Childhood & Early Life
He was born on September 22, 1951 in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Cleveland, England to a family of music enthusiasts. His father worked in a steel factory.
He was drawn towards music in his childhood and began singing along with records when he was a toddler. His passion for music developed at a very early age.
He lived in a house above the club ran by his parents. Grooving along with tunes of the bands such as The Pretty Things, The Sorrows, The Yardbirds and The Kinks, he developed a keen interest in playing guitar, which further flared his passion for music.
He started performing professionally at the age of 14 and also worked on his voice to become a rock singer. He attended an arts college and joined groups such as Vintage 67, Denver Mule and Magdalene.
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Career
In 1968, he became a part of a local cover band, The Skyliners, as the vocalist. The band played at the clubs and the local colleges and later changed their name to ‘The Government’. He left the band in 1972 and sang for another band, Fabulosa Brothers from 1972 to 1973.
In 1973, while working at a boutique, he came across an audition advertisement of ‘Deep Purple’ band for the lead singer to replace Ian Gillen. Coverdale and Deep Purple had earlier worked together for the local group, The Government. He was hired by ‘Deep Purple’ as one of its vocalists.
The band released albums such as ‘Burn’, ‘Stormbringer’ and ‘Come Taste the Band’ in the following years which were successful and the band became one of the best selling bands in America. He became a rock star but the band split up in 1976 due to internal conflicts.
Soon after the band’s spilt, he began his solo career and released two albums, ‘White Snake’ (1977) and ‘Northwinds’ (1978), with all songs written by himself and theguitarist, Micky Moody. Both the albums were quite successful and were well received by the music lovers.
Before the release of his second solo album, he formed his own hard rock band, ‘Whitesnake’, which eventually made him a superstar. Initially, it was a touring band that transformed into a full-time band with Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden as its guitarists.
The band had its first official release, ’Snakebite’, in 1978, which made its way up to the UK top 100 list. Same year, they released the album titled ‘Trouble’ that peaked at No. 50 on the UK album charts.
In 1979, their next album, ’Lovehunter’ made the Top 30 hit list in UK and earned them a huge European fan following.
In 1980, they released their next album, ‘Ready an’ Willing’ which featured one of their biggest hits, ‘Fool for Your Loving’. It was followed by more successful albums such as ‘Live in the Heart of the City’ (1980), ‘Come an' Get It’ (1981) and ‘Saints & Sinners’ (1982).
After performing at many rock concerts and releasing many hit albums as a member of band, he took a break from music in 1997. In 2000, he released his first solo album in 22 years, ‘Into The Light’.
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In 2002, he reunited the ‘Whitesnake’ band and released several albums such as ‘Good to Be Bad’ (2008) and ‘Forevermore’ (2011) in addition to performing at concerts across Europe and America.
Major Works
In 1980, the band Whitesnake had its first major hit with ‘Fool for Your Loving’ from the album, ‘Ready an' Willing’. The song made its position in the American charts, reaching No. 53 the on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in the British charts at No. 13.
In 1987, the band's self-titled album peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. album charts. The album’s biggest hits included songs such as ‘Is This Love’ and the band’s first No. 1 hit single, ‘Here I Go Again.’
Personal Life & Legacy
In 1974, he married Julia Borkowski, a German lady, and they were blessed with a daughter, Jessica, in 1978.
His second marriage was with Tawny Kitaen, former model and actress, on February 17 1989, but they got divorced after two years in the April of 1991.
He married his third wife, Cindy, in 1997 with whom he had a son, Jasper, in 1996.
