Steve Whiteman

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Steve Whiteman is best known as the lead vocalist of the hair metal band Kix.

[edit] Career with Kix

Kix was founded in 1978 in Hagerstown, Maryland as The Shooze, then changed its name to The Generators before eventually settling on Kix. They were considered one of Maryland's top cover bands prior to their signing with Atlantic Records in 1981.

In 1981, they debuted with a self-titled album “Kix,” featuring infectious tunes and live favorites like "Atomic Bombs," "Heartbeat," "Contrary Mary," and "The Kid." "Love at First Sight" instantly became a concert favorite. "KIX Are for Kids" creatively merged the name of the band with two popular cereals of the 1960s and 1970s, KIX (that featured an atomic bomb commercial) and the Trix Rabbit (i.e., "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!"). "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" became the band’s most popular concert song, always with a unique ad-lib performance by Whiteman. With this album, the tongue-in-cheek rock & roll style of Kix was established. It has been said that, of all the bands to get lumped in under the "hair metal" tag, Kix was the one of the most unique and adventurous. In fact, the "hair metal" tag was unfair to the band since its pop-metal stylings drew as much inspiration from bubblegum pop and new wave as it did from hard rock.

Their 1983 follow-up, “Cool Kids,” showcased a slightly more commercial side of the band featuring the title song and the single "Body Talk.” Somewhat overlooked but a favorite with female fans was the ballad "For Shame."

Kix then partnered up with Ratt and future Warrant producer Beau Hill and, in 1985, released the album “Midnite Dynamite,” featuring a hard rock single by the same name and funk rock songs “Cold Shower" and "Sex." The band now had a stable of popular and catchy songs.

The band headed west to begin to make a name for themselves in such places as the Sunset Strip, where “Mötley Crüe” and other glam metal bands rose to stardom. Unfortunately, Whiteman’s stage act was stolen by Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison. With a better-looking singer and a focus on MTV, Poison would forever become the image of the 1980’s hair band and glam rock.