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/
Slow Poke Music
Whitesnake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a dancing fool,
I saw you standing in the corner
Looking oh, so cool
I had a word with the DJ
To make the music hot,
I'm gonna get you on the dance floor
If you are ready or not
Slow poke music,
I'll get you down to the bone
Slow poke music,
I'll never leave you alone, I'll never leave you
When you move it to the left,
Or you shake it to the right,
No matter what you do, babe,
It's like dynamite
With your sweet French perfume
An' that criminal walk,
You know you'd melt my ice cream
With your body talk
Slow poke music,
I'll get you down to the bone
Slow poke music,
I'll never leave you alone, I'll never leave you
I'm gonna shake you down,
Girl, I'm won't do you no harm
Well, you move so fine,
Like stepping on glass,
An' when you give me that smile,
I see lightning flash
East an' West, North an' South,
Oh babe, you're so hot
I'm gonna melt in your mouth
Slow poke music,
I'll get you down to the bone
Slow poke music,
Get into it, babe,
Slow poke music,
I'll nail it down to the bone
Slow poke music,
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Girl, I'll never leave you alone
The lyrics of Whitesnake’s song, Slow Poke Music, describe a night out in a club with the singer noticing their love interest standing in the corner. They make a request to the DJ to play some music that will get them on the dance floor. The singer is very much attracted to their love interest, describing their moves as explosive and their look as magnetic, with the ability to melt their ice cream through their body language. The song is an unabashed celebration of sexual attraction and the desire to connect with someone physically through dancing.
The use of the term 'Slow Poke Music' is interesting since it implies the idea that the music, while slow, is still intense enough to connect on a physical level between two people in a club. It’s also worth noting that the song was released in 1978, during a time when disco was at its peak, and dance clubs were the hottest social gathering places. The lyrics describe the singer’s compulsion to dance with their love interest and connect with them on a physical level. The song is also an excellent demonstration of the concept of "word-painting" where the lyrics portray the physical sensation of dancing and attraction between two people.
Line by Line Meaning
Y'know the joint was jumping
Like a dancing fool,
I saw you standing in the corner
Looking oh, so cool
The atmosphere was lively and full of excitement, and while everyone was dancing, I noticed you standing by the corner looking very attractive.
I had a word with the DJ
To make the music hot,
I'm gonna get you on the dance floor
If you are ready or not
I spoke to the DJ to play some hot music, and I'm going to make sure you join me on the dance floor whether you're ready or not.
Slow poke music,
I'll get you down to the bone
Slow poke music,
I'll never leave you alone, I'll never leave you
This slow and sensual music will get us both in the mood, and I won't ever leave you alone.
When you move it to the left,
Or you shake it to the right,
No matter what you do, babe,
It's like dynamite
Whether you're dancing left or right, your movements are electrifying and powerful.
With your sweet French perfume
An' that criminal walk,
You know you'd melt my ice cream
With your body talk
Your sweet fragrance combined with your seductive walk can make anyone go weak in the knees.
I'm gonna shake you down,
Girl, I'm won't do you no harm
I'm going to make sure you enjoy this experience of dancing with me, and I promise not to hurt you in any way.
Well, you move so fine,
Like stepping on glass,
An' when you give me that smile,
I see lightning flash
Your dance moves are as smooth as stepping on glass, and when you smile, it feels like lightning flashing in front of my eyes.
East an' West, North an' South,
Oh babe, you're so hot
I'm gonna melt in your mouth
No matter which direction I look at you from, you are simply irresistible, and I can't help but feel consumed by your intense presence.
Slow poke music,
I'll get you down to the bone
Slow poke music,
Get into it, babe,
Slow poke music,
I'll nail it down to the bone
Slow poke music,
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Girl, I'll never leave you alone
This slow and sensual music will get us both in the mood, and I won't ever leave you alone; in fact, I'll make sure to enjoy every moment with you, and we'll both get lost in the rhythm of the music.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ADRIAAN VANDENBERG, DAVID COVERDALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
vince
on Slide It In
You talk too much
Never saying what's on your mind
It's written on your face
And in the words you hide behind
I know what you want
I can see what you're looking for
I know what you want from me
And I'm gonna give you more
I'm gonna slide it in, right to the top
Slide it in, I ain't never gonna stop
Slide it in, right to the top
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in, slide it in, in baby
Sometimes you seem
Just like a stranger to me
But all the games you play
Make it so easy to see
You're looking for love
Though you try to deny
The things you put me through
Tell me what I've got to do to you
I'm gonna slide it in right to the top
Slide it in, I ain't never gonna stop
Slide it in, right to the top
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in
You talk too much
Always treating me so unkind
I know what I've got to do
To get me some peace of mind
I'm gonna slide it in, right to the top
Slide it in, I ain't never gonna stop
Slide it in, right to the top
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in
Slide it in, right to the top
Slide it in, I ain't never gonna stop
Slide it in, right to the top
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in, slide it
Slide it in, slide it in
Right to the top, baby