 version was ranked number 17 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s". [29] In 2008, The Times included it in their top 11 "heavy metal at its best" list. [30] In the 2012 Reader's Poll of Rolling Stone , it ranked 9th among the top 10 "Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time". [4] In 2017, The Daily Telegraph included it among the top 21 best power ballads. [31]

Personnel

Original 1982 version from Saints & Sinners:

1987 version from Whitesnake:

1987 radio-mix version:

Chart performance

This song is notable for being the only Whitesnake song to get airplay on adult contemporary stations despite not registering at all on the AC charts while "Is This Love" did, reaching No. 38. [32]

Following the death of Tawny Kitaen, the single debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs chart on 22 May 2021. [33]

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [57] Platinum600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

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