Dokken is an American band formed in 1978 by Don Dokken. In the 1980s, she became famous for her beautiful compositions in the style of melodic hard rock. Often the group is also referred to such a direction as glam metal.
At the moment, more than 10 million copies of Dokken's albums have been sold worldwide. In addition, the live album Beast from the East (1989) was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Heavy Metal Performance.
In the same 1989, the group broke up, but a few years later they resumed their activities. The Dokken group exists and performs with concerts to this day (in particular, several performances are planned for 2021).
The early years of the music project Dokken
The founder of the rock band is called Don Dokken (and it is quite clear where his name comes from). He was born in 1953 in Los Angeles (California), USA. He is Norwegian by origin, his father and mother hail from the Scandinavian city of Oslo.
Don began performing in rock bands as a vocalist back in the late 1970s. And in 1978, he had already started using the name Dokken.
In 1981, Don Dokken managed to attract the attention of the famous German producer Dieter Dirks. Dieter was looking for a replacement for Scorpions vocalist Klaus Meine as he was having problems with his vocal cords and needed a complicated operation. In the end, Dirks felt that Dokken was a suitable candidate.
He was supposed to take part in the creation of the Scorpions Blackout album, which later became a worldwide hit. Several songs were actually recorded with Dokken's vocals. But Klaus Meine very quickly returned to the group after the operation. And Dokken as a vocalist was no longer needed.
However, he still decided not to miss his chance and showed Dirks his songs. The German producer generally liked them. He even let Don use the studio's equipment to create his own demos. Thanks to these demos, Dokken was able to sign a contract with the French studio Carrere Records.
Then the group Dokken, in addition to the founder of the group, already included George Lynch (guitarist), Mick Brown (drummer) (both previously played in the little-known band Xciter) and Juan Croissier (bass guitarist).
"Golden" period of the group
The band's first album, released on Carrere Records, was called Breaking the Chains.
When the members of the rock band returned from Europe to the US in 1983, they decided to re-release the album for the US market. This was done with the support of Elektra Records.
The success of this album in the States was insignificant. But the next studio album of Tooth and Nail (1984) turned out to be powerful and made a splash. More than 1 million copies have been sold in the US alone. And on the Billboard 200 chart, the album managed to take 49th position. Among the hits on the record were such compositions as Into the Fire and Alone Again.
In November 1985, the heavy metal band Dokken presented another wonderful album, Under Lock and Key. It also exceeded 1 million copies sold. It also peaked at number 200 on the Billboard 32.
This album consisted of 10 songs. It included such tracks as: It's Not Love and The Hunter (released as separate singles).
But Dokken's most successful LP is Back for the Attack (1987). He managed to take the 13th position on the Billboard 200 chart. And in general, over 4 million copies of this album were sold around the world. And that's where hard rock masterpieces like Kiss of Death, Night by Night and Dream Warriors come in. The latter song still sounded like the main theme in the slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
Decay of the group
There were serious personal and artistic differences between guitarist George Lynch and Don Dokken. And it ended with the fact that in March 1989 the musical group announced its collapse. The unfortunate thing is that in fact it happened at the very peak of popularity. Indeed, in the future, neither Dokken nor Lynch could even come close to the success of the same Back for the Attack album.
The band's live LP Beast from the East became a kind of farewell to the "fans". It was recorded while touring Japan and released in November 1988.
The further fate of the Dokken group
In 1993, for the many fans of the Dokken group, there was good news - Don Dokken, Mick Brown and George Lynch reunited again.
Soon, the slightly aged Dokken group released one live album One Live Night (recorded from a 1994 concert) and two studio records - Dysfunctional (1995) and Shadow Life (1997). Their sales results were already much more modest. For example, the Dysfunctional album was released with a circulation of only 250 thousand copies.
At the end of 1997, Lynch again left the Dokken line-up, and musician Reb Beach took his place.
Over the next 15 years, Dokken released five more LPs. These are Hell to Pay, Long Way Home, Erase the Slate, Lightning Strikes Again, Broken Bones.
Interestingly, Lightning Strikes Again (2008) is considered the most successful of them. The LP received a significant number of flattering reviews and started at number 133 on the Billboard 200 chart. The main advantage of this audio album is that it managed to achieve a sound that resembles the material of a rock band from the first four records.
The latest release from Dokken
On August 28, 2020, the hard rock band Dokken, after a long break, presented a new release "The Lost Songs: 1978-1981". This is a collection of lost and previously unreleased official works of the band.
This compilation contains only 3 tracks that the "fans" of the group were not familiar with before - these are No Answer, Step Into The Light and Rainbows. The remaining 8 tracks one way or another could be heard before.
From the golden line-up of the 1980s, only Don Dokken remains in the group. He is accompanied by John Levin (lead guitarist), Chris McCarville (bassist) and B.J. Zampa (drummer).
