Hair Band History (November 9th)

November 1985: White Lion released their debut album "Fight To Survive" in Japan. It later broke in Europe thanks to magazines covering the band, but wasn't released in North America until June 1986 (March '86 in the UK - Kerrang! review).

November 1987: Europe released "Cherokee" as the fifth and final single from the album "The Final Countdown" in North America. The music video was filmed in Spain and is very historically inaccurate 🤦‍♂️ Release information source: [US] R&R radio trade publication ad - November 6, 1987.

November 9, 1990: KISS concluded the "Hot In The Shade" Tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It would be the final show with the band for drummer Eric Carr who passed away a year later.

November 1988: Six months after its release and three Top 2 singles on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, Van Halen's second album with Sammy Hagar "OU812", still had some legs with American rock radio stations now playing "Cabo Wabo" to warm up the upcoming winter months.

November 1985: Twisted Sister issued a cover of the Shangri-Las' "Leader Of The Pack" as the lead single from their forthcoming album "Come Out And Play" due in December. The music video began playing on MTV in mid-November. Release information source: R&R radio trade publication ad - November 15, 1985.

November 1983: Night Ranger released "(You Can Still) Rock in America" as the first single from their second studio album "Midnight Madness". While the band was touring with Sammy Hagar in early '83, singer Jack Blades bought several music magazines, many of which proclaimed "rock is dead" in favor of new wave artists like Thompson Twins or the Cure. Blades refused to believe it, as his band and Hagar had played so many concerts on their tour with thousands of screaming fans who seemed to think rock and roll was still very much alive. He came up with the chorus first, and then wrote some verses based on what fans would tell him about the lengths they went to attend rock concerts. "So I just took this one girl's idea of what she was telling me, and I wrote that as a commentary on what I was seeing out there when everybody was saying rock was dead. And that ended up being sort of an anthem for Night Ranger, for sure," said Blades. The track was a Top 15 rock hit in the US.

Lee Aaron released "Hands On" as the second single from her fifth studio album "Bodyrock" in late 1989. The LP was nominated in Canada for "Album Of The Year" and "Rock Album Of The Year" in 1991. Bodyrock was also included on Chart magazine's list of "20 most influential Canadian albums of the '80s".

November 1988: "Rumours of Axl Rose's earthly departure" had been floating around, so much so that the matter was addressed in the L.A. Times when the band's management made a point of denying all the rumors. Metal Hammer - November 7, 1988

November 1985: Hit Parader Magazine had the inside story on David Lee Roth and Eddie... Anderson? That would be DLR's bodyguard/shadow, who once worked for the Beach Boys and suggested Roth record the song "California Girls".