David Coverdale (Whitesnake & Deep Purple)

David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English rock singer most famous for his work with Whitesnake, the commercially successful hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from late 1973 to March 15, 1976, when he resigned from the band and established his solo career.

In 1973, Coverdale saw an article in a copy of Melody Maker, which said that Deep Purple was auditioning for singers to replace Ian Gillan. Coverdale had fronted a local group called The Government, which had played with Deep Purple on the same bill in 1969, so both he and the band were familiar with one another, and after sending a tape and later auditioning, Coverdale was admitted into the band, with bassist Glenn Hughes adding his own vocals as well.

In February 1974, Deep Purple released their first album with Coverdale and Hughes titled Burn which was certified Gold in the US on 20 March 1974 and in the UK on 1 July. In April 1974, Coverdale and Deep Purple performed to over 200,000 music fans on his first trip to America at the California Jam.

After the demise of Deep Purple, Coverdale embarked on a solo career. He released his first album in February 1977, titled White Snake. All songs were written by Coverdale and guitarist Micky Moody. As his first solo effort, Coverdale later admitted: "It's very difficult to think back and talk sensibly about the first album. White Snake had been a very inward looking, reflective and low-key affair in many ways, written and recorded as it was in the aftermath of the collapse of Deep Purple." Even though the album was not successful, its title inspired the name of Coverdale's future band. In 1978 Coverdale released his second solo album Northwinds, which was received much better than the previous album. But before the album's release, he had already formed a new band: Whitesnake.

In 1982, according to British heavy metal magazine Kerrang!, Coverdale was considered for the vocalist position with Black Sabbath following the departure of Ronnie James Dio. Coverdale declined.

Now, some albuns to celebrate the career of this great Rock Singer...

In his Deep Purple phase:

Deep Purple - Burn (1974)

Burn introduced a new unknown vocalist David Coverdale, and new bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes from Trapeze. The album was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, in November 1973 with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. With the addition of Coverdale and Hughes, Purple's hard rock sound became more boogie oriented, incorporating elements of soul and funk.

Deep Purple - 1977 - Last Concert in Japan

Last Concert in Japan is an album by Deep Purple released in March 1977. It records the last Japanese concert of the Mark IV-lineup with Tommy Bolin. This album was recorded on 15 December 1975 at the Tokyo Budokan and achieved a gold certification in Japan.

Tommy Bolin - guitar, vocals

David Coverdale - lead vocals

Glenn Hughes - bass, vocals

Jon Lord - keyboards, Hammond organ, backing vocals

Ian Paice - drums, percussion

David Coverdale - The Early Years (1977-1978)

The Early Years is a double CD compilation album released in 2003 by David Coverdale of Deep Purple and Whitesnake, not to be confused with the Whitesnake compilation album The Early Years released in 2004. It contains his first two solo releases, White Snake, and Northwinds, released in 1977 and 1978, respectively.

  

Alternative Link

White Snake

"Lady" - 3:48

"Blindman" (Coverdale) - 6:01

"Goldies Place" (Coverdale) - 5:03

"Whitesnake" - 4:22

"Time on My Side" - 4:26

"Peace Lovin' Man" (Coverdale) - 4:53

"Sunny Days" (Coverdale) - 3:31

"Hole in the Sky" (Coverdale) - 3:23

"Celebration" - 4:11

"Peace Lovin' Man" (Take 1) – 5:04

"Sunny Days" (Take 1) – 03:21

David Coverdale - lead vocals

Micky Moody - guitars, backing vocals

Simon Phillips - drums, percussion

De Lisle Harper - bass

Tim Hinkley - keyboards, backing vocals

Ron Aspery - saxophone, flute

Roger Glover - synthesizer, production

Liza Strike - backing vocals

Helen Chappelle - backing vocals

Barry St. John - backing vocals

Alternative Link

Northwinds

"Keep on Giving Me Love" - 5:16

"Northwinds" (Coverdale) - 6:13

"Give Me Kindness" (Coverdale) - 4:34

"Time and Again" (Coverdale) - 4:02

"Queen of Hearts" - 5:16

"Only My Soul" (Coverdale) - 4:36

"Say You Love Me" (Coverdale) - 4:21

"Breakdown" - 5:15

"Shame the Devil" (Coverdale) - 3:35

"Sweet Mistreater" (Coverdale) - 3:45

David Coverdale - lead vocals

Micky Moody - guitars, backing vocals

Tony Newman - drums, percussion

Alan Spenner - bass

Tim Hinkley - keyboards, backing vocals

Roger Glover - synthesizer, production

Ronnie James Dio - backing vocals on "Give Me Kindness"

Wendy Dio - backing vocals on "Give Me Kindness"

David Coverdale & Jimmy Page - Union (1993)

In the early spring of 1991, a collaboration was set up with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame. Both parties have said that the collaboration revitalized them on many levels. This collaboration resulted in the Coverdale-Page album released in March 1993. The album was a hit all over the world reaching number 4 in the UK and number 5 in the US, which was certified Platinum in the US on 7 April 1995, but the US tour for the album had to be cancelled due to slow ticket sales and after only a limited Japanese tour, Coverdale and Page parted ways. In part, the problem had been the comparison to Robert Plant who had fronted Led Zeppelin, as vocalist, with Jimmy Page. Some of their audience criticized Coverdale, feeling he was merely a Plant clone. Others felt the short-lived collaboration only served to inspire Page to once again hook up with Plant, a year later.

All songs written and composed by David Coverdale and Jimmy Page.

1. "Shake My Tree"   4:54
2. "Waiting on You"   5:16
3. "Take Me for a Little While"   6:17
4. "Pride and Joy"   3:32
5. "Over Now"   5:24
6. "Feeling Hot"   4:11
7. "Easy Does It"   5:53
8. "Take a Look at Yourself"   5:02
9. "Don't Leave Me This Way"   7:53
10. "Absolution Blues"   6:00
11. "Whisper a Prayer for the Dying"   6:54

David Coverdale - 2000 IntoTheLight

Into the Light is the third solo album by David Coverdale. It was released in September 2000.

In an interview with Classic Rock magazine in 2000, Coverdale stated: "The whole premise of my new record, Into The Light, is about coming out of what I felt was a dark period... I didn't really know who I was, using the illusion of David Coverdale I've created, or that other people have. I got tired of trying to live up to that, which is not necessarily who I am."

"Too Many Tears" was a new arrangement of the same song originally appearing on Coverdale's previous studio album, Whitesnake's Restless Heart.

In between 1978 and 1997, Coverdale and his band Whitesnake produced 10 studio albums.

Whitesnake are a British rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. Their early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but they slowly began moving for a more commercially accessible hard rock style. By the turn of the decade, the band's commercial fortunes changed and they released a string of UK top 10 albums, Ready an' Willing (1980), Come an' Get It (1981), Saints & Sinners (1982) and Slide It In (1984), the latter of which was their first to chart in the US and eventually went 2x platinum.
The band's 1987 self-titled album was their most commercially successful worldwide, and contained two major US hits, "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love", reaching number one and two on the Hot 100. In 1988, Whitesnake was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. Slip of the Tongue (1989), was also a success, reaching the top 10 in the US and UK, and receiving a 2x platinum US certification. The band split up shortly after this release, but had a reunion in 1994, and released a one-off studio album, Restless Heart (1997).
Whitesnake officially reformed in 2002 and have been touring together since, releasing two studio albums, Good to Be Bad (2008) and Forevermore (2011). In 2005, Whitesnake was named the 85th greatest hard rock band of all time by VH1.
This a selection to summarize Whitesnake years:

Whitesnake - (2002) The Best Of

01 - Fool for Your Loving

02 - Don't Break My Heart Again

03 - Love Ain't No Stranger

04 - Is This Love

05 - Now You're Gone (US remix)

06 - Give Me All Your Love

07 - Ready an' Willing

08 - Guilty of Love

09 - Would I Lie to You

10 - Long Way from Home

11 - The Deeper the Love

12 - Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City

13 - Too Many Tears

14 - Give Me More Time

15 - Standing in the Shadow

16 - Here I Go Again

17 - Still of the Night

Dedicated to Lucy Jones...