In their early years, Whitesnake played in a hard-edged blues rock and heavy metal influenced style. By the mid-80s, the band had moved towards a more commercially friendly arena rock and pop metal ethos, garnering them major hits such as "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Now You're Gone", "Slide It In", "Still of the Night", and the iconic tune "Here I Go Again" (arguably their 'signature song'). They were named the 85th greatest hard rock band of all time by VH1.
Whitesnake were active primarily in the 80s, but they still tour, albeit with an entirely new line-up (bar Coverdale), to this day. Some of the most famous musicians who have joined the band for a time include Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Bernie Marsden, Micky Moody, Rudy Sarzo, John Sykes, Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Tommy Aldridge, and Steve Vai.
The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple. This is not only because three past members of the band were once in Deep Purple but also because of their sound and influences. Later, the band took on a sound more in line with the hair metal style popular in the mid to late 80s, but they never truly left their heavy, blues rock roots behind
Formed in 1978 by David Coverdale after leaving Deep Purple, Whitesnake were originally a straightforwards heavy rock group with Jon Lord and Ian Paice from Deep Purple in the band. Despite a few album releases and constant touring, Whitesnake was unable to attain any significant commercial success in America, though becoming popular in the U.K., Europe, and Japan. Their critical reviews as well for their albums were somewhat mixed.
After acquaintance with Chris Cuttler, Fred Frith and most importantly, young guitarist John Sykes, David Coverdale decided to turn to a slicker, more commercially viable sound. Whitesnake made their first major splash in the States in 1984 with the album 'Slide It In', featuring the self-titled single as well as rock tracks "Slow An' Easy" and "Love Ain't No Stranger". All three of them gained major airplay and were eaten up by fans. Sykes was not involved in any of the song writing for 'Slide It In', though re-did some of Micky Moody's guitar work in the American remastering of the U.K. version of the album.
Three years later, thanks to radio-friendly, Zeppelin-ish songwriting and MTV friendly Tawny Kitaen's automobile acrobatics, Whitesnake became superstars with the album 'Whitesnake' (titled '1987' in Europe, and 'Serpens Albus' in Japan). Containing the U.S. smash hits "Here I Go Again", "Is This Love", "Still of the Night" and others, the album eventually sold over 10 million copies. Coverdale replaced the entire band for the subsequent tour, ditching Sykes for guitarists Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell. Also joining the band at this point were bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge.
Campbell left shortly after the tour (going on to replace Steve Clark in Def Leppard. Vandenberg, despite penning most of the material on the follow-up album, was unable to record due to a freak wrist injury. Guitar virtuoso Steve Vai was brought in to record all of the guitar parts for Slip of the Tongue, which was released in the spring of 1989. Despite going platinum, the album did not reach the stratospheric heights of Whitesnake (entitled 1987 in Europe, and Serpens Albus in Japan). With a divorce looming, and the alternative 'grunge' movement threatening to destroy the melodic rock movement, Coverdale dissolved Whitesnake.
In the late 90s, David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg finally recorded together again. Initially intended to be a Coverdale solo effort, the Whitesnake name was eventually attached (much like the Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath projects of the late 80s). The resulting products were a new studio album entitled Restless Heart, and the live acoustic set, Starkers In Tokyo.
In the early 2000's Coverdale relaunched Whitesnake fully with an entirely new lineup centred around guitarists Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich (previously of Winger and Lion/Dio). This Whitesnake embarked on tours across the globe, releasing the "Live In the Still of the Night" DVD and "Live... In the Shadow of the Blues" on CD in 2006. A new studio album, "Good to be Bad", was released in 2008 reaching the top 10 in the UK album charts.
Over the last few years Coverdale has been involved in a remastering project which has seen all albums from 1978's Trouble, to 1989's Slip of the Tongue reissued with bonus material.
Whitesnake released Forevermore, on March 25, 2011 in Europe, and on the 29th in North America. They have released a number of scheduled 2011 tour dates on their website, with six scheduled UK tour dates and other European dates. In February 2011, Whitesnake was announced as one of the headliners to play the annual Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, on Memorial Day weekend. A digital single for the song 'Love Will Set You Free' was released, along with a video for the song, on February 21.
The album Forevermore was released as a special edition 'Snakepack' through Classic Rock magazine on 25 March, a full 3 weeks before its commercial release. The fan pack includes the full, official new album Forevermore, a 132-page magazine, poster and pin badge. On 20 March 2011, Whitesnake announced that Brian Ruedy would play keyboards on the Forevermore World Tour.
The album did not chart highly upon its official release in the UK (number 33, possibly due to the copies released as part of the aforementioned Classic Rock Snakepack, which are not eligible for the charts). It did, however, show signs of Whitesnake's slow rebuild of support in the US with the album charting at number 49 - the band's highest charting album since the 80s.
Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach are Whitesnake longest standing guitar players, both being in the band 10 years by 2012.
Whitesnake are set to embark on their farewell tour in May 2022, beginning in the UK and Ireland with Foreigner and Europe. In July 2021, the group announced the addition of multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick to their ranks, turning Whitesnake into a septet for the first time. Later that November, Michael Devin parted ways with the band. He was replaced by Tanya O'Callaghan, marking the first female musician to join the band.
Website: http://www.whitesnake.com/
Anything You Want
Whitesnake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the things I want to do
Babe, if you want me to
I'll get on my knees for you
But you got to give me a little sign
You got the same thing on your mind
Every day and every night
And let it roll, let it ride
I'll be your dog till you're satisfied
I'll be your puppet on a string
'Cause for a spoonful of your sugar I would do anything
Anything you want
Anything you need
Any time at all
It is so hard for you to see
I just love your company
And there ain't nothing I won't do
Just to prove my love to you
And let it roll, let it ride
I'll be your dog till you're satisfied
I'll be your puppet on a string
'Cause for a spoonful of your sugar I would do anything
So, baby, try to understand
I was born to be your man
Don't keep me knocking at your door
Just tell me yes or tell me no
And let it roll, let it ride
I'll be your dog till you're satisfied
I'll be your puppet on a string
'Cause for a spoonful of your sugar I would do anything
Anything you want
Anything you need
In the song "Anything You Want" by Whitesnake, the singer is expressing his desire to please his lover in any way possible. He needs her love to motivate him in all of his endeavors and is willing to get on his knees for her. However, he needs to know that she reciprocates these feelings and wants the same things he does. He uses the phrase "give me the green light" to convey this need for confirmation from her. He then goes on to say that he will do anything to satisfy her and be her loyal companion.
The singer is essentially asking for consent and confirmation of mutual feelings in this song. He reassures his lover that he is fully devoted to her and willing to do whatever it takes to make her happy. The phrase "I'll be your puppet on a string" implies that he is completely under her control and will do whatever she asks him to do. He reiterates this sentiment in the final lines of the song, stating that he will do "anything you want, anything you need, anytime at all."
Overall, "Anything You Want" is a romantic and passionate song about a man who is completely enamored with his lover and is willing to go to great lengths to make her happy.
Line by Line Meaning
I need your love to get me through
The singer requires the affection of the person he loves to overcome all hurdles.
All the things I want to do
The singer has specific goals he wants to achieve with his lover's help.
Babe, if you want me to
The singer is willing to do anything his lover asks him to do.
I'll get on my knees for you
The singer is willing to show submission and devotion to gain his lover's affection.
But you got to give me a little sign
The singer needs a signal or indication from his lover that his feelings are reciprocated.
You got the same thing on your mind
The singer believes his lover has the same desires and intentions as him.
Every day and every night
The singer thinks about his lover constantly.
Give me the green light
The singer is asking for permission to pursue his desires with his lover.
And let it roll, let it ride
The singer is willing to go along with whatever his lover wants to do.
I'll be your dog till you're satisfied
The singer will do whatever his lover wants him to do until she's happy.
I'll be your puppet on a string
The singer is willing to be controlled by his lover in order to please her.
'Cause for a spoonful of your sugar I would do anything
The singer values his lover so much that he would do anything for just a small amount of affection from her.
Anything you want
The singer is willing to fulfill all of his lover's desires.
Anything you need
The singer wants to provide his lover with everything she requires.
Any time at all
The singer is available to his lover whenever she needs him.
It is so hard for you to see
The singer thinks his lover is unable to see how much he loves her.
I just love your company
The singer enjoys being around his lover more than anything else.
And there ain't nothing I won't do
The singer will do anything and everything for his lover.
Just to prove my love to you
The singer wants to demonstrate how much he truly loves his partner.
So, baby, try to understand
The singer wishes his lover could comprehend his feelings and intentions.
I was born to be your man
The singer believes his purpose in life is to be with his lover.
Don't keep me knocking at your door
The singer wants his lover to make a decision about their relationship.
Just tell me yes or tell me no
The singer needs a clear answer from his lover to move forward.
Contributed by Elizabeth N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Laura LaRue
I am pretty sure that I speak for many people everywhere , we absolutely love all of the treasures, that have been written and heard by all of the world to adore ...
I'm sure that โCryingโ, โIn The Name Of Loveโ, โCanโt Stop Nowโ and the recently released โAnything You Wantโ will be loved favorites even more..
Iโm very happy that a bunch of the Restless Heart songs ended up on Whitesnakeโs โThe Rock Albumโ , Keep it up , we all do so command.!!!
Super stoked for y'all and your band mates as well that it's a go, and that both groups are still kicking XXL a$$ with your fantastic bands .!!!
Is it really coincidental, or just maybe it is an act of a higher power knowing that the world has not had enough yet???
That Vandenberg & Whitesnake are both releasing a new album pretty much at the same time, that we will never forget !!!
Once again proving that โyou canโt kill ' Rock n Roll ' , no matter how hard you try !
Thank God, that 'Rock and Roll' will be around for us to all enjoy until the day that we die.!!!
Be PROUD of theses songs and then be very proud so much more...
If they are anything like 'Anything You Want' then you all did indeed make the perfect score.!!!
Beneath The Embers
Classic whitesnake blues sound, can't go wrong ๐
Valerian Dinca
WONDERFUL!!!!
I LOVE WHIITESNACK EVEER!!!!!
heycisco
Restless Heart is so underappreciated. Even this outtake sounds great. I wish he followed this path instead chasing his 1980s shadow.
RoCk_ It
didnt he seek his 80s shadow with this album? he didnt even wanted to name it whitesnake. thats why good to be bad had the roman number 10 (X) on it, because thats the whitesnake sound that made him millionaire.
Dee Faulkner
Agreed!
Luc Verdickt
love it, killer track!
Elisa Stangherlin
The Rock album is very cool. The songs put us up.
WhiskeyBrewer
Love this album. This tour was my first concert
Bebop Bill
Restless Heart album really grows with time. The vocals really stand out here.
Daniel Neumann
This is really amazing!! This is pure Blues Rock, and I Love Whitesnake on this direction... Go Mr D.C!!