

Whitesnake it is a band British of hard rock founded in 1978 by David Coverdale [ 3 ] [ 4 ] after separation of the band Deep Purple [2] , which was part vocals from late 1973 to mid- 1976. [ 5 ] In his early years, his music was oriented towards rock , blues and soul , highlighting the album Saints & Sinners , but as of 1984, with the release of Slide It In, gave a notable change to their music, orienting it towards the commercial hard rock of the time. Under that line the band lived its golden age, and reached its peak with the release of the album 1987 , which brought with it the hit singles Still of the Night , Here I Go Again and the ballad Is This Love . They closed this stage with Slip Of The Tongue in 1989. After this, they have continued to be active at different times and have released some albums. In 2019 they returned to 80s hard rock with the album Flesh & Blood[3] , which was praised by their fans.
David Coverdale

1978 – 1982
Jon Lord
1978 – 1984
Ian Paice
1979 – 1982
Micky Moody
1978 – 1984
Neil Murray
1978 – 1984
One aspect that has characterized the band during its history has been the inconsistency of its formations over the years, involving various British and American musicians, with the exception of David Coverdale, founder of the band as leader and only permanent member. .
Discography:
- Trouble (1978)
- Snakebite (1978)
- Lovehunter (1979)
- Ready An ‘Willing (1980)
- Come an ‘Get It (1981)
- Saints & Sinners (1982)
- Slide It In (1984)
- Whitesnake (1987)
- Slip Of The Tongue (1989)
- Restless Heart (1997)
- Good to Be Bad (2008)
- Forevermore (2011)
- The Purple Album (2015)
- Flesh & Blood (2019)
David Coverdale creates and transforms Whitesnake (1976-1978)
Whitesnake was not only formed, it had evolved. It was crafted during the post- Deep Purple process in David Coverdale’s solo career. He began working with classic Whitesnake guitarist Micky Moody on his two solo albums. The 1978 band that Coverdale had used on his tour (to support his Northwinds album ) was the one that would become the first Whitesnake shortly.
Current members
- David Coverdale – voice (1976-1991, 1994, 1997-1998, 2002-present)
- Reb Beach – lead guitar , backing vocals (2002-present)
- Joel Hoekstra – lead guitar , backing vocals (2015-present)
- Michael Devin – electric bass , backing vocals (2010-present)
- Michele Luppi – Keyboards , backing vocals (2015-present)
- Tommy Aldridge – drums , percussion (1988-present)
Period | Lineup | Releases |
---|---|---|
David Coverdale Band(1976-1977) | David Coverdale – vocalsMicky Moody – guitarRoger Glover – bassTim Hinkley – keyboardswithDeLisle Harper – bass (session musician)Simon Phillips – drums (session musician)Ron Aspery – sax (session musician) | Whitesnake (1977) |
David Coverdale Band(1977) | David Coverdale – vocalsMick Moody – guitarAlan Spenner – bassTim Hinkley – keyboardsTony Newman – drums | Northwinds (1978) |
David Coverdale Band / Whitesnake(1978) | David Coverdale – VocalsMicky Moody – GuitarBernie Marsden – guitarNeil Murray – bassBrian Johnston – keyboardsDave Dowle – drums |
Whitesnake First Era (1978-1991)
When Whitesnake was reformed in 1982 after a brief hiatus, Coverdale summoned only Moody and Lord, and they settled for a few years in the band.
The session musicians needed to complete Whitesnake’s album of the same name in 1987 only played on the song Here I Go Again 87 (aside from keyboards), as this song was not finished when the band was disbanded.
Period | Lineup | Releases |
---|---|---|
David Coverdale’s Whitesnake(1978) | David Coverdale – VocalsMicky Moody – guitarBernie Marsden – guitarNeil Murray – bassPete Solley – keyboardsDave Dowle – drums | Snakebite (1978) |
Whitesnake (1978-1979) | David Coverdale – vocalsMicky Moody – guitarBernie Marsden – guitarNeil Murray – bassJon Lord – keyboardsDave Dowle – drums | Trouble (1978)Lovehunter (1979)Live at Hammersmith (1980) |
Whitesnake (1979-1982) | David Coverdale – vocalsMicky Moody – guitarBernie Marsden – guitarNeil Murray – bassJon Lord – keyboardsIan Paice – drums | Ready an ‘Willing (1980)Live … In the Heart of the City (1980)Come an ‘Get It (1981)Saints & Sinners (1982) |
Whitesnake (1982-1984) | David Coverdale – vocals, piano , percussionMicky Moody – guitarMel Galley – guitar, backing vocalsColin Hodgkinson – bassJon Lord – keyboardsCozy Powell – drums | Slide It In – UK version (1984) |
Whitesnake (1984) | David Coverdale – vocals, piano, percussionJohn Sykes – guitarMel Galley – guitar, backing vocalsNeil Murray – bassJon Lord – keyboardsCozy Powell – drums | Slide It In – US version (1984) |
Whitesnake (1984) | David Coverdale – vocalsJohn Sykes – guitarNeil Murray – bassCozy Powell – drumswithRichard Bailey – keyboards (off stage, touring musician) | |
Whitesnake (1985-1987) | David Coverdale – vocalsJohn Sykes – guitarNeil Murray – bassAynsley Dunbar – drumswithDon Airey – keyboards (session musician)Bill Cuomo – keyboards (session musician)Adrian Vandenberg – guitar (session musician)Mark Andes – bass (session musician)Dann Huff – guitar (session musician)Denny Carmassi – drums (session musician) | Whitesnake (1987) |
Whitesnake (1987-1988) | David Coverdale – vocalsVivian Campbell – guitarAdrian Vandenberg – guitarRudy Sarzo – bassTommy Aldridge – drums | |
Whitesnake (1988-1989) | David Coverdale – vocalsAdrian Vandenberg – guitarRudy Sarzo – bassTommy Aldridge – drumswithDon Airey – keyboards (session musician) | |
Whitesnake (1989-1991) | David Coverdale – vocalsSteve Vai – guitarAdrian Vandenberg – guitarRudy Sarzo – bassTommy Aldridge – drums | Slip of the Tongue (1989) |
Second Whitesnake Era: Temporary Meetings (1994-1998)
Denny Carmassi would join Whitesnake for the 1994 Greatest Hits reunion tour which was organized shortly after Coverdale put the new compilation together.
Carmassi, Guy Pratt and Brett Tuggle would join the band in 1997 for Restless Heart (although this was initially intended to be a David Coverdale solo project). Pratt and Tuggle left before the promo tour.
Period | Lineup | Releases |
---|---|---|
WhitesnakeGreatest Hits Tour (1994) | David Coverdale – vocalsWarren DeMartini – guitarAdrian Vandenberg – guitarRudy Sarzo – bassDenny Carmassi – drumsPaul Mirkovich – keyboards | |
The band broke up (1995-1997) | Coverdale worked on his solo album, came back with Restless Heart | |
David Coverdale & WhitesnakeRestless Heart Reunion (1997) | David Coverdale – vocalsAdrian Vandenberg – guitarGuy Pratt – bassBrett Tuggle – keyboardsDenny Carmassi – drums | Restless Heart (1997) |
Whitesnake Unplugged (acoustic)(1997) | David Coverdale – vocalsAdrian Vandenberg – guitar | Starkers in Tokyo (1998) |
David Coverdale & WhitesnakeRestless Heart Reunion Tour / Whitesnake Farewell Tour (1997) | David Coverdale – vocalsAdrian Vandenberg – guitarSteve Farris – guitarTony Franklin – bassDenny Carmassi – drumsDerek Hilland – keyboards | |
The gang broke up (1997) | Coverdale took a break after a hectic tour |
Third Whitesnake Era: 25th Anniversary Reformation (2002-present)
In 2002, Whitesnake was completely refurbished. Unlike the meetings of the mid-1990s, this is a full-time lineup that previously existed in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Period | Lineup | Releases |
---|---|---|
Whitesnake25th Anniversary Reformation (2002 – 2005) | David Coverdale – vocalsDoug Aldrich – guitarReb Beach – guitarMarco Mendoza – bassTimothy Drury – keyboardsTommy Aldridge – drums | Live … In the Still of the Night (2004) |
Whitesnake (2005-2007) | David Coverdale – vocalsDoug Aldrich – guitarReb Beach – guitarUriah Duffy – bassTimothy Drury – keyboardsTommy Aldridge – drums | live: In the Shadow of the Blues (2006) |
Whitesnake (2007-2010) | David Coverdale – vocalsDoug Aldrich – guitarReb Beach – guitarUriah Duffy – bassTimothy Drury – keyboardsChris Frazier – drums | Good to Be Bad (2008) |
Whitesnake (2010-2013) | David Coverdale – vocalsDoug Aldrich – guitarReb Beach – guitarMichael Devin – bassBrian Ruedy – keyboardsBrian Tichy – Drums | Forevermore (2011) |
Whitesnake (2013) | David Coverdale – vocalsDoug Aldrich – guitarReb Beach – guitarMichael Devin – bassBrian Ruedy – keyboardsTommy Aldridge – Drums |

