Don Dokken

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, Rovi