Growing up in Compton was sometimes tough, he once even had his face and chin slashed by a gang member. Neil soon learned to become street-wise, but was in some trouble at school, he got kicked out, later finding out he has a form of dyslexia. As well as an interest in music, as a teen Neil was also interested in surfing and baseball.
He was discovered while performing with his band, Rock Candy, and joined Mötley Crüe in 1981. That same year, he married his first wife, Beth Lynn and Mötley Crüe released its first album, Too Fast for Love. In 1983, Mötley Crüe released Shout at the Devil, a blockbuster success that established the band as one of the biggest acts of the 1980s. In 1984, after a tour with Ozzy Osbourne, Neil was in a drunk driving accident near Redondo Beach, California. The passenger in his 72' De Tomaso Pantera, Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley, the drummer of Hanoi Rocks, died from his injuries. Beth Lynn and Neil divorced in 1985. Following a prison sentence, Neil regrouped with Mötley Crüe to record Theatre of Pain (1985) and Girls, Girls, Girls (1987). He married Sharise Ruddell in April 1988. The band released their highest-selling album, Dr. Feelgood, in 1989 after going through rehab .
Neil left Mötley Crüe to pursue a solo career in February 1992. According to rumors in the band's autobiography, The Dirt, he was fired because he was more interested in car racing than in the band (he was racing in the Indy Lights open wheel developmental series at the time). In 1992 he released his first solo offering, a single "You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come)" featured on the Encino Man soundtrack. Exposed, his solo debut, debuted at #13 on the Billboard charts, was released in mid-1993. The album featured Steve Stevens (Billy Idol's guitarist and Atomic Playboys founder), Dave Marshall, Robbie Crane, and Vik Foxx. It sold only about 300,000 copies in the US, just about as many as Mötley's 1994 Neil-less album Mötley Crüe with singer John Corabi (previously of The Scream). All previous Mötley Crüe albums had sold at least one million copies.
Sharise Ruddell and Neil divorced in 1993. Two years later on August 15, 1995, their daughter, Skylar Neil, died of cancer.
The same year, Carved In Stone, an indus-glam metal oriented album produced by the Dust Brothers, sold less than 100,000 copies in the US, and Neil's contract with Warner Bros. Records. eventually came to an end. Some versions of the album feature "Skylar's Song", written by Neil only.
By 1997, both Neil's solo career and Mötley Crüe's fortunes were declining and he accepted their invitation to rejoin the band. They released the album Generation Swine which debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts. It wasn't long before tension erupted again, this time prompting Tommy Lee to leave the band. They replaced him with Randy Castillo, but things came to a halt when Castillo died from cancer in 2002.
In May 2000, Neil married Playboy Playmate Heidi Mark. They divorced in August 2001. In 2002, Neil was one of the cast members on the first season of The Surreal Life. A regular customer of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, in July 2003 Neil was charged with battery after a prostitute at the ranch alleged that he grabbed her around the throat and threw her against a wall. A year earlier, he had pleaded no contest to the charge that he had punched and knocked down record producer Michael Schuman.
In 2003, Vince Neil was featured (as a solo act) in the "Rock Never Stops Tour" along with other '80s hard rock bands. He released a live album, Live at the Whiskey: One Night Only in 2003.
Neil married Lia Gerardini in January 2005. The ceremony was officiated by ordained minister and fellow cast member from The Surreal Life, MC Hammer.
In 2004, Vince appeared again on TV for the special Remaking Vince Neil, which showed him trying to recharge his solo career. He also recorded the single "Promise Me" produced by the acclaimed Desmond Child which has yet to be released commercially, but rumored to be on a forthcoming solo album. However, it turned out to be Mötley Crüe that got the career boost as Neil and Tommy Lee put aside their differences and toured in support of the compilation album Red, White & Crüe which was supported by an extensive world-wide tour dubbed Carnival Of Sins, which featured near-naked female acrobats, fire-breathers and a midget.
Vince Neil is touring with his solo band, now consisting of Slaughter members Jeff Blando and Dana Strum, as well as drummer Zoltan Chaney. In 2010 he released, Tattoos & Tequila
Mötley Crüe will continue to tour, with several dates over the summer, and Vince will continue to tour with his solo band during his off time from Mötley Crüe. He is also currently working on a new studio album with Dana Strum, with whom he performed at glam metal festival Rocklahoma.
rift
Vince Neil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Has lost it's form
On tainted wings you fly
Above the thorns
Dark angels in the wind
Cut you down
And watch as you fall
To the ground
[Chorus]
You take me down
As you tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down
Into the rift
You tumble down
Over and over
The dream split open wide
You lost your way
You wander back through time
To another place
Where wishes placed on coins
Can still come true
And winter bows to spring and age to youth
[Chorus]
In Vince Neil's song "Rift", the lyrics describe a person who has been flying on tainted wings, perhaps meaning that they have been making bad decisions or following a destructive path. This person is then cut down by dark angels and falls to the ground. The chorus repeats the phrase "you tumble down into the rift" over and over, emphasizing the person's descent into darkness and despair.
The second verse takes a more hopeful turn, as the dream splits open wide and the person wanders back through time to a place where wishes placed on coins can come true. This may represent a turning point for the person, where they begin to realize the error of their ways and seek redemption. The verse also mentions the changing of the seasons, suggesting that the person may be undergoing a transformation of their own.
Overall, "Rift" is a song about the cyclical nature of life, with its ups and downs, and the possibility of redemption and new beginnings.
Line by Line Meaning
The circle you are in
The group you belong to or the pattern of your life has lost its structure and purpose.
Has lost its form
It doesn't have any clear outlines or shape. It's shapeless.
On tainted wings you fly
You are soaring high, but with impure intentions and motives.
Above the thorns
You fly over the obstacles that threaten to hurt you but are unaware of the dangers lurking below.
Dark angels in the wind
The negative thought patterns, fear, self-doubt, and bad habits, that are all around you.
Cut you down
Pulling you down and making you feel helpless.
And watch as you fall
Admiring as you continue to get more disconnected from reality and lose sight of your goals.
To the ground.
Reality has hit you, and you are now at your lowest point.
You take me down
Your downward spiral also affects me, and I am dragged down along with you.
As you tumble down
You fall helplessly and without any restraint, and it's painful to watch you go through that.
Into the rift
You get sucked into an abyss of despair, depression, and negativity.
Over and over
This cycle of negativity and despair keeps on repeating, and there seems no way out.
The dream split open wide
Your plans and hopes have been shattered and broken beyond recognition.
You lost your way
You are disoriented and clueless about how to get back on track.
You wander back through time
You retreat into your past and start reliving past moments where things were better and happier.
To another place
You escape into a fantasy world where everything is perfect and satisfying.
Where wishes placed on coins
You cling to the hope that your dreams can still come true if you make the right effort.
Can still come true
It's not entirely impossible to achieve your dreams and desires.
And winter bows to spring and age to youth
Things always change, and forward progress is inevitable. No matter how bad things get, there is always a chance for renewal and fresh starts
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRENT WOODS, MARTI FREDRICKSON, NICOLE CHRISTIANSEN, ROBBIE CRANE, VIC FOXX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind