WHITE LION

White Lion - is an American/Danish glam metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the Children Cry". White Lion disbanded in 1991, but was reformed again by Tramp in 1999 with all new musicians.

After moving from Denmark to New York in 1983, vocalist Mike Tramp (ex-Mabel,ex-Studs) met Staten Island guitarist Vito Bratta (ex-Dreamer) and decided to form a band. The two recruited drummer Nicki Capozzi and bassist Felix Robinson (formerly of Angel) and named the group White Lion.

White Lion was signed by Elektra Records in 1984 and recorded their debut Fight to Survive. However, Elektra was unhappy with the final recording, and after refusing to release the album, terminated their contract.

Both Capozzi and Robinson soon left the band. Nicki Capozzi was replaced by former Anthrax drummer Greg D'Angelo, and Felix Robinson was replaced by bassist Dave Spitz (brother of Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz). Within a month of joining, however, Dave Spitz left to play bass with Black Sabbath and was replaced by James LoMenzo.

The album Fight to Survive was eventually re-recorded with new line-up & picked up by RCA and released in Japan in 1984. The small US independent label Grand Slam records finally released Fight To Survive in the US on November 9, 1985. A few months later, Grand Slam records went bankrupt.

Unlike most bands of their genre, White Lion recorded occasional songs that addressed social or political issues such as apartheid ("Cry for Freedom") and the effect of divorce on children ("Broken Home"). The song "Little Fighter" was about the Rainbow Warrior, a ship owned by the environmental group Greenpeace that was destroyed by operatives of the French intelligence service. This concern for political and social issues was also hinted at in the cover art to their album Big Game, which featured a lion's head hidden in tall grass with the White House in the background.

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White Lion - Fight To Survive (1985)

Their Debut Album, released by Asylum Records in 1985 - and Grand Slamm Records in America. In This Album, Dave "Beast" Spitz played the Bass.

Tracks:
01. Broken Heart
02. Cherokee
03. Fight to Survive
04. Where do We Run
05. In The City
06. All The Fallen Men
07. All Burn in Hell
08. Kid of 1000 Faces
09. El Salvador
10. The Road to Valhalla

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White Lion - Pride (1987)

The 2nd studio album by the American/Danish hard rock band White Lion, released on June 21 1987, by Atlantic Records. The album featured the two top ten hits Wait and When the Children Cry. It remained in the Billboard Top 200 for a full year, selling two million copies in the US alone.

Tracks:
01. Hungry – 3:55
02. Lonely Nights – 4:11
03. Don't Give Up – 3:15
04. Sweet Little Loving – 4:02
05. Lady Of The Valley – 6:35
06. Wait – 4:00
07. All You Need is Rock 'N' Roll – 5:14
08. Tell Me – 4:28
09. All Join Our Hands – 4:11
10. When the Children Cry – 4:18

~ All songs written by Bratta and Tramp

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White Lion - Big Game (1989)

Their 3rd Studio Album. In the first half of 1989, still riding high off of the multi platinum success of Pride, White Lion re-entered the studio following the completion of their Pride tour to record the next album, a decision the group later came to regret due to the effects of fatigue from the heavy touring. A musically eclectic follow-up to Pride, the album featured the singles "Little Fighter", "Cry for Freedom", and a cover of Golden Earring's "Radar Love". The album quickly went gold but, without a hit single, sales slowly declined, peaking at #19 on the album charts.

Tracks:
01. Goin' Home Tonight – 4:57
02. Dirty Woman – 3:27
03. Little Fighter – 4:23
04. Broken Home – 4:59
05. Baby Be Mine – 4:10
06. Living on the Edge – 5:02
07. Let's Get Crazy – 4:52
08. Don't Say It's Over – 4:04
09. If My Mind is Evil – 4:56
10. Radar Love – 5:59
11. Cry for Freedom – 6:09

~ All songs written by Bratta and Tramp, except "Radar Love".

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White Lion - Mane Attraction (1991)

The 4th studio album of White Lion. It was released in 1991 by Atlantic Records, and reached #61 on The Billboard 200. After two years of writing and recording, White Lion released Mane Attraction in the summer of 1991. More of a "back to basics" album, centering on strong hooks and melodic hard rock, the album was received well by the fans. Unfortunately, the album failed to reach the top 20 like the last two albums. It received little or no airplay due to the recent Grunge explosion and subsequent backlash on all things "hair metal". The album also contained White Lion's only instrumental song, "Blue Monday", a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, who had died while the band was writing for the album.

Tracks:
01. Lights And Thunder – 8:10
02. Broken Heart – 4:09
03. Leave Me Alone – 4:26
04. Love Don't Come Easy – 4:11
05. You're All I Need – 4:29
06. It's Over – 5:19
07. Warsong – 6:59
08. She's Got Everything – 6:56
09. Till Death Do Us Part – 5:33
10. Out With the Boys – 4:35
11. Blue Monday – 4:23
12. Farewell to You – 4:22

~ All songs written by Bratta/Tramp

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White Lion - Return Of Pride (2008)

Tracks:
01. Sangre DeCristo
02. Dream
03. Live Your Life
04. Set Me Free
05. I Will
06. Battle At Little Big Horn
07. Never Let you Go
08. Gonna Do It My Way
09. Finally See The Light
10. Let Me Be Me
11. Take Me Home (European Bonus Track)

NOTE:
Greg D'Angelo and James Lomenzo left the band soon after the album's release, citing "musical differences", but White Lion carried on with bassist Tommy "T-Bone" Caradonna and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Suicidal Tendencies, Y&T). After briefly touring in support of Mane Attraction, Tramp and Bratta decided to call it a day, their last show being held in Boston at the Channel Club in September 1991.