Cinderella (band)
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| Cinderella | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Genre(s) | Hard rock, glam metal, heavy metal, blues-rock |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Label(s) | Mercury |
| Associated acts | Britny Fox, Saints in Hell, Bon Jovi, London, Arcade, Naked Beggars |
| Website | Cinderella.net |
| Members | |
| Tom Keifer Eric Brittingham Jeff LaBar Fred Coury |
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| Former members | |
| Michael Smerick Tony Destra (deceased) Jim Drnec Jody Cortez Kenny Aronoff Rick Criniti Kevin Valentine Ray Brinker |
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Cinderella is an American hard rock, glam metal, and blues-rock band. The band emerged from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum albums and hit singles whose videos received heavy MTV rotation. By the mid-1990s, the band's popularity waned due to personal setbacks and public changes in musical tastes. The band has sold over 18 million albums to date worldwide.
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[edit] History
[edit] 1980s
Cinderella was formed in Philadelphia in 1982 by singer-songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Tom Keifer and bassist Eric Brittingham. The initial lineup also included guitarist Michael Smerick and drummer Tony Destra. In 1985, Smerick and Destra left to form Britny Fox, a Philadelphia-based band that later relocated to Los Angeles. Cinderella got their big break when Jon Bon Jovi saw them perform at the Empire Rock Club in Philadelphia and recommended that his A&R rep see them as well.[1] In 1985, with a recording contract with Mercury/Polygram Records in the works, guitarist Jeff LaBar and drummer Jim Drnec joined the band.
During the recording of the band's 1986 debut album, Night Songs, studio session drummer Jody Cortez[2] was brought in when producer Andy Johns found drummer Drnec difficult to work with. While finishing the recording, Drnec was replaced by former London drummer Fred Coury, who joined in time to make the album's cover and play on upcoming tours. Night Songs was released on August 2, 1986 and eventually achieved triple platinum status, selling 50,000 copies per week at one point.
Cinderella's first tour was in 1986 with Poison, opening for Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. Further tours from 1986 into 1987 were spent playing to large arena audiences: five months opening for former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, and seven months with Bon Jovi, taking the opening slot for their Slippery When Wet tour. In 1987, the band went overseas, appearing in Japan & Scandinavia and at the Monsters of Rock festivals in England and Germany.
Cinderella's second album, Long Cold Winter, was released in 1988. A 254-show tour to support it lasted over 14 months and included dates on the Moscow Music Peace Festival alongside other metal acts, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and Skid Row. The tour's stage show included Keifer being lowered to the stage while playing a white piano during their radio hit "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)".
[edit] 1990s
Their third album, Heartbreak Station, was released in 1990 and featured songs more influenced by Keifer's love of the blues. Following the accompanying tour, Fred Coury left the band and joined former Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy in the band Arcade.
In 1991, Keifer completely lost his voice due to a paresis of his vocal cord. He also underwent several surgeries to repair a vocal cyst and hemorrhage.[3] This added to delays in recording of their fourth album. In 1994, they finally released Still Climbing with Kenny Aronoff on drums, but with little support from their label and none from MTV, the album quickly disappeared from the charts. The band went on hiatus in 1995.
Cinderella resumed activity in 1997, the same year Mercury Records released a greatest hits compilation titled Once Upon a.... The group toured the United States in 1998, with one stop captured on the 1999 release Live at the Key Club released through Cleopatra Records.
[edit] 2000s
Around 1999, the band was signed by John Kalodner to Sony Records. The band was dropped by the label before a new album could be released, plunging the band into three years of litigation.[4] Cinderella toured again in 2000 and 2002.
In the mid-2000s, Eric Brittingham is working with his wife's band, Naked Beggars. Jeff LaBar has an internet radio show with his wife, Debby, Late Night with the LaBars on www.realityradio.biz. Fred Coury is working with numerous bands in the studio and film, and Tom Keifer is working on a solo album. Cinderella headlined the VH1 Classic Rock Never Stops 2005 summer tour.
In 2005, Mercury Records released the compilation Rocked, Wired & Bluesed: The Greatest Hits on CD and DVD.
Cinderella completed a tour in the summer of 2006 with fellow glam metal rockers Poison. Both bands celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut albums, Night Songs and Look What the Cat Dragged In. The tour was a success and became one of the most successful tours of 2006, averaging about 20 thousand people in attendance per night.
Cinderella planned to tour in 2008 with Warrant, Lynch Mob, and Lynam. On June 13, 2008 in a press release, Tim Heyne, Cinderella’s manager said: “It is with unbelievably deep regret that I must announce that Cinderella’s Tom Keifer’s left vocal cord has hemorrhaged, thereby making it impossible for him to sing in the immediate future.”
[edit] Band members
[edit] Current members
- Tom Keifer - vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica (1982-present)
- Eric Brittingham - bass (1982-present)
- Jeff LaBar - guitars (1986-present)
- Fred Coury - drums, percussion (1986-1991, 1997-Present)
with
- Gary Corbett - keyboards (tour, offstage) (2006-present)
[edit] Former members
- Michael Smerick - guitars (1982-1985)
- Tony Destra - drums (1982-1985)
- Jim Drnec - drums (1985-1986)
- Jody Cortez - drums (1986, Studio musician)
- Kevin Valentine - drums (1991-1994)
- Kenny Aronoff - drums (1994, Studio musician)
- Rick Criniti - keyboards (Touring only)
- Ray Brinker - keyboards(Touring only)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Night Songs (1986)
- Long Cold Winter (1988)
- Heartbreak Station (1990)
- Still Climbing (1994)
[edit] References
- ^ Newall, Mike (March 10, 2005). "Hit Paraders". Philadelphia City Paper. Retrieved on May 23, 2007.
- ^ Night Songs creditsat allmusic.com
- ^ Bang Your Head by David Konow, pages 369-370, ISBN 0-609-80732-3
- ^ Jeff LaBar interview, 2006. Blabbermouth.net.
[edit] External links
- Cinderella Official Website
- Cinderella Official NASA
- Cinderella VH1 Artist Page
- Cinderella MTV Artist Page
- Cinderella AOL Artist Page
- Cinderella Billboard Artist Page
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