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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/whitsnake.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[-The "classic" lineup, 1987-88 (l-r): Tommy Aldridge (drums), [[Music/QuietRiot Rudy Sarzo]] (bass), [[Music/DefLeppard Vivian Campbell]] ([[Music/{{Dio}} guitar]]), David Coverdale (vocals), Adrian Vandenburg (guitar)-]]]
3
4->About three days later, my landlord told me that I wasn't allowed to play "Here I Go Again," by Whitesnake at full volume at 3 AM every morning. I politely said, "Well, what the hell time of day can I blast Whitesnake?!"\
5I called Derek back and asked if he liked Whitesnake. He said he didn't, but I assumed he was lying. I mean, who the hell doesn't like Whitesnake?
6-->-- '''Mat Stevens''', "House of Shadows"
7
8Whitesnake is a hard rock band hailing from England that was formed in 1977.
9
10The current members of the band are:
11* David Coverdale - lead vocals (1976–82, 1982–91, 1994, 1997–98, 2002–present)
12* Joel Hoekstra - guitars (2014–present)
13* Reb Beach (who splits his time between this band and Music/{{Winger}}) - guitars (2002–present)
14* Michael Devin - bass (2010–present)
15* Michele Luppi - keyboards (2015–present)
16* Tommy Aldridge - drums (1987-1991, 2002-2007, 2013-present)
17
18The so-called "classic" lineup, from the height of the band's popularity in the late [[TheEighties '80s]] (and the lineup most people likely invoke when they think of the band) is pictured above. As it turns out, this exact lineup never recorded an album together; Coverdale had fired the previous lineup (John Sykes on guitar, Niel Murray on bass and Aynsley Dunbar on drums) after completing the recording of their eponymous 1987 album, and when the album became a smash success, Coverdale assembled a new group of musicians to go out on tour[[labelnote:*]]Adrian Vandenburg had previously contributed the guitar solo for "Here I Go Again ('87)", and was already slated to join the band[[/labelnote]]. After the tour, Vivian Campbell left the band, and Adrian Vandenburg injured his hand during rehearsals for the next album, necessitating the involvement of [[Music/DavidLeeRoth Steve Vai]].
19
20The band started in North Yorkshire, England. The style was primarily blues rock (or progressive R&B as they liked to call it) for quite a while. They were often compared to Music/DeepPurple-- David Coverdale being formerly of that band, and long-running Deep Purple members Jon Lord and Ian Paice being in the first few lineups. After Moody was replaced with a guitarist from Music/ThinLizzy, the band moved into playing a more commercially driven, slick sort of hard rock while never quite leaving their heavy metal roots behind.
21
22Some of their most famous songs are:
23
24* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOJk0HW_hJw "Is This Love"]]
25* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSlSaGcc0QM "Here I Go Again"]]
26* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swPt9HBRXuE "Still Of The Night"]]
27* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tp0K9YiTPE "Fool For Your Loving"]]
28
29----
30!!Tropes related to the band:
31* CoverAlbum: ''The Purple Album'', which features re-recorded Coverdale-era Music/DeepPurple songs.
32* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The video for "Slow an' Easy" features David Coverdale giving a woman a ''literal'' pearl necklace.
33* DressRehearsalVideo: "Here I Go Again", "Love Ain't No Stranger" and "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City".
34* TheDrifter: "Here I Go Again"
35* GenreShift: The group gradually drifted from [[HeavyMetal classic heavy metal]] heavily influenced by BluesRock to straightforwards commercial HardRock as the decades went on.
36* HairMetal: The band picked up this tag and it stuck, if only [[Administrivia/SquarePegRoundTrope by association]]. David Coverdale never liked it that his band was labeled as such and thus lumped together with others that were declared as putting style over substance, especially given how much effort he and his band members put into their songwriting and technical skill. This issue can be a BerserkButton for fans.
37* HeavyMeta: "Children of the Night"
38* HoodOrnamentHottie: In the videos. Music/BowlingForSoup's "1985" makes a reference to it:
39-->She was gonna be an actress, she was gonna be a star
40-->She was gonna shake her ass on the hood of Whitesnake's car
41* IAmTheBand: Infamously, Coverdale fired all his band members who played on their best-selling album ''Whitesnake'' after the album's sessions finished. According to one contemporary interview, Coverdale meant it to be only a temporary layoff -- the band was in financial hardship at the time, and he was hoping to [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether Put The Band Back Together]] at a later time.
42** The exception was lead guitarist John Sykes. Coverdale had to sit out recording for a few months while recovering from surgery, and [[JerkAss Sykes suggested they hire another vocalist and carry on without him]]. When Coverdale returned, he naturally took exception to that and fired him.
43* IntercourseWithYou: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaE7uiO1qRw "Slide It In"]] is one of the most blatant versions of this trope you'll ever have, with lyrics such as "I'm gonna Slide It In, right to the top! Slide It In, ain't never gonna stop." Also "Still of the Night" and "Slow an' Easy" (a tricky one seeing as, despite the steamy music, the lyrics are mostly oblique).
44* LoveHurts:
45** "Fool For Your Loving" gives us "I gave my heart, and you tore it apart, oh, baby, you done me wrong."
46** "Now You're Gone" has particularly dark lyrics, which are matched up against guitar virtuoso Music/SteveVai's work: "There's an emptiness closing around me- an' I can't go on, when all I have left is the memory".
47* MaleGaze: ''Many'' of their videos feature this.
48* NewSoundAlbum: ''Saints and Sinners'' began their move away from blues-rock towards a more hard rock style. The 1987 self-titled album confirmed them as being a HairMetal-esque band.
49* RearrangeTheSong:
50** "Here I Go Again" was first recorded as a blues-rock number in 1982. In 1987, the group re-recorded in an ArenaRock style, and it was this version that hit #1 on the Hot 100. The group re-recorded it a ''second time'' in 1987 for radio play; both of the '87 recordings can nowadays be heard on classic rock radio, while the '82 version is essentially forgotten.
51** "Fool For Your Loving", a single from 1980, was rerecorded for their 1989 album, "Slip of the Tongue", and given a much heavier spin, owing much to Music/SteveVai. It too outperformed the original on the charts.
52** They did one more, "Crying In The Rain", from the early years, re-recorded for their 1987 album.
53* RecycledLyrics: "Fool for your Loving" (1980) appears in the lyrics of the song "Give me all your love" from their 1987 album. Then again, they recycled the whole song.
54* RevolvingDoorBand: Website/TheOtherWiki has a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Whitesnake_Band_Members long list of former members]]. See how far it went under IAmTheBand. Music/SteveVai was the most famous of the bunch, and the band also featured Music/DeepPurple keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice, in the early years.
55* SillyLoveSongs: Aside from "Here I Go Again", basically all of their best known songs are about love and/or feature the word in the title. "Is This Love", "The Deeper The Love", among others.
56* SingingVoiceDissonance: Believe it or not, Coverdale's a born baritone. That shrill, screechy voice he sings (mostly during his tenure in Deep Purple and the early days of Whitesnake) is has been said to be his way of emulating Robert Plant, a high tenor, which for a naturally deep voiced guy is quite difficult.
57* {{Spinoff}}: Arguably, of Music/DeepPurple.
58* TenMinuteRetirement: All but the shortest lived Whitesnake fan will have seen a farewell tour appearance or two.
59* ThreeMinutesOfWrithing: Tawny Kitaen often in the 80s videos.
60* VocalEvolution: David Coverdale post mid-80s is practically a separate vocalist from the Coverdale of Deep Purple and early Whitesnake. He generally sang more within his comfort zone in the early days, giving him a more subtle, much deeper sound compared to the over-the-top howl he is best known for.

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