Top 10 Whitesnake Songs

When many music fans who grew up in the 1980s think of Whitesnake, they tend to mention those iconic videos that the band filmed featuring actress Tawny Kitaen. The video for “Here I Go Again,” that featured David Coverdale and Tawny Kitten became one of MTV’s most popular videos in the early 1980’s. Tawny Kitaen would also appear in the follow up video entitled “Is This Love.” Both songs appeared on the band’s seventh album that was simply titled Whitesnake. The band had been successful in Europe up to that point but was not widely known in the United States. The 1987 album turned the band into as a household name as the record would go on to sell 8 million copies. Whitesnake was never able to repeat that commercial success again.

Whitesnake was first formed in 1978 after David Coverdale had left the band Deep Purple. The original lineup consisted of David Coverdale, Micky Moody, Neil Murray  Bernie Marsden,  David  Dowlewith and Brian Johnston. The band’s first official release was an EP entitled Snakebite. The band’s first full length album was entitled Trouble which was also released in 1978. That album was followed up with the record Lovehunter which featured a very controversial cover which most male rock fans didn’t seem to mind.

After the release of Lovehunter, the band would release ten mores albums. Their most recent album was released in 2015 entitled The Purple Album. A new album that has been delayed for the past years is due to be released in 2019 entitled Flesh & Blood.

Our top 10 Whitesnake songs list takes a look at the entire catalog of Whitesnake songs from 1978 to 2015. It’s tough to pick only ten from a band that has been recording music for forty years, but that is what makes this so much fun to do.

# 10 – Wine, Women an Song

We start out our Top 10 Whitesnake songs list with a song from the band’s 1981 album Come an’ Get It. This great blues track was driven by the fantastic piano playing of Jon Lord who was one of the founding members of Deep Purple. Also on board from Deep Purple was Ian Paice on drums. Rounding out the band on this blues rocker was Philip Neil Murray on bass who had played and toured with bands such as Black Sabbath, Queen, Peter Green and many others.

The guitars on the track were manned by Bernard John Marsden who was also responsible for co-writing amany of Whitesnake’s most successful records and Michael Joseph Moody who has played with just about everybody in the music business including Eric Clapton and Alice Cooper. A talented group of musicians playing their hearts out makes this a perfect introduction to the band Whitesnake.

# 9 – Take Me With You

“Take Me With You,” was released on Whitesnake’s first full length album entitled Trouble. The album was released in 1978. “Take Me With You,” was the opening track on the album. The song was written by Whitesnake vocalist David Coverdale and guitarist Micky Moody.

# 8 – Slide It In

Continuing with our top 10 Whitesnake songs list we turn to the title track of Whitesnake’s 1984 album Slide It In. After the band had such extreme success with the 1987 Whitesnake album, Slide It In was re-released in 1988. Interestingly, the UK release of the album when compared to the US release sound very different as two different mixes were used on both releases.

# 7 – Is This Love

The great Whitesnake song “Is This Love,” was the follow up single to the break out smash “Here I Go Again.” And once again, the video showcased David Coverdale’s girlfriend at the time Tawny Kitten. It was a big hit fueled by the video and the previous song’s success. The song hit number one in the U.K. and number two in the United States.

# 6 – Love Will Set You Free

In 2011, David Coverdale and his Whitesnake brand released the album Forevermore. The album featured none of the original members of Whitesnake. However the album was loaded with great rocking tracks. Our favorite was the smoking Whitesnake song “Love Will Set You Free.”

# 5 – Cryin In The Rain

Most longtime Whitesnake fans enjoy the original versions of those Whitesnake songs that were re-recorded in 1987 for the Whitesnake album. The original version of “Crying In The Rain,” which we liked better, appeared on the Saints & Sinners album. The record was released in 1982. The album also featured the original version of “Here I Go Again.” It’s interesting to compare this album against the 1987 record.

# 4 – Judgement Day

Do you hear Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir in this track” Ummm?  David Coverdale’s fascination with Led Zeppelin has always been apparent in his vocal stylings inspired by Robert Plant. You can also hear the Jimmy Page inspiration clear in this one. Still, a pretty fab song and anything that Steve Vai plays on will always gets extra spins on my turntable.

# 3 – Lovehunter

The title tack from the band’s Lovehunter album. The album was released in 1979. “Long Way From Home” was the single released from the album. However we always loved the title track just a bit more. That Little John Paul Jones Physical Graffiti inspired keyboard riff sold us on this one. The Lynyrd Skynyrd sounding guitar solo also was quite interesting. Throw a little Foghat in there and you have a great compilation of 1970s bands all in one song.

# 2 – Here I Go Again

The only question regarding the popularity of “Here I Go Again,” was what was more popular, the video or the record? You could track sales, but tracking video views outside of Nielsen Ratings back then was impossible. The song reached all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. There are multiple versions of the song including the original version from Saints & Sinners, the Whitesnake album version released in 1987 and a radio mix that featured alternate musicians also released in 1987.

Anyone growing up in the 1980s will never forget the images of Tawny Kitaen rolling all over the hood of the car in the video. Her beauty was breathtaking. The appearances of Tawny Kitaen in the mid 1980s Whitesnake videos went a long way in helping Whitesnake achieve their popularity during MTV’s glory days.

# 1 – Still Of The Night

“Still Of The Night,” was David Coverdale and Whitesnake at their Led Zeppelin “Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Black Dog,” best. Easily the best Whitesnake song ever released. The song was the opening track to the mighty Whitesnake album of 1987. We mentioned the Led Zeppelin song because the riff in “Still Of The Night,” is just so reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s classic song which was actually a remake of the Blind Willie Johnson song.

Updated Nov 11, 2020