Songoftheday 5/20/16 - 'Cause you were born into this evil world where man is killing man and no one knows just why...

"When The Children Cry" - White Lion
from the album Pride (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 12

Today's song of the day comes from the Danish/American "hair-metal" band White Lion, who had crossed over to mainstream pop radio in the spring of 1988 with "Wait". However, a second single, "Tell Me", stalled out in the lower half of the pop chart. So, like any good metal band, they rolled out their power-ballad for the third release. At least they went in a little different route; instead of a groupie-herding love song, lead singer Mike Tramp and the guys put out "When The Children Cry", an anti-war song written by Tramp and lead guitarist Vito Bratta...

"When The Children Cry" became White Lion's biggest pop hit in the U.S., reaching the top-3 in February of 1989. The song also climbed to #7 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock radio chart. Internationally, the record was a top-10 single in Sweden, and a minor hit in Canada (#53) and the UK (#88).

The song would be their last to make the American top-40. Later in 1989, the band released their third album, Big Game. The lead single, "Little Fighter", reached #12 on the rock chart, and #53 on the Hot 100. They followed with a cover of Golden Earring's "Radar Love", which so far is their last pop chart trip at #59. By the start of the 90's, hair metal had fallen out of favor for grunge and alt-rock, and their Mane Attraction managed a minor rock hit at #24 with "Love Don't Come Easy". The band broke up after touring behind the set, and like many bands of the time, their time since has been marked with Tramp and Bratta squabbling over rights to perform under the White Lion moniker.

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...here's the band performing the song live on tour...

Up tomorrow: Jersey boy is genetically yours.