The lead singer and namesake of 1980s heavy metal band
Dokken,
Don Dokken (born
Donald Maynard Dokken) fueled Los Angeles' metal scene beginning in the late '70s. Although
Dokken temporarily disbanded following the Monsters of Rock tour and a multi-platinum album, in 1988 he continued to make his presence felt as a soloist and with
the Don Dokken Band, featuring guitarists
John Norum and Billy White, bassist
Peter Baltes, and drummer
Mickey Dee. Re-formed in 1994,
Dokken remained as tumultuous as ever. Original guitar player
George Lynch, who had led his own band,
Lynch Mob, during
Dokken's hiatus, was replaced by
Reb Beach, former guitarist for
Winger and
Alice Cooper in 1998. In a subsequent interview,
Dokken explained that
Lynch had "threatened to kill me in front of the record company president in Germany and tried to blackmail the president into flying his girlfriend to Germany or he would not do a TV show for three million viewers."
Beach was later replaced by
Don Dokken Band guitarist
John Norum. In June 2003, the reorganized group toured the United States with
Poison. ~ Craig Harris