David Coverdale is best known for his band Whitesnake. Whitesnake emerged when Coverdale wanted to name his backing band on tour, before becoming a device for him to promote himself with though it remained his backing band and not a band in its own right. Later Coverdale would return to solo work and would also work with Jimmy Page on a project. Aside from Coverdale himself, there was a number of other overlaps in membership of these various groups. To construct an accurate chronology of his backing band therefore, the line-ups for David Coverdale Band, Whitesnake and Coverdale-Page have been included.
The first lineup of Deep Purple with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes released two studio albums – Burn and Stormbringer , both in 1974 – before founding member Blackmore left the band, reportedly due to the new influences of funk rock presented by Coverdale and Hughes. Mark IV of the band, featuring Tommy Bolin in place of Blackmore, released their only album Come Taste the Band in 1975, before breaking up the following year.
Lineup | Years | Members | Studio albums |
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Mark III | 1973–1975 |
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Mark IV | 1975–1976 |
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Whitesnake wasn't so much formed, as evolved. It was put together during the process of David Coverdale's post-Deep Purple solo career. He began work with classic Whitesnake guitarist Micky Moody on both his solo albums. The touring band in 1978 that Coverdale used (to support his Northwinds album) was the band that would become Whitesnake very shortly.
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David Coverdale Band (1976–1977) | with
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David Coverdale Band (1977) |
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David Coverdale Band/Whitesnake (1978) |
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When reforming Whitesnake in 1982 after a brief hiatus, Coverdale brought back only Moody and Lord, and the hurriedly put together band changed as it settled. The session musicians required to complete Whitesnake's self-titled album in 1987 only played on the song Here I Go Again 87 (other than the keyboards), because this song was unfinished when the band was fired.
Period | Lineup | Releases | Tours |
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David Coverdale's Whitesnake (1978) |
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Whitesnake (1978–1979) |
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Whitesnake (1979–1982) |
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Whitesnake (1982–1984) |
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Whitesnake (1984) |
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Whitesnake (1984) |
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Whitesnake (1984–1985) |
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Whitesnake (1985–1987) |
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Whitesnake (1987–1988) |
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Whitesnake (1988–1989) |
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Whitesnake (1989–1991) |
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When Coverdale split up the band in 1991 to work with Jimmy Page, he worked with Denny Carmassi (who had done a little session work in 1987 for Whitesnake), Guy Pratt and Brett Tuggle. Carmassi was on both the album and tour for Coverdale-Page while the other two only appeared on the tour.
Period | Lineup | Releases |
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Coverdale•Page (1991–92) |
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Coverdale•Page (1993) Coverdale•Page Tour |
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Carmassi would join Whitesnake for the 1994 Greatest Hits Reunion tour which was organised shortly after Coverdale put the new compilation together. All three would join the band in 1997 for Restless Heart (though this was initially meant to be a David Coverdale solo project, and Pratt and Tuggle left before the support tour).
Period | Lineup | Releases | Tours |
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Whitesnake (1994) |
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David Coverdale & Whitesnake (1995–97) |
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Whitesnake Unplugged (5 July 1997) |
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Whitesnake (1997) |
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Band split (1997) | Coverdale takes time off after hectic tour |
Hilland, Franklin, and Carmassi all joined Coverdale for his Into the Light solo album in 2000. Earl Slick, Doug Bossi and future member Marco Mendoza also contributed.
In 2002, Whitesnake reformed fully. Unlike the reunions of the mid 1990s, this is a full-time lineup as existed previously in the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
Period | Lineup | Releases | Tours |
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Whitesnake 25th Anniversary Reformation (2002–05) |
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Whitesnake (2005–2007) |
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Whitesnake (2007–2010) |
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Whitesnake (2010–2011) |
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Whitesnake (2011–2013) |
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Whitesnake (2013–2014) |
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Whitesnake (2014–2015) |
with
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Whitesnake (2015–2021) |
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Whitesnake (2021–present) |
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Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entity, Coverdale is the only constant member throughout their history.
Coverdale–Page is a collaborative studio album by English singer David Coverdale and guitarist Jimmy Page. It was released on 15 March 1993 by EMI in Europe, 16 March by Geffen Records in North America and 18 March by Sony Music Entertainment in Japan. The album's production was handled by Coverdale, Page and Mike Fraser. Following the disbandment of Coverdale's band Whitesnake and a failed reunion attempt by Page's band Led Zeppelin, John Kalodner proposed the idea to Page of the musicians working together. After meeting each other, they began writing songs, which were then recorded over the course of 1991 and 1992.
David Coverdale is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Whitesnake. He was also the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after which he released two solo studio albums, White Snake (1977) and Northwinds (1978), before forming Whitesnake in 1978.
Burn is the eighth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on 15 February 1974 by Warner Bros. and Purple/EMI internationally. It was the first album to feature then-unknown lead singer David Coverdale. The group's Mark III line-up for their recording debut included Coverdale, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboards, and Ian Paice on drums.
John James Sykes is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He has also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums.
Philip Neil Murray is a Scottish musician, best known as the former bassist of Whitesnake, the Brian May Band, Black Sabbath, and Gary Moore.
Trouble is the debut studio album from British hard rock band Whitesnake, led by former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale released in October 1978. It reached No. 50 on the UK Albums Chart. This followed the four-track Snakebite EP, later available in the US as an import album from continental Europe. The album later received a reissue by EMI/Parlophone in 2006, containing bonus tracks from their previous EP.
Northwinds is the second solo album by former Deep Purple singer David Coverdale, released in March 1978. The album was released as a part of a compilation album Whitesnake/Northwinds in 1988, was reissued alone in 2000, and released again as part of a double compilation album now titled as The Early Days (2003).
Lovehunter is the second studio album by British band Whitesnake, released in 21 September 1979. It was the bands first UK Top 30 album, charting at No. 29 on the UK Albums Chart. "Long Way from Home", the leading track on the album reached No. 55 on the UK charts, while "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues" was one of the most popular and praised Whitesnake's songs in the beginning. The album became controversial because of its cover art.
Come Taste the Band is the tenth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 7 November 1975. It was co-produced and engineered by the band and longtime associate Martin Birch. Musically, the record consists of stronger influences of funk than the band's previous albums.
Restless Heart is the ninth studio album by English hard rock band Whitesnake, released by EMI on 26 March 1997 in Japan and 26 May in Europe. It was produced by the band's vocalist David Coverdale and originally conceived as a solo album. However, EMI pressured him into releasing the record under the moniker "David Coverdale & Whitesnake". Musically Restless Heart features a more subdued sound compared to Whitesnake's previous two albums. It is also the only full-length Whitesnake studio album to feature guitarist Adrian Vandenberg throughout, despite having been a member of the group since 1987.
Saints & Sinners is the fifth studio album by English hard rock band Whitesnake, released on 15 November 1982 by Liberty Records. The album was the last to be recorded by the Ready an' Willing line-up as the members had strained relations alongside the musical direction and the band's management despite commercial successes in their native. Guy Bidmead produced the album as Martin Birch's replacement at first, but Birch returned to finish the album during the recording.
Michael Joseph Moody is an English guitarist, and a former member of the rock bands Juicy Lucy and Whitesnake. He was also a founder-member of Snafu. Together with his former Whitesnake colleague Bernie Marsden he founded the Moody Marsden Band, and later, the Snakes, having previously collaborated with unofficial fifth Status Quo member Bob Young in Young & Moody. Along with Marsden and ex-Whitesnake bassist, Neil Murray, he formed the Company of Snakes and M3 Classic Whitesnake with which they mainly performed early Whitesnake songs. From 2011 to 2015, Moody toured and recorded with Snakecharmer, a band he co-formed.
Bernard John Marsden was an English rock and blues guitarist. He is primarily known for his work with Whitesnake, having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group's hit songs, such as "Fool for Your Loving", "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues", "Ready an' Willing", "Lovehunter", "Trouble", and "Here I Go Again".
"Burn" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on the album of the same name in 1974. In the US and Japan it was also released as the second single by the Mark III lineup, after "Might Just Take Your Life".
Live in Paris 1975 is a live album by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, recorded in 1975 at the Palais des Sports in Paris. It was meant to be released before the 1975 Come Taste the Band album, but was not released until 2001 by Purple Records.
"Mistreated" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple taken from their 1974 album Burn. The song was written by the band's guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and new vocalist David Coverdale, who, along with new bassist Glenn Hughes, brought new blues and funk elements to the band.
Live... In the Still of the Night is a live concert DVD by the band Whitesnake. The concert was filmed on 20 October 2004 at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. It was released regularly on 5 May 2006 featuring the recording of the live performance, behind-the-scene documentary and a photobook. The limited "special collector's" edition which was previously released on 7 February 2006 includes a bonus live album CD with ten selected songs from the same show.
The Purple Album is the twelfth studio album by British hard rock band Whitesnake. It contains remakes of songs from Deep Purple band lineups Mark III and Mark IV, when Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale was a member of that band. It was released on 29 April in Japan, 15 May in Europe, 18 May in the UK and 19 May 2015 in the US through Frontiers Records. On 8 September 2023, Whitesnake and RHINO reissued The Purple Album: Special Gold Edition in celebration of Coverdale's 50th anniversary of joining the Deep Purple, besides remixing and remastering, "features previously unreleased recordings, including the very demo that secured Coverdale's spot with Deep Purple".