WingerThe band Winger

 

 

The band Winger was formed in the late 1980s, and included vocalist/bassist Kip Winger, an ex-bassist for Alice Cooper, that realized there was more to life than just being content to be the bassist for a major act. Kip sharpened his songwriting skills and vocal abilities and decided to form his own band. He recruited the fleet-fingered axeslinger, Reb Beach, a sessions player, former Dixie Dregs drummer Rod Morgenstien and keyboardist Paul Taylor.

 

In 1988 the band released their first release, a sugary sweet pop metal dream. This self titled release put Winger in the front of the newcomer metal race, back in 1988, when big hair and hugely produced music ruled the world. It was their debut record, and on a major label at that (Atlantic). The song Seventeen is probably their best known and one of their worst songs. It had that poppy edgey hook that was life or death at that time, and it has now become one of the most Kip Wingerrecognizable pop metal songs from the 80s. The video was probably one of the biggest promoters for this single, it showed the band performing and different shots of a girl, and it was a very sexy looking video (hard not to be with Kip Winger in the band!) Headed for A Heartbreak was their other hit off of this one, and it also had a great video to back it up, more of an artsy looking one. With their videos in heavy rotation on MTV and their first couple of singles blazing around on the chart, the world looked great for this new band. The big production sound of their first record seemed to be almost too polished for a band that just had arrived on the metal scene. Other notable songs from that release, the addictive hard rock sound of Hungry and the gentle sorrowfulness of Without the Night.

 

As Reb Beach put it at this point "...we were actually cool! I would walk down the street with hair a foot over my head Guitar wizard Reb Beachand guitar-playing kids would just keel over." Winger was big news, and an immensely popular band. Just glance at any of the metal and guitar magazines from that time, almost all of them featured the good looking duo of Reb Beach, the guitar wizard, and the sexy Kip Winger (both in looks and voice). In 1989 Reb Beach was awarded the "Metal God In Waiting" title...waiting for what some might ask. The band had already achieved that "metal greatness" status...

 

But even greater things were in store for this band. They released a new cd in 1990, a versatile display of metal power, titled In The Heart of the Young. Three more releases blazed up the charts, their huge hit, the sweet ballad Miles Away, which was played a billion times on metal, hard rock, pop, and even light rock stations. It was the kind of ballad that fit almost everywhere, and helped to further put this band on the map. The sexy groove of Can't Get Enuff and the rocking Easy Come, Easy Go, were enough to push them further up the ladder of metal success. Kip Winger had Kip Winger...somehow managed to become an even better song writer. Some complained that the songs on their debut release all sounded too much alike. It was a really wonderful and distinctive sound overall, but still some songs seemed to blend into each other. That was taken care of with In The Heart of the Young. Kip even tried a bit of rapping in the middle of one of the songs, which really didn't fit and ruined the rest of the song, but you can't blame him for giving it an honest shot. Reb Beach was also given more of a chance to flaunt his guitar skills, and he burned up the fretboard on Loosen Up and Rainbow In the Rose, among others. Some may claim this is their best overall sounding release...

 

...then again, others say their media shunned 1993 release Pull, was the best...the appearance of a freakin' cartoon character, Stuart on Beavis and Butthead, wearing a Winger t-shirt was enough to kill this band. It stopped Winger's sales cold. Winger was the first of many bands that were broken by MTV's shitty piece of crap cartoon. It drove the stake ooooh Kip againrough the metal heart, and completely bashed groups like Poison, Danger Danger, Whitesnake, and numerous others, too many to count. But back to Winger...as Reb Beach said in mid 1997 "You never could anticipate that at the very moment you've made your best album, the tide would reverse and what you're doing would become completely uncool."

 

Pull was a great cd, despite the pitiful sales. It featured such classics as the beautiful ballad, Spell I'm Under, which has a few of Reb Beach's most enchanting, spellbinding riffs spiced throughout and a very strong vocal performance by the mastermind of the group, Kip Winger. Blind Revolution Mad begins with lapping acoustic and softly sung vocals, which creates a false feeling of security and sorrow and then just erupts into musical metal chaos. Down Incognito has that killer move-to-the-music rhythm that just grabs you and vocalist Kip Winger and guitarist Reb Beachlocks you into the song. Finally, the Lucky One is a ballad I absolutely despised with the first few listens, but I quickly warmed up to. The gentle acoustics was a turn off, but listening to it more carefully the acoustic guitar fits perfectly. The electric guitar that is like a whispering call of sorrowful misery is a heartripper from the very start. I also love the lyrics, so full of saddness, and sung with such pain...yes, this was definitely Winger's highest point, one that few bands ever achieve. It is also their last.

 

The band broke up after only 150 people showed up at their hometown show in Pittsburgh on the 1993 Pull tour. Reb Beach drifted around as a fusion player for awhile, and then hooked up with Alice Cooper along with drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (ex-Y & T drummer) and went on tour with Alice. Kip Winger went solo, releasing a pair of more AOR hard rock songs that took the direction Pull was headed in on some parts. The other band members...Rod Morgenstein went back to the Dixie Dregs and Paul Taylor left in 1991 or so.

 

And thus ends the story of a great pop metal outfit. Brought to fame by MTV and then pulled down again, made fun of, and trampled to the ground. What Winger released will forever remain in the heart of the young, and held dearly close by those who love metal music. May their music never be forgotten.

 

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