Songoftheday 12/23/16 - I was born under a bad sign left out in the cold, I'm a lonely man who knows just what it means to lose control...
from the album Slip Of The Tongue (1989)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 3
(Ed. Note: this single was the last to "peak" in the 1980's....it's all 90's from here on in, baby!)
Today's song of the day comes from the British hard rock/metal band Whitesnake, who had finally broke through on American radio at the end of 1987 with their self-titled album, which replaced most of the band save for lead singer David Coverdale, but rewarded them with a #2 hit with "Is This Love" and a chart-topping cover of one of the group's earlier singles, "Here I Go Again". Despite Coverdale's success with the album, he again ditched the players on the album save guitarist Adrian Vandenberg for the videos and tour behind the album. In 1989, recording the follow-up record, Slip Of The Tongue, injury prevented Vandenberg from playing, so axe master Steve Vai was hired to fill in along with bassist Rudy Sarzo (from Quiet Riot) and Tommy Aldridge (drummer for Ozzy Osbourne). Against their wishes, the record company tried to see if their luck would hold releasing another re-vamped earlier track as the first single would be "Fool For Your Loving". Originally released in 1980 from their third album Ready and Willing, it had gone to #13 in the UK, and had stalled down at #53 in the States. Written by Coverdale with then band guitarists Bernie Mardsen and Micky Moody, the result sounded very much like a Foreigner single...
With Slip of the Tongue, produced by Mike Clink (Guns N' Roses) and Keith Olsen (Ozzy, REO Speedwagon), the sound was much more mainstream metal-ish, like contemporaries Bon Jovi and Europe...
The revamped version of "Fool For Your Loving" returned Whitesnake to the American pop top-40 in December of 1989. The song also climbed to #2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock radio chart, where it stayed for four week, easily their biggest hit on the format. Internationally, the single reached the top-40 in the Netherlands (#19), New Zealand (#22), and Canada (#37), but fell far short in their native Britain, where it stalled at #43.
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...and here's the band performing the song live in concert behind the album...
Up tomorrow: A "rich" rock singer waves the white flag.
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