Dokken are a ‘hair metal’ outfit that was at the forefront of the movement in the 1980s. They fast became a Platinum selling outfit, selling 10 millions albums to date.
In 1976, Don Dokken joined Greg Pecka and Steven R, Barry to form a band. They wasted no time in playing club shows around the Los Angeles area as “Airborn”, but soon changed their name to Dokken after another band had the name. After five years of hard graft, they finally signed to the label with Carrere Records. It was a brief relationship that led to the band being signed to Elektra Records and releasing the full-length debut “Breaking the Chains” on September 18th 1983. It achieved minor success in Europe and the US, but it wasn’t until their sophomore album “Tooth and Nail”, released on September 13th 1984, that they became a Platinum selling band, with the album peaking at number 49 in the Billboard 200.
“Under Lock and Key” released on November 9th 1985 made it to number 32 and was also certified Platinum, seeing the band’s status grow exponentially. “Back for the Attack” released on November 27th 1987 became the band’s highest selling album to date, making the top 20 of the US and Sweden. From the album, spawned the hit singles “Burning Like a Flame” and “Dream Warriors”. The band would later embark on the Monsters of Rock tour alongside Van Halen and Metallica. Various recordings from their April 1988 Japan tour culminated in the release of a live album called “Beast from the East”, which was released on November 16th 1988.
Unfortunately, the band went on a hiatus from 1989 to 1993, but saw the band make a comeback with Columbia Records, on May 23rd 1995, with “Dysfunctional”. The album went to number 47 in the Billboard 200 and number 146 with “Shadowlife”, released on April 15th 1997.
In September 2012, the band released “Broken Bones”, which peaked at number 173 in the Billboard 200.
Isaiah Rashad
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