Autograph formed in 1983 with vocalist/guitarist Steve Plunkett joining up with guitarist Steve Lynch, bassist Randy Rand, keyboard player Steven Isham, and drummer Keni Richards. The band seemed to have it all: a fine commercial hard rock debut in 1984's 'Sign in Please', good looks, and great hair. Still, it wasn't enough, and by the time they released the following year's disappointing 'That's the Stuff' the 80s rock audience had moved on. Their 1987 single "Loud and Clear" got a bit of attention, thanks to Ozzy Osbourne's cameo in their video, but it all arrived too late to save the band, which split up in 1989. A posthumous collection of outtakes called 'Missing Pieces' was released about a decade later.
Despite scoring a massive MTV hit with their very first single, "Turn Up the Radio", which continues to be a classic rock staple, Autograph's songs got lost in the shuffle of the thriving Los Angeles pop metal scene. Still, interest in their first big hit continues, with the song featured in a variety of places such as the popular 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' video game. In 2003, Steve Plunkett put out a reunion album of sorts: an all-new material album entitled 'Buzz', which retained their 80s sound. They've also released the odds and sods album 'More Missing Pieces'.
Reunion (2013–present)
In late 2013, original members Steve Lynch, Randy Rand, and Keni Richards got back together for a reunion. Due to Plunkett not being interested in doing the reunion, they have replaced him with Jailhouse, Agent X, Flood, 1RKO, solo artist singer/songwriter/guitarist Simon Daniels.
Since 2014, by which time Richards had been replaced by Mark Wieland on drums, the band has played the Monsters of Rock Cruise, M3 Rock Festival, The Moondance Jam, The Halfway Jam, Firefest UK, Rockin the Rivers, The Iowa State Fair along with other festivals, theaters and worldwide touring.
On January 15, 2015, they released their first single, "You Are Us, We Are You," on iTunes. On April 21, they released their 2nd single, "I Lost My Mind in America," which made the Top 10 download of the charts. In July, the band was featured in USA Today NEWS after playing the famous Halfway Jam Rock Festival. On September 23, the band released their 3rd single "Every Generation" and is featured as track of the week on Classic Rock Magazine. On January 7, 2016, the new 5 song EP 'Louder', with 4 original new singles and a live version of "Turn up the Radio", was released and is available on the official website.
On January 10, 2017, the band completed the recordings for the new full album which was released as 'Get Off Your Ass' on OCTOBER 6 after signing with EMP Label Group owned by David Ellefson.
On April 8, 2017, Keni Richards died at the age of 60.
On July 24, 2019, Steve Lynch decided to move on to other projects so the band added a new guitarist on August 27, 2019. Jimi Bell previously played in the House of Lords and Maxx Explosion. Bell appeared in the 1986 film, Light Of Day, where he was both a performer in the movie and played on the soundtrack album. He is an official endorsee of GHS Strings, Marshall Amps (Europe), Ovation Guitars, Roberts Guitars, Viper Guitars, Charvel Guitars and PVX Guitars.
Autograph‘s long-time bassist Randy Rand passed away in April 2022. Rand was in Autograph from 1983 to 1989 and again from 2013 onwards. He was the lone remaining original member in the band. Three of the five original Autograph band members have now passed away with Rand in 2022, keyboardist Steven Isham in 2008 and drummer Keni Richards in 2017.
When I'm Gone
Autograph Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I thought the chain would always be unbroken
Now my heart keeps telling me
Words I should have said or left unspoken
So after you are through
Doing what you're gonna do
After you blow her heart away
Send her to me, send her to me
I'm the one who loves her
Send her to me, send her to me
I'm the one who needs her
Send her to me, send her to me
I can't blame her for a thing
I guess you really made her feel so wanted
When she sees she was a fool
Her empty heart will feel me haunting
So after you are through
Making her go through all the moves
After you chase her dreams away
I will still be here to say
Send her to me, send her to me
I'm the one who loves her
Send her to me, send her to me
I'm the one who needs her
Send her to me, send her to me
I will never turn away
After the tears have burned away
And when the smoke is finally clear
I will still be here to say
Send her to me, send her to me
I'm the one who loves her
Send her to me, send her to me
I'm the one who needs her
Send her to me, send her to me
I'm the one who loves her
Send her to me, send her to me
Oh, I'm the one
When I'm Gone by Autograph is a powerful love ballad that expresses the regret and heartache of a man who has let the love of his life slip away. The song opens with the singer admitting his mistake - he doesn't know how he let her go, and he thought their love was unbreakable. Now, his heart keeps telling him the things he should have said, the things that he left unsaid. The chorus is a plea to the person who has taken his love away - send her back to him because he is the one who loves and needs her. The singer acknowledges that he can't blame his love for leaving because the person who took her away made her feel wanted. However, he is confident that when the person who took her away leaves, his love will feel him haunting her empty heart. The song ends with the singer promising to never turn away, even after her tears have burned away and the smoke has cleared - he will still be there to love her and take her back.
The lyrics to When I'm Gone not only express the pain of losing someone you love, but they also convey the power of love and the strength of commitment. The singer is willing to still be there for his love even after she has been hurt and even after he has made mistakes. His love is unwavering and true, and he knows that he is the one who can truly care for her.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know how I let her go
I am unsure how I allowed her to leave
I thought the chain would always be unbroken
I believed our relationship would never break or fail
Now my heart keeps telling me
My emotions are reminding me constantly
Words I should have said or left unspoken
Things I should have expressed or kept to myself
So after you are through
Once you have finished your plan
Doing what you're gonna do
Carrying out your intentions
After you blow her heart away
After you emotionally hurt her badly
I will still be here to say
I will still be around to express myself
Send her to me, send her to me
Send her back to me please
I'm the one who loves her
I am the one who truly cares for her
I'm the one who needs her
I am the one who relies on her emotionally
I can't blame her for a thing
I cannot hold her responsible for anything
I guess you really made her feel so wanted
You must have made her feel very desired
When she sees she was a fool
When she realizes she made a mistake
Her empty heart will feel me haunting
She will feel my presence emotionally
Making her go through all the moves
Putting her through all of the steps or processes
After you chase her dreams away
After you ruin her aspirations
I will still be here to say
I will still be around to express myself
I will never turn away
I will never abandon her
After the tears have burned away
After she has cried a lot
And when the smoke is finally clear
When the situation ends
I will still be here to say
I will still be around to express myself
Oh, I'm the one
I am the one she needs
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Douglas Foxworthy, Steven L. Plunkett
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mofrakker
They deserved so much more success and recognition than they got. This is awesome.
Ron Rocker
Well... They had the CHOPS worthy of BIG-TIME success. But they lacked attitude. They fucked up their momentum with their 2nd album. Too much silly stuff. Some aggression would have done them good.
Laura Schifris
Awesome song....totally under-rated band. In the 80's I really didn't hear much about them except for the song turn up the radio.
AlphaAstraAqua
AWESOME song! Somebody get these guys to re-group and give this song & the Missing pieces demos a proper re-recording for release on FRONTIER RECORDS!
The American Paranormal Society
Can’t regroup all the original members as drummer was murdered in 2017. But they are still together but without Plunkett
Boo Henry
Great song!! They have their own sound. Love this song!
Laura Schifris
I don't know why I missed this band in the 80's as we listening to so many others....A VERY TALENTED BAND...Awesome!!!
Marcel Moon
excelente cancion como es de esperar de esta gran bandaªªautograph rules!!
Andreas Stark
great band,great song!!! shame this type of melodic stuff aint huge nowadays!!! a melodic revolution maybe? Anyone?
Claudine Boissard
J'adore ce titre... une merveille ! ♥ Merci de l'avoir mis en ligne...
Une pensée émue pour Keni et Steven... ^♥^