David Coverdale

Born: September 22, 1951 Saltburn-By-the-Sea, Cleveland, England

David Coverdale grew up in a happy family environment. His parents owned a pub, and he would hang out there and help with the family business. Many bands came through there, and it gave young Dave the opportunity to chat with the bands about their various misadventures. When David decided to learn music, he first picked up a guitar. He took lessons and practiced, but found that he had a natural ability for singing. Soon, he was belting out tunes, and impressing his friends. He continued to work at his parents’ pub, and he sang in local bands for practice. One day, however, he saw an ad in Melody Maker magazine, advertising the position of lead singer for the band Deep Purple. David called the number, and was told to come down and audition for the band. He did, and was invited to join the band that had previously featured Ian Gillan on lead vocals.

David enjoyed a three-year stint with Deep Purple, from 1973 until 1976, when he left the band to help form Whitesnake. Whitesnake was a highly successful hair-metal band throughout the late 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s. Coverdale took some time off in the early 80's to take care of his daughter, who was very sick, and when he rejoined the band in 1984, they sounded refreshed and ready to play. Whitesnake released the popular Slide It In in 1984, and supported it with a tremendous stadium tour. They released their profitable self-titled album Whitesnake in 1987, and, although they’d been releasing albums since 1978, Whitesnake enjoyed a second-coming and toured the world with other top-name acts. In 1993, Coverdale teamed with the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page to release Coverdale/Page. The album received critical acclaim, but sales were lower than expected and both Coverdale and Page abandoned the project. Coverdale rejoined Whitesnake for a reunion tour in 1997, which led to an acoustic album entitled Starkers in Tokyo. The tour and albums were a hit in Tokyo, and the band spent a lot of time in Tokyo until 2000, when Coverdale released his first solo effort entitled Into the Light.

Instruments Played / Skills: Songwriter Vocals Genres: British Metal Eighties Metal Blues Metal

Bands That David Coverdale Has Played For: Whitesnake Coverdale/Page Deep Purple

David Coverdale Has Worked With: Jimmy Page Vivian Campbell Adrian Vandenberg Rudy Sarzo John Sykes Tommy Aldridge Ritchie Blackmore Bernie Marsden Mick Moody David Dowle Neil Murray Denny Carmassi Marco Mendoza