Winger (album)

Winger
Studio album by Winger
Released	August 1, 1988 [1]
Recorded	1988
Studio	Atlantic Studios, New York City
Genre	Glam metal [2] [3] [4]
Length	43:50
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Beau Hill
Winger chronology
Winger (1988) In the Heart of the Young (1990)
Singles from Winger
"Madalaine" Released: August 1988 [5] "Seventeen" Released: February 1989 "Headed for a Heartbreak" Released: May 1989 "Hungry" Released: September 1989

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	6/10 [7]
Sleaze Roxx	(favorable) [8]

Winger is the debut studio album by American rock band Winger. The album was released through Atlantic Records in 1988 and was produced by Beau Hill.

Background

The music was radio-friendly, but with a progressive twist. The lyrics, however, were typical of the age and genre. ^[6]

Kip Winger has stated "Originally, the first album was supposed to be called "Sahara", but the label missed it and if you look at the bottom right corner, you'll see the name Sahara. So that's actually the name of our first record."

A number of radio and video hits were extracted from the album, including "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Seventeen", peaking at No. 19 and No. 26 at the Billboard 's single chart. On February 11, 1989, the album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, ^[9] and after that stayed on the chart for 63 weeks. ^[9] It achieved platinum status in the United States ^[10] and went gold in Canada ^[11] and Japan.^{[ citation needed ]}

In support of the album, Winger toured for over a year with Bad Company, Scorpions, Cinderella, Bon Jovi, Poison, Skid Row and Tesla.

Promotional videos were shot for the four singles "Madalaine", "Seventeen", "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Hungry".

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Madalaine"	Kip Winger, Reb Beach	3:44
2.	"Hungry"	Winger, Beach	3:58
3.	"Seventeen"	Winger, Beach, Beau Hill	4:05
4.	"Without the Night"	Winger, Beach, Paul Taylor	5:04
5.	"Purple Haze"	Jimi Hendrix	3:39

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"State of Emergency"	Winger, Taylor	3:37
7.	"Time to Surrender"	Winger, Beach	4:10
8.	"Poison Angel"	Winger, Beach	3:24
9.	"Hangin' On"	Winger, Beach, Hill	3:35
10.	"Headed for a Heartbreak"	Winger	5:13

CD bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Higher and Higher" (B-side of the "Madalaine" single)	Winger, Beach	3:18

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. ^[12]

Winger

• Kip Winger – bass, lead vocals, keyboards, string arrangements
• Reb Beach – guitars, backing vocals
• Paul Taylor – keyboards, backing vocals
• Rod Morgenstein – drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Dweezil Zappa – left side guitar solo on "Purple Haze"
• Beau Hill, Ira McLaughlin – additional vocals
• Sandra Park, Rebecca Young, Hae Young Ham, Maria Kitsopoulos – strings

Production

• Beau Hill – producer, engineer
• Noah Baron, Jimmy Hoyson – assistant engineers
• Bob Schwall, Bob Caputo – technicians
• Stephen Benben – digital editing
• Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York
• Brad Miskel, Ron Feddor – additional input
• Dan Hubp – cover art and design
• Steven Selikoff – photography

Charts

Chart (1988–89)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [13]	153
Canada Top Albums/Cds ( RPM ) [14]	57
US Billboard 200 [15]	21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [16]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA) [17]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of glam metal albums and songs

References

1. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 56.
2. "Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of the Eighties - Page 4 | Guitar World". October 4, 2012. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
3. "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. August 31, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
4. In the Heart of the Young - Winger | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic , retrieved March 24, 2021, slick, progressive-tinged, radio-ready pop-metal featured on their debut
5. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 903. ISBN   9780862415419.
6. Huey, Steve. "Winger - Winger review". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved May 2, 2014.
7. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 415–416. ISBN   978-1894959315.
8. "Winger - Winger". Sleaze Roxx.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
9. "Winger Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
10. RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Winger. Retrieved on May 2, 2014.
11. "Gold Platinum Search for Winger". Music Canada . Retrieved May 2, 2014.
12. Winger (CD Booklet). Winger. New York: Atlantic Records 7 81867-2. 1988.
13. "Bubbling Down Under: Week commencing 21 January 1991" . Retrieved February 20, 2022.
14. Top Albums - April, 1989, p.12 RPM Magazine
15. "Winger Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
16. "Canadian album certifications – Winger – Winger". Music Canada.
17. "American album certifications – Winger – Winger". Recording Industry Association of America.