title: Stuart Townsend

text: Townsend's father, Peter, was a golfer, who played in the 1969 and 1971 Ryder Cups. He has a brother, Dylan Townsend, and sister, Chloe Townsend, from his father's first marriage to Lorna Townsend, who died in 1994 of a brain haemorrhage. Townsend has two half-siblings, Hugo and Ella, from his father's second marriage, to Swedish-born Sofia. He dated actress Charlize Theron after meeting her on the set of 2002's "Trapped". The couple lived together in Los Angeles and Ireland. They said they considered themselves married without an actual marriage, with Townsend stating, "We didn't have a ceremony. I don't need a certificate or the state or the church to say otherwise. So no, there's no big official story on a wedding, but we are married... I consider her my wife and she considers me her husband." Theron split from Townsend when they came back on day two of a planned ten-day holiday in Mexico in January 2010.


title: Stuart Townsend

text: In May 2015, Townsend's brother said that Stuart had settled down in Costa Rica, where he had bought some land and was living with a woman from that country, who was expecting their second child at that time. In 2019, Townsend was living in Santa Monica with his wife and two children, Desmond and Ezra, and was arrested after a domestic dispute.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: Ironheart is an upcoming American television series created by Chinaka Hodge for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is intended to be the 10th television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. Hodge serves as head writer. The series is also produced by Proximity Media and 20th Television.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: Dominique Thorne reprises her role as Riri Williams / Ironheart from the film "" (2022). The series was announced in December 2020, along with Thorne's casting. Hodge was hired in April 2021, with additional castings revealed in February 2022. Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes joined to direct in April 2022. Filming began at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia by early June, before moving to Chicago in late October, and concluded by early November.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: "Ironheart" is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in late 2023, and will consist of six episodes. It will be part of of the MCU.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: Additionally, Jim Rash reprises his role as the Dean of MIT from "" (2016). Lyric Ross has been cast as Williams's best friend, while Harper Anthony, Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah, Shakira Barrera, Rashida "Sheedz" Olayiwola, Sonia Denis, Paul Calderón, and Cree Summer have been cast in undisclosed roles.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: The series will consist of six episodes, with Sam Bailey directing the first three and Angela Barnes directing the last three.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: A film based on the Marvel Comics character Riri Williams / Ironheart had a script written by Jada Rodriguez by July 2018, when it was listed on The Black List, although this did not materialize. In December 2020, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the Disney+ television series "Ironheart". In April 2021, Chinaka Hodge was hired to serve as head writer of the series. In March 2022, series actor Anthony Ramos revealed that Ryan Coogler, the director of "Black Panther" (2018) and its sequel "" (2022), was involved in the production; star Dominique Thorne first appears as Riri Williams / Ironheart in "Wakanda Forever", and Coogler's production company Proximity Media was set to work alongside Marvel Studios on select Disney+ series as part of a television deal with Walt Disney Television.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: In April, Coogler's Proximity Media was confirmed to be producing the series, when Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes joined to each direct three episodes of the series. "Ironheart" will consist of six episodes. Executive producers on the series include Marvel Studios' Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, and Zoie Nagelhout, Proximity Media's Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian, and Hodge. 20th Television also produces the series.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: Francesca J. Gailes, Jacqueline Gailes, Malarie Howard, and Amir K. Sulaiman serve as writers for the series, with the Gailes both previously writing on "" (2022). The writers' room for the series was set to begin in May 2021. Feige felt the conflict between Williams's technology and the magic of Parker Robbins / The Hood made the series unique within the MCU. Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore described the series as a direct sequel to "Wakanda Forever" by exploring "interesting repercussions" of Williams's experiences in that film when she returns to her home.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: Dominique Thorne was revealed to have been cast as Riri Williams / Ironheart with the series' announcement, after Marvel Studios offered her the role without auditioning; Thorne had previously auditioned for "Black Panther" (2018) and was told then by Marvel Studios that they wanted to work with her on a future project after she had more experience. In February 2022, Anthony Ramos joined the series as Parker Robbins / The Hood, described as a "key role" and the series' main villain. "Deadline Hollywood" reported that his role would expand to other MCU projects, similar to how Jonathan Majors appeared as He Who Remains in the first season of "Loki" (2021) ahead of his appearance as Kang the Conqueror in "" (2023). Later that month, Lyric Ross was cast as Williams's best friend. Newcomer Harper Anthony joined the cast in an undisclosed role by April, followed by Manny Montana in June. A month later, Alden Ehrenreich joined the cast in a "key role".


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: From August to October 2022, Shea Couleé, Zoe Terakes, Regan Aliyah, Shakira Barrera, Rashida "Sheedz" Olayiwola, Sonia Denis, Paul Calderón, and Cree Summer joined the cast in undisclosed roles. At the D23 Expo in September, Jim Rash was revealed to be reprising his role as the Dean of MIT from "" (2016). The following month, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that Sacha Baron Cohen had joined the MCU, in a role that would see him potentially first appear in the later episodes of "Ironheart" followed by appearances in other MCU projects. His role was likely to be the character Mephisto, which would be portrayed by Baron Cohen in-person as well as through CGI.


title: Ironheart (TV series)

text: Filming for the series occurred in Chicago in late May 2022, to capture plate shots and exterior establishing shots. Principal photography had begun by June 2, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, under the working title "Wise Guy", with Bailey and Barnes directing. Filming occurred in September on Edgewood Avenue in Sweet Auburn, Atlanta, at a building constructed to stand in for a White Castle in Chicago. Filming was scheduled to move to Chicago by October 24, 2022, to run through November 3, in South Side, Near North Side, and Downtown Chicago. Filming had wrapped by early November 2022.


title: They Live

text: They Live is a 1988 American science fiction action horror film written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, the film follows an unnamed drifter who discovers through special sunglasses that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to consume, breed, and conform to the status quo via subliminal messages in mass media.


title: They Live

text: Having acquired the film rights to the Nelson-penned short story prior to the production of "They Live", Carpenter used the story as the basis for the screenplay's structure, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Frank Armitage". Carpenter has stated that the themes of "They Live" stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the economic policies of then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan, as well as what Carpenter saw as increasing commercialization in both popular culture and politics. In 2017, in response to misreadings of the film's themes, Carpenter further clarified that the film "is about yuppies and unrestrained capitalism".


title: They Live

text: "They Live" was a minor success upon release, debuting at #1 at the North American box office. It initially received negative reviews from critics, who lambasted its social commentary, writing, and acting; however, it later gained a cult following and experienced a significantly more favorable critical reception. It is now regarded by many as a largely underrated work. The film has also entered the pop culture lexicon, notably having a lasting effect on street art (particularly that of Shepard Fairey). A nearly six-minute sequence in which the protagonists brawl in an alley has made appearances on all-time lists for best fight scenes.


title: They Live

text: A homeless drifter—credited as "Nada"—comes to Los Angeles in search of a job. While out on the street, he sees a street preacher warning that "they" have recruited the rich and powerful to control humanity. Nada finds employment at a construction site and is befriended by coworker Frank, who invites him to live in a shanty town soup kitchen led by a man named Gilbert.


title: They Live

text: That night, a hacker takes over television broadcasts, claiming that scientists have discovered signals that are enslaving the population and keeping them in a dream-like state, and that the only way to stop it is to shut off the signal at its source. Those watching the broadcast complain of headaches. Nada secretly follows Gilbert and the preacher into a nearby church and discovers them meeting with a group that includes the hacker. He sees scientific equipment and cardboard boxes inside. Nada is discovered by the blind preacher and escapes.


title: They Live

text: The shantytown and church are both destroyed in a police raid in the same night, and the hacker and preacher are beaten by riot police. The following day, Nada retrieves one of the boxes from the church and takes a pair of sunglasses from it, hiding the rest in a trash can. Nada discovers that the sunglasses make the world appear monochrome, but also reveal subliminal messages in the media to consume, reproduce, and conform. The glasses also reveal that many people are actually aliens with skull-like faces.


title: They Live

text: When Nada mocks an alien woman at a supermarket, she alerts other aliens via a wristwatch-like device. Nada leaves but is confronted by two alien police officers. He kills them and steals their weapons. Nada enters a bank, where he sees that several of the employees and customers are aliens. He kills several aliens with a shotgun and escapes by taking Cable 54 employee Holly Thompson hostage. At Holly's home, Nada tries to get her to try on the glasses, but she knocks him out of the window and down a hill and calls the police.


title: They Live

text: The next day, Nada returns to the alleyway and retrieves the sunglasses from a garbage truck before Frank meets Nada to give him his paycheck. Nada tries to get Frank to put on the glasses, but Frank thinks Nada is a murderer and wants nothing to do with him. Frank and Nada get into a long and violent brawl, after which Frank is too tired to prevent Nada from putting the sunglasses on him. After seeing the aliens and a flying saucer, Frank goes into hiding with Nada.


title: They Live

text: Frank and Nada run into Gilbert, who leads them to a meeting of the anti-alien movement. At the meeting, they are given contact lenses to replace the sunglasses, and learn that the aliens are using global warming to make Earth more like their own planet, and are depleting the Earth's resources for their own gain. They also learn that the aliens have been bribing humans to become collaborators, promoting them to positions of power. Holly arrives at the meeting, apologizing to Nada. The meeting is raided by police and the vast majority of those present are killed, with the survivors (including Frank, Nada, and Holly) scattering. Nada and Frank are cornered in an alley, but they accidentally activate an alien wristwatch, opening a portal through which they escape.


title: They Live

text: The portal takes them to the aliens' spaceport, where they discover a meeting of aliens and human collaborators celebrating the elimination of the "terrorists". They are approached by a former drifter they briefly met in the shantytown, now a collaborator, who gives them a tour of the facility. He leads them to the basement of Cable 54, the source of the signal, which is protected by armed guards. Nada and Frank find Holly and fight their way to the transmitter on the roof, but Holly kills Frank, revealing that she too is a human collaborator. Nada kills Holly and destroys the transmitter, and is fatally wounded by aliens in a helicopter. Nada gives the aliens the middle finger as he dies.


title: They Live

text: With the transmitter destroyed, humans all over the world are free from their dream-like state and discover the aliens hiding amongst them.


title: They Live

text: Carpenter has said that the film's political commentary derives from his dissatisfaction with then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan's economic policies—also known as Reaganomics—and what Carpenter viewed as increasing commercialization in both the popular culture and politics of the era.


title: They Live

text: Upon the film's release, Carpenter remarked, "The picture's premise is that the 'Reagan Revolution' is run by aliens from another galaxy. Free enterprisers from outer space have taken over the world, and are exploiting Earth as if it's a third world planet. As soon as they exhaust all our resources, they'll move on to another world... I began watching TV again. I quickly realized that everything we see is designed to sell us something. ... It's all about wanting us to buy something. The only thing they want to do is take our money." To this end, Carpenter thought of sunglasses as being the tool to seeing the truth, which "is seen in black and white. It's as if the aliens have colorized us. That means, of course, that Ted Turner is really a monster from outer space." The director commented on the alien threat in an interview: "They want to own all our businesses. A Universal executive asked me, 'Where's the threat in that? We all sell out every day.' I ended up using that line in the film." The aliens were deliberately made to look like ghouls, according to Carpenter, who said "The creatures are corrupting us, so they, themselves, are corruptions of human beings."


title: They Live

text: Some neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups have described the film as "an allegory for Jewish control of the world", an interpretation which Carpenter has strongly condemned, calling it "slander and a lie" and firmly stating that the film "is about yuppies and unrestrained capitalism".


title: They Live

text: The idea for "They Live" came from a short story called "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson, originally published in "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction" in November 1963, involving an alien invasion in the tradition of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", which Nelson, along with artist Bill Wray, adapted into a story called "Nada" published in the "Alien Encounters" comics anthology in April 1986. John Carpenter describes Nelson's story as "... a "D.O.A."-type of story, in which a man is put in a trance by a stage hypnotist. When he awakens, he realizes that the entire human race has been hypnotized, and that alien creatures are controlling humanity. He has only until eight o'clock in the morning to solve the problem." Carpenter acquired the film rights to both the comic book and short story and wrote the screenplay, using Nelson's story as a basis for the film's structure.


title: They Live

text: Because the screenplay was the product of so many sources—a short story, a comic book, and input from cast and crew—Carpenter decided to use the pseudonym "Frank Armitage", an allusion to one of the filmmaker's favorite writers, H. P. Lovecraft (Henry Armitage is a character in Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror"). Carpenter has always felt a close kinship with Lovecraft's worldview, and according to the director "Lovecraft wrote about the hidden world, the 'world underneath'. His stories were about gods who are repressed, who were once on Earth and are now coming back. The world underneath has a great deal to do with "They Live"."


title: They Live

text: For the role of Nada, the filmmaker cast professional wrestler Roddy Piper, whom he had met at WrestleMania III earlier in 1987. For Carpenter, it was an easy choice: "Unlike most Hollywood actors, Roddy has life written all over him." Carpenter was impressed with Keith David's performance in "The Thing" and needed someone "who wouldn't be a traditional sidekick but could hold his own." To this end, Carpenter wrote the role of Frank specifically for Keith David.


title: They Live

text: "They Live" was shot in eight weeks during March and April 1988, principally on location in downtown Los Angeles, with a budget only slightly greater than $3 million. One of the highlights of the film is a five-and-a-half-minute alley fight between Nada and Frank over a pair of the special sunglasses. Carpenter recalls that the fight took three weeks to rehearse: "It was an incredibly brutal and funny fight, along the lines of the slugfest between John Wayne and Victor McLaglen in "The Quiet Man"."


title: They Live

text: "They Live" was theatrically released in North America on November 4, 1988, and debuted at #1 at the box office, grossing $4.8 million during its opening weekend. The film spent two weeks in the top ten. The film's original release date, advertised in promotional material as October 21, 1988, had been pushed back two weeks to avoid direct competition with "".


title: They Live

text: In his review for the "Chicago Reader", Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote, "Carpenter's wit and storytelling craft make this fun and watchable, although the script takes a number of unfortunate shortcuts, and the possibilities inherent in the movie's central concept are explored only cursorily." Jay Carr, writing for "The Boston Globe", said "[o]nce Carpenter delivers his throwback-to-the-'50s visuals, complete with plump little B-movie flying saucers, and makes his point that the rich are fascist fiends, "They Live" starts running low on imagination and inventiveness", but felt that "as sci-fi horror comedy, "They Live", with its wake-up call to the world, is in a class with "Terminator" and "RoboCop", even though its hero doesn't sport bionic biceps".


title: They Live

text: In her review for "The New York Times", Janet Maslin wrote, "Since Mr. Carpenter seems to be trying to make a real point here, the flatness of "They Live" is doubly disappointing. So is its crazy inconsistency, since the film stops trying to abide even by its own game plan after a while." Richard Harrington wrote in "The Washington Post", "it's just John Carpenter as usual, trying to dig deep with a toy shovel. The plot for "They Live" is full of black holes, the acting is wretched, the effects are second-rate. In fact, the whole thing is so preposterous it makes "V" look like "Masterpiece Theatre"." Rick Groen, in "The Globe and Mail", wrote, "the movie never gets beyond the pop Orwell premise. The social commentary wipes clean with a dry towelette – it's not intrusive and not pedantic, just lighter-than-air."


title: They Live

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 68 reviews, and an average rating of 7.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "A politically subversive blend of horror and sci fi, "They Live" is an underrated genre film from John Carpenter." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average rating of 55 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: They Live

text: The 2012 documentary film "The Pervert's Guide to Ideology", presented by the Slovene philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek, begins with an analysis of "They Live". Žižek uses the film's concept of wearing special sunglasses that reveal truth to explain his definition of ideology. Žižek states:


title: They Live

text: "They Live" was ranked #18 on "Entertainment Weekly" magazine's "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" list.


title: They Live

text: Rotten Tomatoes ranked the fight scene between Roddy Piper's character, Nada, and Keith David's character, Frank Armitage, seventh on their list of "The 20 Greatest Fight Scenes Ever". The fight scene influenced "The Wrestler", whose director, Darren Aronofsky, interpreted the scene as a spoof. Shepard Fairey credits the film as a major source of inspiration, sharing a similar logo to his "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" campaign. ""They Live" was…the basis for my use of the word 'obey'," Fairey said. "The movie has a very strong message about the power of commercialism and the way that people are manipulated by advertising."


title: They Live

text: Novelist Jonathan Lethem called "They Live" one of his "favorite movies of the eighties, hands down". He said, "It's a great movie...Look at what it does to people, look at how it emboldens and provokes...It's disturbing and ridiculous and outrageous and uncomfortable, but I think it's the kind of great movie that doesn't really need defense, it just needs to be given the air." Lethem wrote a book-length homage to the movie for the Soft Skull Press "Deep Focus" series.


title: They Live

text: The 2013 video game "Saints Row IV" features an extended parody of "They Live", with Roddy Piper and Keith David voicing fictionalized versions of themselves in a recreation of the fight scene between Nada and Armitage.


title: They Live

text: Rock band Green Day paid homage to "They Live" in their music video for "Back in the USA" from the album "". Similarly, punk band Anti-Flag used the film as inspiration for their 2020 music video, "The Disease".


title: They Live

text: Minnesota-based alternative hip-hop artist P.O.S. used scenes from the film interspersed with clips of himself for the song, "Roddy Piper" off his 2017 album, "Chill, Dummy".


title: They Live

text: In July 2018, the film was selected to be screened in the Venice Classics section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival.


title: They Live

text: The film is noted for a popularly quoted line spoken by Nada: "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum."


title: They Live

text: On March 2, 2012, the film was released on Blu-ray by StudioCanal. On November 6, 2012, Shout! Factory released a "Collector's Edition" of the film on both DVD and Blu-ray.


title: They Live

text: In 2014, Universal Pictures released "They Live" on DVD along with "The Thing", "Village of the Damned", and "Virus" as part of the "4 Movie Midnight Marathon Pack: Aliens".


title: They Live

text: On January 19, 2021, Shout! Factory released the "Collector's Edition" of the film on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.


title: They Live

text: In 2010, there was development on a remake of the film, with Carpenter in a producing role. In 2011, Matt Reeves signed on to direct and write the screenplay. The project also shifted away from being a remake of "They Live" to a re-adaptation of "8 O'Clock in the Morning", ditching the satirical and political elements. Since then, there have been no new announcements.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entity, Coverdale is the only constant member throughout their history.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake enjoyed much success in the UK, Europe and Japan through their early years. Their albums "Ready an' Willing", "Come an' Get It" and "Saints & Sinners" all reached the top ten on the UK Albums Chart. By the mid-1980s, however, Coverdale had set his sights on breaking through in North America, where Whitesnake remained largely unknown. With the backing of American label Geffen Records, Whitesnake released their eponymous album in 1987, which became their biggest success to date, selling over eight million copies in the US and spawning the hit singles "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love". Whitesnake also adopted a more contemporary look, akin to the Los Angeles glam metal scene. After releasing "Slip of the Tongue" in 1989, Coverdale decided to put Whitesnake on hold to take a break from the music industry. Aside from a few short-lived reunions in the 1990s, Whitesnake remained mostly inactive until 2003, when Coverdale put together a new line-up to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary. Since then Whitesnake have released four more studio albums and toured extensively around the world.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake's early sound has been characterized by critics as blues rock, but by the mid-1980s the band slowly began moving toward a more commercially accessible hard rock style. Topics such as love and sex are common in Whitesnake's lyrics, which have been criticized for their excessive use of sexual innuendos and double entendres. Whitesnake have been nominated for several awards during their career, including Best British Group at the 1988 Brit Awards. They have also been featured on lists of the greatest hard rock bands of all time by several media outlets, while their songs and albums have appeared on many "best of" lists by outlets, such as VH1 and "Rolling Stone".


title: Whitesnake

text: In March 1976, singer David Coverdale left the English hard rock group Deep Purple. He had joined the band three years prior and recorded three successful albums with them. After leaving Deep Purple, Coverdale released his solo album "White Snake" in May 1977. His second solo album "Northwinds" was released in March 1978. Both combined elements of blues, soul and funk, as Coverdale had wanted to distance himself from the hard rock sound synonymous with Deep Purple. Both records featured former Snafu guitarist Micky Moody, whom Coverdale had known since the late 1960s. As Coverdale began assembling a backing band in London, Moody was the first to join. Among the other early candidates for the group were drummers Dave Holland and Cozy Powell, as well as guitarist Mel Galley. The decision to recruit a second guitarist was made at Moody's suggestion. Bernie Marsden, formerly of UFO and Paice Ashton Lord, agreed to join. Through Marsden, they were also able to recruit bassist Neil Murray, as the two had played together in Cozy Powell's Hammer. The band's initial line-up was rounded out by drummer Dave "Duck" Dowle and keyboardist Brian Johnson, who had played together in Streetwalkers.


title: Whitesnake

text: The band, dubbed David Coverdale's Whitesnake, played their first show at Lincoln Technical College on 3 March 1978. Their live debut had originally been scheduled for 23 February at the Sky Bird Club in Nottingham, but the show was cancelled. Coverdale had originally wanted the group to be simply called Whitesnake, but was forced to use his own name as it still carried some clout as the former lead singer of Deep Purple. In a 2009 interview with "Metro", Coverdale jokingly stated that the name "Whitesnake" was a euphemism for his penis: "If I had been from Africa it would have been Blacksnake". In fact, it came from the song of the same name found on his first solo album. After completing a small UK club tour, the band adjourned to a rehearsal place in London's West End to begin writing new songs. They soon caught the attention of EMI International's Robbie Dennis, who wanted to sign the group. According to Bernie Marsden, however, his higher-ups were not ready to commit to a full album. Thus, the band entered London's Central Recorders Studio in April 1978 to record an EP. By this point, original keyboardist Brian Johnston had been replaced by Pete Solley. Martin Birch, who had worked with Coverdale during his time in Deep Purple, was chosen to produce. The resulting record, "Snakebite", was released in June 1978. In Europe, the EP was combined with four tracks from Coverdale's album "Northwinds" to make up a full-length album. "Snakebite" also contained a slowed down cover of Bobby Bland's "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City", which had originally been used by the band to audition bass players. While the song was only included because the group were short on songs, the track would later become a popular live staple at Whitesnake concerts, with Coverdale calling it "the national anthem of the Whitesnake choir", referring to the band's audience. When "Snakebite" reached number 61 on the UK Singles Chart, the band were duly signed to EMI proper.


title: Whitesnake

text: In July 1978, the band (now known simply as Whitesnake) entered Central Recorders in London to begin work on their first proper studio album with Martin Birch again producing. The recording and mixing only took ten days. Towards the end of the sessions, Pete Solley's keyboard parts were completely replaced by Coverdale's former Deep Purple bandmate Jon Lord, who agreed to join Whitesnake after much coaxing from Coverdale. Colin Towns and Tony Ashton were also approached, having previously played with fellow Deep Purple offshoots the Ian Gillan Band and Paice Ashton Lord, respectively. Whitesnake's debut album "Trouble" was released in October 1978, and it reached number 50 on the UK Albums Chart. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia stated: "A few unexpected oddities throw the album off-balance here and there, [...] but all things considered, it is easy to understand why "Trouble" turned out to be the first step in a long, and very successful career." The release of "Trouble" was followed by an 18-date UK tour, beginning on 26 October 1978. The final show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London was recorded and released in Japan as "Live at Hammersmith". According to Coverdale, this was done to appease Japanese promoters who allegedly refused to book Whitesnake without some kind of a live recording.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake began their first continental European tour on 9 February 1979 in Germany. They then began recording their second album in April 1979 at Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire, where Coverdale had previously worked with Deep Purple. Martin Birch returned to produce and the band employed the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio to record. Bernie Marsden later described the resulting record as a "transition album", where the band really began to "blossom" and find their footing. Before the album's release though, drummer Dave "Duck" Dowle was replaced by Ian Paice, Coverdale and Lord's former Deep Purple bandmate. There is some contention as to the nature of Dowle's departure. Coverdale maintains that Dowle's performance on the album was lacking and that he was "unable to take constructive criticism", which ultimately led to his firing. Bernie Marsden, meanwhile, asserted that Dowle left because he didn't like being at Clearwell Castle and away from his family. The idea of Paice re-recording Dowle's drum parts was considered, but ultimately rejected by the band's management allegedly due to cost. Paice's addition also spurred speculation from the British music press about Coverdale mounting a Deep Purple reunion, something he denied. Coverdale later remarked how Paice joining the band felt like "truly the beginning of Whitesnake", where all the members were "performing at [their] absolute best" and "inspiring the best out of each other". "Lovehunter", Whitesnake's second album, was released in October 1979, and it reached number 29 on the UK Albums Chart. "Sounds" gave the record a positive review, while AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia was more mixed, commending many of the songs, but criticizing the band's studio performance as "strangely tame". The album's cover art, depicting a naked woman straddling a giant serpent, caused some controversy when the record was released. Whitesnake had already received criticism from the British music press for their alleged sexist lyrics. The cover art for "Lovehunter", done by artist Chris Achilleos, was reportedly commissioned to "just piss [the critics] off even more". In North America, a sticker was placed on the cover to hide the woman's buttocks, while in Argentina the cover art was modified so that the woman wore a chain-mail bikini. Nevertheless, Whitesnake began a supporting tour for "Lovehunter" on 11 October 1979 in the UK, followed by dates in Europe.


title: Whitesnake

text: After completing the supporting tour for "Lovehunter", Whitesnake promptly started work on their third album at Ridge Farm Studios, with Martin Birch once again producing. The resulting record, "Ready an' Willing", was released on 31 May 1980, and it reached number six on the UK Albums Chart. It also became the band's first album to chart in the US, where it reached number 90 on the "Billboard" 200 chart. Its success was helped by the lead single "Fool for Your Loving", which reached number 13 and number 53 in the UK and the US, respectively. Geoff Barton, writing for "Sounds", gave "Ready an' Willing" a positive review, awarding it four stars out of five. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic commended the band's growing consistency, but still described the production as "flat". Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden later named "Ready an' Willing" their favourite Whitesnake album. In the UK, the record would later be certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 100,000 copies. In support of the album, Whitesnake toured the US for the first time supporting Jethro Tull. Later that year, they supported AC/DC in Europe. With the benefit of a hit single, Whitesnake's audience in the UK began to grow. Thus, the band recorded and released the double live album "Live... in the Heart of the City". The record combined new material recorded in June 1980 at the Hammersmith Odeon with the previously released "Live at Hammersmith" album. "Live... in the Heart of the City" proved to be an even bigger success than "Ready an' Willing", reaching number five in the UK. It would later go platinum, with sales of over 300,000 copies. In North America, the album was released as a single record version, excluding the live material from 1978.


title: Whitesnake

text: In early 1981, Whitsnake began recording their fourth studio album with producer Martin Birch at Ringo Starr's Startling Studios in Ascot, Berkshire. After the success of "Ready an' Willing" and "Live... in the Heart of the City", Whitesnake were riding high with the atmosphere in the studio being described by Coverdale as "great" and "positive". The resulting record, "Come an' Get It", was released on 6 April 1981. Charting in seven countries, it gave the group their highest ever UK chart position at number two. That same year, the album was certified gold. The single "Don't Break My Heart Again" also charted at number seventeen in the UK. "Circus" magazine gave the album a positive review, which proclaimed: "[Whitesnake] has made its claim to rock history with "Come an' Get It", which even stands ahead of classic hard rock in the Free mold." Coverdale later named the record his favorite album of the band's early years, stating: "Even though we had some great songs on each album, I don't feel that we came as close as we did on ["Come an' Get It"], as far as consistency is concerned. Whitesnake kicked off the supporting tour for "Come an' Get It" on 14 April 1981 in Germany. During the tour, the band played five nights at the Hammersmith Odeon and eight dates in Japan. They also played the US in July, supporting Judas Priest with Iron Maiden. At the 1981 Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, Whitesnake were direct support for headliners AC/DC. The supporting tour for "Come an' Get It" lasted approximately five months.


title: Whitesnake

text: In late 1981, Coverdale retreated to a small villa in southern Portugal to begin writing the band's next album. After returning to England, he and the rest of Whitesnake gathered at Nomis Studios in London to start rehearsals. However, as Coverdale would later explain: "There wasn't that 'spark' that was usually in attendance. It felt more of an effort to be there." Micky Moody later stated that by the end of 1981, the band had become tired, partially from "too many late nights, too much partying". In an effort to lift their collective spirits, Whitesnake returned to Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire, where they had recorded "Lovehunter". Though morale still remained low, the band were able to record the basic tracks for the new album. Guy Bidmead replaced producer Martin Birch, who was reportedly too ill to work at the time (Birch did eventually return when recording moved to Britannia Row.). This exacerbated the band's ever worsening mental state. To make matters worse, the band were experiencing financial troubles with Moody recalling: "We weren't making nowhere near the kind of money we should have been making. Whitesnake always seemed to be in debt, and I thought 'What is this?, we're playing in some of the biggest places and we're still being told we're in debt, where is all the money going?'." Eventually, Moody became fed up with the band's situation and left Whitesnake in December 1981. The remaining band members blamed the group's management company Seabreeze, headed by Deep Purple's former manager John Coletta, for their financial state. According to Bernie Marsden, the band set up a meeting to fire Coletta, but Coverdale failed to show. Instead, Marsden, Neil Murray and Ian Paice were informed that Whitesnake had been put on hold and that they were fired. Marsden later remarked that "David [Coverdale] decided he would be king of Whitesnake". Coverdale asserted that he elected to put the band on hold when his daughter contracted bacterial meningitis. He claimed that this gave him courage to cut ties with Coletta. Coverdale ended up buying himself out of his contracts, which reportedly cost him over a million dollars. As for the firing of Marsden, Murray and Paice, Coverdale felt they lacked the needed enthusiasm to keep working in Whitesnake. Coverdale later stated that it was "a business decision, not personal".


title: Whitesnake

text: After waiting for his daughter to recupurate and severing ties with the band's management, record companies and publishers, Coverdale began putting Whitesnake back together. Micky Moody and Jon Lord agreed to return, while guitarist Mel Galley, bassist Colin Hodgkinson and drummer Cozy Powell were brought in as new recruits. Coverdale completed the band's new album with Martin Birch in October 1982 at Battery Studios in London. "Saints & Sinners" was released on 15 November 1982. It reached number nine in the UK and charted in eight additional countries. In the UK, the record was certified silver. Chas de Whalley, writing for "Kerrang!", gave the album a lukewarm review. Save for two tracks ("Crying in the Rain" and "Here I Go Again"), he characterized the rest of the record as generally mediocre. Conversely, AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, in a retrospective review, hailed "Saints & Sinners" as Whitesnake's "best album yet". By the time the record was released, Coverdale had signed a new recording contract with American label Geffen Records, who would handle all of Whitesnake's future releases in North America. In Europe, the band remained with Liberty (a subsidiary of EMI), while in Japan, they signed with Sony. A&R executive John Kalodner, who had been a long-time fan of Coverdale's, convinced David Geffen to sign the band. Meeting Geffen and Kalodner had a major impact on Coverdale and his future vision for Whitesnake. He explained: "I'd been surrounded by a mentality if you make five pounds profit let's go to the pub. Whereas David Geffen said to me 'If you can make five dollars profit, why not 50? If 50, why not 500? Why not 50,000, why not five million?'" Coverdale soon set his sights on breaking through in North America with Kalodner advising him. Meanwhile, Whitesnake began a supporting for "Saints & Sinners" on 10 December 1982 in the UK.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake toured across Europe and Japan in early 1983, before starting rehearsals for their next album at Jon Lord's house in Oxfordshire. Coverdale began steering Whitesnake's music more towards hard rock, which was emphasized by the additions of Mel Galley and Cozy Powell, whose past projects included Trapeze and Rainbow, respectively. Majority of Whitesnake's next album was co-written by Coverdale and Galley, while Micky Moody contributed to only one song. Whitesnake began recording their sixth album at Musicland Studios in Munich with producer Eddie Kramer, who had come recommended by John Kalodner. In August 1983, Whitesnake headlined the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, England. The show was filmed and later released as the band's first long-form video, titled "Whitesnake Commandos". The band also premiered the new single "Guilty of Love", which was released to coincide with the festival. The entire album had originally been slated for release three weeks prior to the Donington show, but failed to meet the deadline. The band were having problems adapting to Eddie Kramer's style of producing, particularly his method of mixing the record. Eventually things came to a head and Kramer was let go. Coverdale then rehired Martin Birch to complete the album. A new release date for the record was set for mid-November with a supporting tour scheduled to start in December. However, as Whitesnake finished up a European tour in October, Micky Moody left the group. He later attributed his departure to a growing dissatisfaction working in the band, particularly with Coverdale. Moody remarked: "Me and David weren't friends and co-writers anymore. [...] David was a guy who five, six years earlier was my best friend. Now he acted as if I wasn't there." Moody also felt uncomfortable with the level of influence he felt John Kalodner was having on the band. Colin Hodgkinson was also let go in late 1983, only to be replaced by his predecessor Neil Murray. Coverdale later explained the decision to rehire Murray by simply stating: "I'd missed his playing". Towards the end of 1983, Jon Lord also informed Coverdale of his intention to leave the band, but Coverdale convinced him to stay until the supporting tour for their next album was over. With the line-up changes and the troubled production of the album, both the record and its accompanying tour were delayed until early 1984.


title: Whitesnake

text: According to Coverdale, John Kalodner had convinced him that in order for the band to achieve their full potential, they needed a "guitar hero" that could match Coverdale as a frontman. Therefore, to replace Moody, Coverdale initially looked to Michael Schenker and Adrian Vandenberg. Schenker claims he turned down the offer to join Whitesnake, while Coverdale insists he decided to pass on Schenker. Vandenberg declined the offer to join as well, due to the success he was having at the time with his own band. Coverdale then approached Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes, who he met when Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy played some of the same festivals in Europe. Sykes was initially reluctant to join, wanting to continue working with Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, but after several more offers he accepted. John Sykes and Neil Murray were officially confirmed as members of Whitesnake in January 1984. "Slide It In", Whitesnake's sixth studio album, was released on 30 January 1984. On the UK Albums Chart, it reached number nine. The album's highest chart position was in Finland, where it reached number four. "Slide It In" received mixed reviews from critics, with the production being a common complaint. Dave Dickson, writing for "Kerrang!", called the record "the best thing Whitesnake have yet commited to vinyl", while "Record Mirror"s Jim Reid was highly critical of the lyrical content. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, in a retrospective review, called "Slide It In" "an even greater triumph" than the band's previous works, whereas Garry Bushell of "Sounds" gave the album a particularly scathing review, in which he likened Coverdale's voice to that of a "dying dog".


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake's new line-up made their live debut in Dublin on 17 February 1984. During a tour stop in Germany, Mel Galley broke his arm leaping on top of a parked car. He sustained nerve damage, leaving him unable to play guitar. As a result, Galley was forced to leave Whitesnake. By April 1984, a reunion of Deep Purple's Mark II line-up had become imminent, which led to Jon Lord also leaving. He played his final show with Whitesnake on 16 April 1984. That same day, Geffen Records released "Slide It In" in North America. Kalodner had been unimpressed by Martin Birch's work on the album and had demanded a complete remix for the American market. Though initially reluctant, Coverdale agreed after a trip to Geffen's offices in Los Angeles, where he came to the conclusion that Whitesnake's studio approach had become "dated" by American standards. Keith Olsen was brought on board to remix "Slide It In", while John Sykes and Neil Murray were tasked with re-recording Micky Moody and Colin Hodgkinson's parts, respectively. The remixed version of "Slide It In" reached number 40 on the "Billboard" 200 chart. By 1986, the album had sold over 500,000 copies in the US. Critical reception was also positive, with Pete Bishop of "The Pittsburg Press" calling the album "muscular, melodic and musical all together". With the band now left as a four-piece (with Richard Bailey providing keyboards off-stage), Whitesnake supported Dio for several show in the US, after which they toured Japan as a part of the Super Rock '84 festival. Later that year, Whitesnake embarked on a six week North American tour supporting Quiet Riot. To further the band's reach in America, Whitesnake shot two music videos for the singles "Slow an' Easy" and "Love Ain't No Stranger", respectively. Both songs reached the Top Tracks chart in the US. In an effort to take America more seriously, Coverdale also relocated to the US.


title: Whitesnake

text: The supporting tour for "Slide It In" came to an end in January 1985, when Whitesnake played two shows at the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil. After the tour ended, Cozy Powell parted ways with the band. According to Coverdale, his relationship with Powell had deteriorated increasingly over the course of the tour. After the final show, Coverdale flew to Los Angeles to inform Geffen Records he was letting the rest of the band go. Coverdale was persuaded to keep Sykes involved (as Geffen felt they formed a "strong image together"), while also changing his mind about Murray. Powell, however, was fired. According to Murray, Powell's departure was the result of financial disputes. Coverdale would later state that Powell didn't feel like the offer he got for his involvement was "appropriate".


title: Whitesnake

text: Coverdale and Sykes retreated to the South of France in early 1985 to begin writing the band's next album. The sessions proved fruitful and they were joined by Murray, who helped with the arrangements. The new material saw Whitesnake moving further away from their bluesier roots in favour of a more American hard rock sound. John Kalodner also convinced Coverdale to re-record two songs from the "Saints & Sinners" album, "Here I Go Again" and "Crying in the Rain", which he thought had great potential with better production and arranging. With new material ready, the band then began searching for a new drummer. A reported sixty drummers auditioned for the group, with prolific session drummer Aynsley Dunbar eventually being chosen. Former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Tommy Aldridge was also offered the spot, but an equally satisfactory agreement couldn't be reached. Drummer Carmine Appice claimed to have turned down the position due to commitments with his own band King Kobra. Appice would later join Sykes in Blue Murder.


title: Whitesnake

text: The band began tracking their new record at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver with producer Mike Stone. By early 1986, much of the album had been recorded. When it came time for Coverdale to record his vocals though, he noticed his voice was unusually nasal and off-pitch. After consulting several specialists, it was revealed that Coverdale had contracted a severe sinus infection. After receiving some antibiotics, Coverdale flew to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas to resume recording. However, the infection resurfaced which caused Coverdale's septum to collapse. He required surgery, followed by a six month rehabilitation period. Sykes has disputed this, claiming that Coverdale was just suffering from nerves and that he used "every excuse possible" not to record his vocals. After recovering from surgery, Coverdale, by his own account, did develop a "mental block" that prevented him from singing. Following some failed sessions with Ron Nevison, Coverdale was finally able to record his vocals with producer Keith Olsen. By late 1986, production on the record was mostly finished. Keyboards were provided by Don Airey and Bill Cuomo, while Adrian Vandenberg was brought in to do some guitar overdubs. Additional guitar parts were also provided by Dann Huff.


title: Whitesnake

text: By the time the album was finished, Coverdale was the sole remaining member of Whitesnake. "It was a band in disarray..." observed keyboardist Don Airey. "David was four million dollars in debt; didn't know if he was coming or going." Coverdale has claimed that Sykes and Mike Stone were fired after they began conspiring against him by booking studio time and making decisions without his involvement. Stone allegedly suggested bringing in someone else to record Coverdale's vocals while he was recovering from surgery. Sykes has denied this, instead claiming that he and other members were systematically fired as soon as they finished recording their parts. Murray and Dunbar had stopped receiving their wages in April 1986, at which point Dunbar immediately left Whitesnake. Murray was still officially a member of the group until January 1987, when he heard Coverdale was putting together a new line-up. With the help of John Kalodner, Coverdale recruited Adrian Vandenberg and Tommy Aldridge, as well as guitarist Vivian Campbell (formerly of Dio) and bassist Rudy Sarzo (formerly of Quiet Riot). This new line-up would appear in all the promotional materials for the forthcoming album. Whitesnake also adopted a new look, akin to glam metal bands of the time, in order to appeal more to American audiences. When asked about the band's makeover, Coverdale responded: "I'm competing with people like Jon Bon Jovi. I've gotta look the part."


title: Whitesnake

text: "Whitesnake" (titled "1987" in Europe and "Serpens Albus" in Japan) was released on 30 March 1987 in Europe and 7 April in North America. It peaked at number eight in the UK, while in the US it reached number two on the "Billboard" 200 chart. In total, the record charted in 14 countries and quickly became the most commercially successful of the band's career, selling over eight million copies in the US alone. Its success also boosted "Slide It In"s sales to over two million copies in the US. In addition to this, the singles "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love" reached number one and two, respectively, on the "Billboard" Hot 100. In the UK, both reached number nine. The record's success was helped by the heavy airplay Whitesnake received on MTV, courtesy of a trilogy of music videos featuring Coverdale's future wife and actress Tawny Kitaen. The album was generally well received by critics, though reviews in the UK were less favourable, with Coverdale being accused of "selling out" to America, which he strongly denied. "Rolling Stone"s J. D. Considine praised the band's ability to present old ideas in new and interesting ways, while AllMusic's Steve Huey, in a retrospective review, touted the album as the band's best.


title: Whitesnake

text: The new Whitesnake lineup made their live debut following the record's release at the Texxas Jam festival in June 1987. They then toured the US supporting Mötley Crüe on their Girls, Girls, Girls Tour. Beginning on 30 October 1987, Whitesnake embarked on a headlining arena tour, which was temporarily interrupted in April 1988, when Coverdale had a herniated disc removed from his lower back. At the 1988 Brit Awards, the band were nominated for Best British Group, while the album "Whitesnake" was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the American Music Awards. When the supporting tour for "Whitesnake" ended in August 1988, Coverdale informed the rest of the band that the next album would be written by him and Adrian Vandenberg, who had established a fruitful working relationship. After approximately a month of writing, the band regrouped at Lake Tahoe for three weeks of rehearsals. In December 1988, Vivian Campbell parted ways with the band. The official reason given was "musical differences". However, Campbell later revealed that his departure was partially due to a falling out between his wife and Tawny Kitaen. This resulted in Campbell's wife being barred from the band's tour. In addition to this, Vandenberg had made it known that he wanted to be the sole guitarist in Whitesnake, which also played into Campbell's departure.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake started recording their eighth album in January 1989. Bruce Fairbairn was initially chosen to produce, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. The band then hired both Keith Olsen and Mike Clink to produce the record. Coverdale later explained the decision to hire two producers, citing pressure to follow-up the band's previous record. He stated: "I brought them both in... Just that decision alone tells me I was in fear of failing..." During the recording process, Adrian Vandenberg sustained an injury to his wrists while performing some playing exercises. Despite consulting a doctor and significant rest, the injury persisted, leaving Vandenberg unable to play the guitar properly. It wasn't until 2003 that he learned the injury was the result of nerve damage sustained in a 1980 car accident. Vandenberg's injury caused significant delays to the album, which had originally been slated for release in June–July 1989. Ultimately, Coverdale was forced to find another guitar player to finish the record. He opted to recruit former Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth guitarist Steve Vai, who he had seen in the 1986 film "Crossroads" a few years earlier. According to Coverdale, he had originally wanted to recruit Vai back then, but John Sykes ultimately rejected the idea. Vai officially joined Whitesnake in March 1989. Vandenberg, meanwhile, was given time to recuperate while Vai recorded the album. Vandenberg is still minimally featured on the finished record.


title: Whitesnake

text: "Slip of the Tongue" was released on 7 November 1989 in the US, followed by a worldwide release on 13 November. It reached number ten on the UK Albums Chart, as well as the "Billboard" 200. The record also charted in twelve additional countries. The lead single was a re-recorded version of "Fool for Your Loving", originally found on 1980's "Ready an' Willing". Coverdale had been reluctant to re-record the song, let alone release it as the first single, but Geffen Records hoped to repeat the success of "Here I Go Again" with another older track. Coverdale later admitted it to regretting the decision. "Fool for Your Loving" only peaked at number 37 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It fared better on the Album Rock Tracks chart, where it peaked at number two. The second single "The Deeper the Love" also stalled at number 28 on the Hot 100, while on the Album Rock Tracks chart it reached number four. Reviewing "Slip of the Tongue", Malcolm Dome, writing for "Raw", described it as "an album full of generally good songs that rarely sinks below the level of adequacy, but only occasionally explodes". The combination of Whitesnake and Steve Vai was also met with some criticism, with Thom Jurek, in a retrospective review for AllMusic, describing the pairing as "questionable". Coverdale himself would later admit to having mixed feelings about the record, though he's since learned to enjoy and accept it as a part of Whitesnake's catalogue. "Slip of the Tongue" sold approximately four million copies worldwide. As the previous record sold more than twice that in the US alone, "Slip of the Tongue" was considered a commercial disappointment.


title: Whitesnake

text: In February 1990, Whitesnake embarked on the Liquor & Poker World Tour, during which the band headlined the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington for a second time. The final tour date was on 26 September 1990 at the Budokan in Tokyo. After the show, Coverdale informed the rest of the band that he would be taking an extended break, effectively disbanding Whitesnake. He encouraged the band members to accept any outside offers for work. Coverdale's decision to put Whitsnake on hold was largely due to exhaustion. Despite the success Whitesnake had achieved, he described feeling unfulfilled and in need of time to "take stock and review" to see if he still wanted to continue. At the same time, Coverdale was in the middle of divorce proceedings with Tawny Kitaen. After Whitesnake disbanded, Steve Vai continued his solo career, having already released his second solo album while on tour with Whitesnake. Vandenberg, Sarzo and Aldridge would go to form the band Manic Eden, who released one album in 1994. Coverdale resurfaced in 1993, when he and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page released an album together.


title: Whitesnake

text: On 4 July 1994, EMI released "Whitesnake's Greatest Hits" in Europe. In the US, it was released on 19 July by Geffen Records. The record proved to be a success, reaching number four on the UK Albums Chart. It would later be certified gold in the UK and platinum in the US. Prior to the record's release, Coverdale had been planning a European solo tour with a backing band he likened to Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs & Englishmen". Because of the "Greatest Hits"' success, Coverdale was instead asked by EMI to tour as Whitesnake. Though reluctant, Coverdale eventually ageed, seeing this as an opportunity to just have fun and play live. Adrian Vandenberg agreed to rejoin as he and Coverdale were already working on new music together. Vandenberg then asked Rudy Sarzo to rejoin as well as they were both still playing in Manic Eden at the time. Sarzo accepted and recommended Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartini to the band. The line-up was then rounded out by keyboardist Paul Mirkovich and drummer Denny Carmassi, the latter of whom had played on the "Coverdale–Page" album. The tour began in Europe on 20 June 1994, followed by several UK dates beginning in July. In October, the band toured in Japan.


title: Whitesnake

text: After completing the "Greatest Hits" tour, Whitesnake were dropped by Geffen Records. Coverdale then resumed writing with Adrian Vandenberg on what was to be a solo album. Joining them in the studio were Denny Carmassi, as well as bassist Guy Pratt and keyboardist Brett Tuggle. As the record was being finished, the new higher-ups at EMI demanded it be released under the Whitesnake moniker. Coverdale objected, as he felt the record was sylistically too different from the band. Eventually a compromise was reached, and Coverdale agreed to release the album under the name "David Coverdale & Whitesnake". As a result of the name change, the guitars and drums on the album were brought up in the mix, something Coverdale later expressed disappointment over. "Restless Heart" was released on 26 March 1997 in Japan, followed by a European release on 26 May. The record reached number 34 on the UK Albums Chart. It charted in nine additional countries as well, with its highest chart position being in Sweden at number five. The single "Too Many Tears" only reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart. "Restless Heart" didn't receive a US release, being available only as an import. "Rock Hard" called the album "nice, but harmless", and ultimately deemed it "a mean disappointment" as potentially the last Whitesnake album. Jerry Ewing, writing for "Classic Rock", described it as a "curio" in the band's discography, falling somewhere between a Whitesnake album and a David Coverdale solo record.


title: Whitesnake

text: The supporting tour for "Restless Heart" was billed as Whitesnake's farewell tour, as Coverdale wanted to explore other musical avenues. Pratt and Tuggle were replaced by Tony Franklin and Derek Hilland, respectively, while Steve Farris was recruited as a second guitarist. Before the start of the tour, Coverdale and Vandenberg played several acoustic shows in Europe and Japan. One of these shows was later released as the live album "Starkers in Tokyo". The Restless Heart Farewell Tour began in September 1997, and ended in South America in December. After the band's disbandment, Coverdale resumed his solo career, releasing the album "Into the Light" in 2000. Vandenberg, meanwhile, began a second career as a painter in order to spend more time with his daughter, who was born in 1999.


title: Whitesnake

text: In October 2002, David Coverdale announced plans to reform Whitesnake to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary in 2003. The new line-up was confirmed in December; Coverdale would be joined by drummer Tommy Aldridge, guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, as well as bassist Marco Mendoza and keyboardist Timothy Drury. Talks had taken place between Coverdale and John Sykes about a possible reunion, but Coverdale ultimately felt that they had been their "own bosses" too long for a reunion to work. Sykes, meanwhile, claimed that after recommending Mendoza and Aldridge for the band (though Aldridge had already been in the band years earlier), he never heard back from Coverdale. Adrian Vandenberg was also asked to rejoin, but declined in order to spend time with his daughter and focus on his painting. He's since made numerous guest appearances at the band's concerts. On 29 January 2003, Whitesnake began a co-headlining tour of the US with the Scorpions. Afterwards, the band toured across Europe, playing several shows with Gary Moore in the UK. Whitesnake then returned to the US to take part in the Rock Never Stops Tour with Warrant, Kip Winger and Slaughter, before embarking on a Japanese tour in September. The reformation was initially planned to last only a few months, but Coverdale ultimately decided to keep the band active. No immediate plans were put in place for a new studio album, with Coverdale citing his dissatisfaction with the music industry as a contributing factor.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake continued to tour in late 2004, playing several shows across Europe and the UK. Their London concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in October was also filmed and later released as "Live... In the Still of the Night". In April 2005, Whitesnake parted ways with Marco Mendoza, due to scheduling conflicts with Mendoza's other projects. Session musician Uriah Duffy was announced as his replacement the following month. Whitesnake then embarked on another US tour, followed by a South American trek. In May 2006, the band played several shows in Japan, which were then followed by festival dates in Europe. Later in August, Whitesnake signed a European recording contract with Steamhammer/SPV. The band then released the live album "Live... in the Shadow of the Blues", which contained four new songs written by Coverdale and guitarist Doug Aldrich. Coverdale attributed this change of heart over new music to a need for "new meat to bite into" in order keep touring interesting. Preliminary work on a new Whitesnake album began in early 2007, with Coverdale and Aldrich spending considerable time writing together and refining their joint ideas. A release date was originally set for summer 2007, but the album was later pushed back to October 2007 and then May 2008. Regarding the delays, Coverdale later stated: "The recording of this album was constantly compromised by interruptions. [...] Also, to be honest, there was no real rush for us to finish the project quickly." In 2007, Whitesnake released a two-disc 20th anniversary edition of their eponymous album. Similar re-releases were also arranged for "Slide It In" and "Slip of the Tongue" in 2009. In December 2007, Chris Frazier was announced as Whitesnake's new drummer. Tommy Aldridge reportedly left to pursue "alternate musical adventures".


title: Whitesnake

text: "Good to Be Bad", Whitesnake's tenth studio album, was released on 18 April 2008 in Germany, 21 April in the rest of Europe, and on 22 April in North America. Produced by Coverdale, Aldrich and Michael McIntyre, the record reached number seven on the UK Albums Chart and charted in 17 additional countries. In the US, it only reached number 62 on the "Billboard" 200, but it did peak at number eight on the Top Independent Albums chart. Since its release, "Good to Be Bad" has sold over 700,000 copies worldwide. Writing for IGN, Jim Kaz gave the album a favourable review, in which he stated: "A few faux-pa's aside "Good to Be Bad" has enough shining, mega-rock moments to endear itself to fans old and new." It later received the Classic Rock Award for "Album of the Year". The record was preceded by several shows in Australia and New Zealand, after which Whitesnake toured South America, followed by a UK co-headlining tour with Def Leppard. They also played select shows together in Central Europe. In October, Whitesnake teamed up with Def Leppard again for two co-headlining shows in Japan. The following November, Whitesnake played several shows in Germany with Alice Cooper. The band also performed in Israel and Cyprus. Following several European festival dates, Whitesnake embarked on a US co-headlining tour with Judas Priest in July 2009. However, on 11 August, Whitesnake were forced to cut their concert in Denver short, after Coverdale experienced severe pain in his vocal cords. After consulting a specialist, he was revealed to be suffering from severe vocal fold edema and a left vocal fold vascular lesion. As a result, Whitesnake canceled their remaining tour dates.


title: Whitesnake

text: The band took a break from touring in 2010 to concentrate on writing a new album. They also signed a new recording contract with Frontiers Records. In June, Uriah Duffy and Chris Frazier left Whitesnake, with latter being replaced by former Billy Idol and Foreigner drummer Brian Tichy. Michael Devin, formerly of Lynch Mob, was revealed as the band's new bassist the following August. In September, Timothy Drury announced his departure to pursue a solo career. "Forevermore", Whitesnake's eleventh studio album, was released on 25 March 2011 in Europe, followed by a North American release on 29 March. Once again produced by Coverdale, Aldrich and Michael McIntyre at Lake Tahoe, "Forevermore" reached number 33 on the UK Albums Chart, and number 49 on the "Billboard" 200. On the Independent Albums chart it peaked at number ten. The record's highest chart position was in Sweden at number six. As of May 2015, "Forevermore" has sold 44,000 copies in the US. Thom Jurek of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, in which he proclaimed: ""Forevermore", despite its tighter arrangements and more polished production is Whitesnake at its Brit hard rock best." A supporting tour kicked off in New York on 11 May 2011. After several dates in the US, the tour continued across Europe. During the band's performance at the Sweden Rock Festival, they were joined onstage by former guitarist Bernie Marsden. In October, Whitesnake played the Loud Park festival in Japan. On the tour, the band were accompanied by keyboardist Brian Ruedy. That year, Whitesnake also released a live recording of their 1990 Monster of Rock concert at Castle Donington.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake took another hiatus in 2012 to compile live recordings from the "Forevermore" tour, which were released the following year with "Made in Japan" and "Made in Britain/The World Record". In January 2013, Brian Tichy announced his departure from Whitesnake, in order to concentrate on his other band S.U.N. He was replaced by Tommy Aldridge, who rejoined the band for a second time. That May, Whitesnake embarked on a UK co-headlining tour with Journey, followed by several dates in Europe. During the band's performance in Manchester, they were once again joined onstage by Bernie Marsden. In June, Whitesnake played several co-headlining dates with Def Leppard in Spain. Following a North American tour, Whitesnake played Brazil at the Monsters of Rock festival in October. In May 2014, Doug Aldrich announced his departure from the band. He later explained his decision to leave, citing a need for a more flexible schedule to work on other projects and spend more time with his son. Night Ranger guitarist Joel Hoekstra was announced as his replacement the following August. In November, Whitesnake released "Live in '84 - Back To The Bone", a collection of live recordings from the "Slide It In" tour.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake released their twelfth studio album, titled "The Purple Album", on 15 May 2015 in Europe, followed by a North American release on 19 May. A collection of re-recorded songs from Coverdale's time in Deep Purple, the idea sprang from talks he and Jon Lord had about a possible Mark III reunion a few years earlier. After Lord's death in 2012, Coverdale discussed the idea with Ritchie Blackmore, but they were unable to come to an agreement on the nature of the undertaking. Coverdale then decided to move forward with the project under the Whitesnake banner. He described the resulting record as a tribute to his time in Deep Purple. The album reached number 18 on the UK Albums Chart, while in the US it peaked at number 87. On the Independent Albums chart it reached number nine. In its first week, the record sold 6,900 copies in the US. "The Purple Album" polarized critics. The Associated Press commended the band for breathing new life into the songs, while Dave Everley of "Classic Rock" called the record a "wrong-headed travesty of an album". Responding to the criticism, Coverdale proclaiming: "I've no space in my life for haters or negaters. [...] I owe those people nothing. Such opinions mean nothing to me." "The Purple Album" had been envisioned by Coverdale as potentially his last album before retiring. However, the process left him "revitalised" and eager to continue further.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake kicked off the North American leg of The Purple Tour in May 2015. Joining the band was new keyboardist Michele Luppi. At a show in California, they were joined onstage by Coverdale's former Deep Purple bandmate Glenn Hughes. In December, Whitesnake teamed up with Def Leppard for tour of the UK and Ireland. In Sheffield, Whitesnake were joined onstage by former guitarist Vivian Campbell (who has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992). In 2016, the band embarked on the Greatest Hits Tour, which saw them perform across Europe and the US. Before the tour, Coverdale revealed his plans to potentially retire in 2017, though he later recanted the statement. In August 2017, Whitesnake signed a new distribution deal for North America and Japan with Rhino Entertainment and Warner Music Group. Tentative plans to release a new album the following year were also announced. In October 2017, Whitesnake's eponymous album was reissued as a four-disc box set to commemorate its 30th anniversary. The band had planned a joint tour where they would have played the album in its entirety, but instead opted to take a break and focus on writing a new album. In December, a photography book chronicling The Purple Tour was released.


title: Whitesnake

text: In 2018, Whitesnake toured the US with Foreigner on the Juke Box Heroes Tour. They also released "The Purple Tour" live album and the box set "Unzipped", which featured various acoustic recordings across the band's career. Whitesnake thirteenth studio album had originally been set for release in early 2018, but was pushed back after Coverdale contracted H3 flu. In April 2018, the record was delayed again to early 2019 due to unspecified "technical issues" during the mixing process. Coverdale also had knee replacement surgery in 2018 due to degenerative arthritis. However, he later reiterated his plans not to retire, stating that he feels "reinvigorated, energized and very inspired".


title: Whitesnake

text: The next studio album "Flesh & Blood" was released on 10 May 2019. It saw Coverdale compose with Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra for the first time, while production was handled by all three of them along with Michael McIntyre. "Flesh & Blood" charted in eighteen countries, reaching number seven and number 131 in the UK and the US respectively. On the Independent Albums chart, it hit number five. Philip Wilding, writing for "Classic Rock", gave the record a positive review, in which he stated: "If you want something to listen to while driving with the top down in some steamy Californian clime, then this Whitesnake is hard to beat." The band embarked on a supporting tour in April with dates in North America, followed by a European tour over the summer. Whitesnake also released new multi-disc reissues of "Slide It In" and "Slip of the Tongue" in March and December, respectively. In September, Coverdale once again discussed the possibility of retiring, potentially in 2021, though he later clarified: "I just thought it was amusing to say, 'Oh, what better age for the lead singer of Whitesnake [to retire] than 69? I can't wait to design the t-shirts.' That was just fun."


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake were scheduled to tour Australia and New Zealand with the Scorpions in February 2020, but many of the shows had to be cancelled after Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine was diagnosed with kidney stones. Whitesnake's Japanese tour in March was also postponed due to the then-burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic. Whitesnake later canceled all their remaining tour dates for 2020 when Coverdale was diagnosed with a bilateral inguinal hernia, for which he was forced to undergo surgery. Later that year, Coverdale revealed plans to release three new musically distinct compilation albums, collectively titled the "Red, White and Blues" trilogy. The collections were originally timed to coincide with a potential farewell tour, which had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Coverdale later reaffirmed his plan to retire from touring potentially in 2022, citing his age and the stress of travel as contributing factors. However, he still intended to be involved in music with several Whitesnake projects in the works. Coverdale also discussed the possibility of Whitesnake continuing to perform without him. In October 2021, the 1997 album "Restless Heart" was reissued as a multi-disc box set.


title: Whitesnake

text: In July 2021, Whitesnake announced the addition of multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick to their ranks, turning Whitesnake into a septet for the first time. Later that November, Michael Devin parted ways with the band. He was replaced by Tanya O'Callaghan, marking the first female musician to join the group. Whitesnake began their farewell tour in May 2022, starting in the UK and Ireland with Foreigner and Europe. That same month, the group's "Greatest Hits" album was also reissued. During Whitesnake's June performance at Hellfest, they were joined onstage by Steve Vai. Later that month, the band were forced to cancel several shows after Tommy Aldridge fell ill and Coverdale was diagnosed with an infection of the sinus and trachea. Reb Beach had previously missed a number of shows due to poor health as well. On 1 July, Whitesnake cancelled the remainder of their European tour. On 5 August, the band withdrew from their forthcoming North American tour with the Scorpions. O'Callaghan stated in October that Coverdale still needed "a good few months" to recuperate. However, he had resumed writing and discussed the possibility of doing another album in the future.


title: Whitesnake

text: David Coverdale's original vision for Whitesnake was to create a blues-based, melodic hard rock band with soul. He wanted to combine elements of hard rock, R&B and blues with "good commercial hooks". Coverdale's earliest influences included The Pretty Things and The Yardbirds, who combined blues and soul with electrified rock, a style Coverdale found more appealing to traditional twelve-bar blues structures. Another major influence on Whitesnake's sound was The Allman Brothers Band, particularly their first album. Whitesnake's other early influences included Cream, Mountain, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green, Jeff Beck (particularly the albums "Truth" and "Beck-Ola"), Paul Butterfield, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers (particularly "The Beano Album") As the band began playing and writing together, their sound developed further into what has been described by music critics as their blues rock period, which encompasses roughly the first five Whitesnake studio albums. "Rolling Stone"s Richard Bienstock described their early sound as "bloozy, sexed-up pub-rock". Micky Moody and Neil Murray have felt that Whitesnake didn't truly find their sound until "Ready an' Willing". Coverdale has seconded this, stating that "Ready an' Willing" was the beginning of what Whitesnake should have sounded like from the start.


title: Whitesnake

text: Beginning with "Slide It In", Whitesnake's sound developed more into straightforward hard rock. Coverdale later explained that he wanted the band's blues elements to rock more. Neil Murray attributed this shift partially to John Kalodner, who began pushing Whitesnake in a heavier, more guitar-based, "American-sounding" direction. John Sykes also played a pivotal role in Whitesnake's evolution, with Murray remarking how Sykes wanted the band to be more "American style". The band's eponymous album saw Whitesnake moving towards a sound Coverdale described as "leaner, meaner and more electrifying". This later period of Whitesnake's career has been described by music critics as hard rock, heavy metal, and glam metal. Coverdale would later admit that by the late 1980s, Whitesnake had become a ""Heavy Metal" comic", stating: "If people confuse Whitesnake with Mötley Crüe or any of these things, looking at the pictures [...] you can understand why." Musically though, Coverdale has rejected the notion that Whitesnake were ever a heavy metal band. Since reforming the band in 2003, Coverdale has attempted to combine elements of Whitesnake's early sound with their later hard rock style on their most recent studio albums. However, music critics have noted that Whitesnake's style has remained most consistent with their late 1980s output, with Philip Wilding of "Classic Rock", in his review for "Flesh & Blood", stating: "Those hoping that the new Whitesnake album record will recall Coverdale's smoky, "Lovehunter" past should look away now. [...] Coverdale understood American radio in the 80s, and that might be why he still writes for it."


title: Whitesnake

text: As Whitesnake's style evolved in the mid to late 1980s, they began to draw unfavourable comparisons to Led Zeppelin. Tracks like "Slow an' Easy", "Still of the Night" and "Judgement Day" have been accused of copying Led Zeppelin, while David Coverdale has been accused of imitating singer Robert Plant. Responding to the claims, Coverdale jokingly stated in 1987: "I guess it's quite a compliment to be placed in a class like that." The comparison was exacerbated when Coverdale teamed up with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page to release the album "Coverdale–Page" in 1993. In the press, Plant would refer to Coverdale as "David Cover-version". Coverdale denied any notion of plagiarism, stating: "I don't know how accurate the comparison is. People shouldn't forget that I worked in Deep Purple for a number of years, so my pedigree in hard rock is quite strong. I understand that bands like Whitesnake, Purple and Led Zeppelin all play a solid powerful brand of rock, but I don't think we're coming from the same place musically." Neil Murray laid some of the blame on John Kalodner, who he claimed began pushing Whitesnake in a more Led Zeppelin-like direction.


title: Whitesnake

text: Coverdale has stated that lyrically all of his songs are love songs at their core. He has described them as diaries of particular times in his life. Nearly all of Whitesnake's studio albums feature one or more songs with "love" in the title. Coverdale has maintained that this hasn't been a conscious decision, rather he considers love his primary source of inspiration. He has also attributed some of Whitesnake's longevity to the lyrics' "human themes", whether physical or emotional.


title: Whitesnake

text: Whitesnake have been heavily criticized by the music press for their excessive use of double entendres and sexual innuendos, most egregiously on tracks such as "Slide It In", "Slow an' Easy" and "Spit It Out". Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden and Jon Lord have expressed some discomfort over the band's lyrical content. Coverdale has reiterated that some of his lyrics are meant to provoke laughter more than anything else, stating: "If I look at sex as an observer [...] there's humour also as well as the serious nitty-gritty stuff and I like to write about this as well." He also added that many of his songs are tongue-in-cheek and inspired by his own experiences, not uncommon to other people as well. Coverdale has repeatedly denied any accusations of misogyny or sexism. Marsden conceded that while many of Coverdale's lyrics are not entirely politically correct in a contemporary setting, they were written "completely tongue-in-cheek" and are more a product of a bygone era. Music journalist Malcolm Dome compared some of Whitesnake's more suggestive lyrics to a "Carry On" film with their tongue-in-cheek sensibilities, also noting how in his opinion Coverdale has written songs with "some real depth and lyrical awareness", like with "Sailing Ships" and "Love Ain't No Stranger".


title: Joe Namath

text: Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college football at Alabama, where he won the national championship as a senior, and was selected by the Jets first overall in the 1965 AFL Draft. During his five AFL seasons, he was a two-time MVP and twice led the league in passing yards, while leading the Jets to win one AFL championship and one Super Bowl. Both victories remain the Jets' only championships. Following the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, Namath joined the NFL with the Jets, where he was the league's passing yards and touchdowns leader during the 1972 season. He played in New York for seven more seasons, with his final year spent as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath cemented his legacy in 1969 when he guaranteed his heavy underdog Jets would win Super Bowl III before defeating the NFL's Baltimore Colts in one of the greatest sports upsets of all time. The Super Bowl victory was the first for an AFL franchise, helping dismiss notions that its teams were inferior to the NFL's and demonstrating they would enter the merger as equals. Namath received Super Bowl MVP honors in the game, while also becoming the first quarterback to win both a college national championship and a major professional championship.


title: Joe Namath

text: Nicknamed "Broadway Joe", Namath became a media icon who attracted mainstream popularity outside of sports. Although his statistics and win–loss record are unimpressive from a contemporary standpoint, Namath remains one of the league's most iconic and popular figures. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath was born and raised in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. He grew up in the Lower End neighborhood of Beaver Falls. He is the son of Roman Catholic parents, Rose (née Juhász) and János "John Andrew" Namath, a steelworker, both of Hungarian descent. His Hungarian-born grandfather, András "Andrew" Németh, known as "A.J." to his family and friends, came to Ellis Island on the steamer "Pannonia" in 1911, and worked in the coal and steel industries of the Greater Pittsburgh area.


title: Joe Namath

text: While growing up, Namath was close to both of his parents, who eventually divorced. Following his parents' divorce, he lived with his mother. He was the youngest of four sons, with an older adopted sister.


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath excelled in all sports at Beaver Falls High School and was a standout quarterback in football, guard in basketball, and outfielder in baseball. In an age when dunks were uncommon in high school basketball, Namath regularly dunked in games. Namath later clarified a story about being the only white player on his high school basketball team on The James Brown Show in 2018, where he was the guest. He stated that although he was one of several white players on the team, he was the only white starter. Coached by Larry Bruno at Beaver Falls, Namath's football team won the WPIAL Class AA championship with a 9–0 record in 1960. Coach Bruno later presented Namath to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.


title: Joe Namath

text: Upon graduation from high school in 1961, he received offers from several Major League Baseball teams, including the Yankees, Indians, Reds, Pirates, and Phillies, but football prevailed. Namath told interviewers that he wanted to sign with the Pirates and play baseball like his idol, Roberto Clemente, but elected to play football because his mother wanted him to get a college education. He enrolled at the University of Alabama, but left before graduating in order to pursue a career in professional football. However, a college degree was finally conferred on Namath at age 64, after he completed an external-program bachelor of arts degree in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Alabama in 2007.


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath had many offers from Division I college football programs, including Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, and Notre Dame, but initially decided upon the University of Maryland after being heavily recruited by Maryland assistant coach Roland Arrigoni. He was rejected by Maryland because his college-board scores were just below the school's requirements. After ample recruiting by Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant, Namath accepted a full scholarship to attend Alabama. Bryant stated his decision to recruit Namath was "the best coaching decision I ever made."


title: Joe Namath

text: Between 1962 and 1964, Namath quarterbacked the Alabama Crimson Tide program under Bryant and his offensive coordinator, Howard Schnellenberger. A year after being suspended for the final two games of the regular season, Namath led the Tide to a national championship in 1964. During his time at the University of Alabama, Namath led the team to a 29–4 record over three seasons.


title: Joe Namath

text: Bryant called Namath "the greatest athlete I ever coached". When Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, he teared up during his induction speech upon mentioning Bryant, who died of a heart attack in 1983.


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath attended college at the height of the civil rights movement (1955–1968) in the Southern United States.


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath was eleventh in the balloting for the 1964 Heisman Trophy, which was won by quarterback John Huarte of Notre Dame.


title: Joe Namath

text: In 1964, despite suffering a nagging knee injury in the fourth game of his senior year at Alabama, Namath limped through the undefeated regular season to the Orange Bowl. He was a first-round draft selection by both the NFL and the upstart AFL. The two competing leagues were at the height of their bidding war, and held their respective drafts on the same day: November 28, 1964. The cartilage damage to Namath's right knee later designated him class 4-F for the military draft, a deferment from service during the Vietnam War.


title: Joe Namath

text: The St. Louis Cardinals selected Namath 12th overall in the NFL Draft, while the Jets selected him as the first overall pick of the AFL draft.


title: Joe Namath

text: When meeting with executives of the Cardinals, Namath's salary request was $200,000 and a new Lincoln Continental. While initially surprised at Namath's demands, the Cardinals told Namath they would agree to his terms only if he would sign before the Orange Bowl, which would have made Namath ineligible to play in the game. The day after the Orange Bowl, Namath elected to sign with the Jets, under the direction of Sonny Werblin, for a salary of US$427,000 over three years (a pro football record at the time). Offensive tackle Sherman Plunkett came up with the nickname "Broadway Joe" in 1965, following Namath's appearance on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" in July.


title: Joe Namath

text: In Namath's rookie season the 1965 Jets were winless in their first six games with him splitting time with second-year quarterback Mike Taliaferro. With Namath starting full-time they won five of the last eight of a fourteen-game season and Namath was named the AFL Rookie of the year.


title: Joe Namath

text: He became the first professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season when he threw for 4,007 yards during a 14-game season in 1967, a record broken by Dan Fouts in a 16-game season in 1979 (4,082). Although Namath was plagued with knee injuries through much of his career and underwent four pioneering knee operations by Dr. James A. Nicholas, he was an AFL All-Star in 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1969. On some occasions, Namath had to have his knee drained at halftime so he could finish a game. Later in life, long after he left football, he underwent knee replacement surgery on both legs.


title: Joe Namath

text: In the 1968 AFL title game, Namath threw three touchdown passes to lead New York to a 27–23 win over the defending AFL champion Oakland Raiders. His performance in the 1968 season earned him the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year. He was an AFC-NFC Pro Bowler in 1972, is a member of the Jets' and the American Football League's All-Time Team, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.


title: Joe Namath

text: The high point of Namath's career was his performance in the Jets' 16–7 win over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in January 1969, shortly before the AFL–NFL merger. The first two interleague championship games had resulted in blowout victories for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, and sports writers from NFL cities insisted the AFL would take several more years to be truly competitive. The 1968 Colts were touted as "the greatest football team in history", and former NFL star and Atlanta Falcons head coach Norm Van Brocklin ridiculed the AFL before the game, saying "I'll tell you what I think about Joe Namath on Sunday night—after he has played his first pro game." Three days before the game, Namath was tired of addressing the issue in the press, and he responded to a heckler at a sports banquet in Miami with the line: "We're going to win the game. I guarantee it."


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath backed up his boast, which became legendary. The Colts' vaunted defense (highlighted by Bubba Smith) was unable to contain either the Jets' running or passing game, while the ineffective offense gave up four interceptions to the Jets. Namath was the Super Bowl MVP, completing eight passes to George Sauer Jr. alone for 133 yards. The win made him the first quarterback to start and win a national championship game in college, a major professional league championship, and a Super Bowl.


title: Joe Namath

text: The Jets' win gave the AFL instant legitimacy even to skeptics. When he was asked by reporters after the game whether the Colts' defense was the "toughest he had ever faced", Namath responded, "That would be the Buffalo Bills' defense." The AFL-worst Bills had intercepted Namath five times, three for touchdowns, in their only win in 1968 in late September.


title: Joe Namath

text: After not missing a single game because of injury in his first five years in the league, Namath played in just 28 of 58 possible games between 1970 and 1973 because of various injuries. After winning division championships in 1968 and 1969, the Jets struggled to records of 4–10, 6–8, 7–7, and 4–10. His most memorable moment in those four seasons came on September 24, 1972, when he and his boyhood idol Johnny Unitas combined for 872 passing yards in Baltimore. Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns and Unitas 376 yards and three in a 44–34 New York victory over the Colts, its first against Baltimore since Super Bowl III. The game is considered by many NFL experts to be the finest display of passing in a single game in league history. Another notable moment was in 1970, when the head of ABC's televised sports, Roone Arledge, made sure that "Monday Night Football"'s inaugural game on September 21, featured Namath. The Jets met the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland Municipal Stadium in front of both a record crowd of 85,703 and a huge television audience. However, the Jets set a team record for penalties and lost on a late Namath interception.


title: Joe Namath

text: The Chicago Winds of the World Football League famously made a large overture to Namath prior to the start of the 1975 season. First, they designed their uniforms identically to that of the Jets, dropping red and going with just green and white, to allow Namath to continue marketing his number 12 jersey in Jets colors. Then they offered Namath a contract worth $600,000 a year for three years; a $2 million annuity ($100,000 per year for 20 years); a $500,000 signing bonus; and terms for Namath's eventual ownership of a WFL franchise in New York (which apparently involved moving the Charlotte Hornets franchise back to the Big Apple, perhaps playing in the refurbished Yankee Stadium). The WFL's television provider, TVS Television Network, insisted on the Winds signing Namath to continue broadcasts; Namath, in turn, requested 15 percent of the league's television revenue. Counterintuitively (since 85% of the TV money would be better than none at all) the WFL refused, and Namath stayed with the Jets. The Winds folded five weeks into the 1975 WFL season. Without a national television contract, the struggling WFL collapsed altogether a month later.


title: Joe Namath

text: In the twilight of his career, Namath was waived by the Jets to facilitate a move to the Los Angeles Rams when a trade could not be worked out. Signing on May 12, 1977, Namath hoped to revitalize his career, but knee injuries, a bad hamstring, and the general ravages of 13 years as a quarterback in professional football had taken their toll. After playing well in a 2–1 start, Namath took a beating in a one-point loss on a cold, windy, and rainy "Monday Night Football" game against the Chicago Bears, throwing four interceptions and having a fifth nullified by a penalty. He was benched as a starter for the rest of the season and retired at its end.


title: Joe Namath

text: Building on his brief success as a host on 1969's "The Joe Namath Show", Namath transitioned into an acting career. Appearing on stage, starring in several movies, including "C.C. and Company" with Ann-Margret and William Smith in 1970, on stage in "Picnic" with Donna Mills in 1971 and in a brief 1978 television series, "The Waverly Wonders". He guest-starred on numerous television shows, often as himself, including "The Love Boat", "Married... with Children", "Here's Lucy", "The Brady Bunch", "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour", "The Flip Wilson Show", "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In", "The Dean Martin Show", "The Simpsons", "The A-Team", "ALF", "Kate & Allie", and "The John Larroquette Show". Namath was a candidate to host the 1988 revival of the American game show "Family Feud", before the job went to comedian Ray Combs.


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath appeared in summer stock productions of "Damn Yankees", "Fiddler on the Roof", and "Li'l Abner", and finally legitimized his "Broadway Joe" nickname as a cast replacement in a New York revival of "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" in 1983. He guest hosted "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" several times and also served as a color commentator on NFL broadcasts, including the 1985 season of "Monday Night Football" and several years with NBC Sports. In September 2012, Namath was honored by the Ride of Fame and a double-decker tour bus was dedicated to him in New York City. He appeared as himself in the 2013 sports film "Underdogs" and the 2015 comedy film "The Wedding Ringer".


title: Joe Namath

text: Namath was the only athlete listed on the master list of Richard Nixon's political opponents which was made public in 1973 during the Watergate investigation, erroneously listed as playing for the New York Giants. White House Counsel John Dean claimed not to know why Namath was included on the list and suggested that it may have been a mistake.


title: Joe Namath

text: While taking a voice class in 1983, Namath met Deborah Mays, who later changed her first name to May and then changed it again to Tatiana, an aspiring actress; he was 39 and she was 22. They married in 1984, with Namath claiming, "She caught my last pass." The longtime bachelor became a dedicated family man when the couple had two children, Jessica (born 1986) and Olivia (born 1991). The couple divorced in 2000, with the children living in Florida with their father. In May 2007, Olivia gave birth to a daughter, Natalia.


title: Joe Namath

text: For the early years of his marriage, Namath continued to struggle with his alcoholism until his wife warned him that he could break up his family if he continued. By 1987, Namath was able to stop his drinking, though he would relapse after his divorce in 2000.