Why Damn Yankees were paid $1 Million to Vanish
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I cite my sources and they may differ than other people’s accounts, so I don’t guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.
The late 80’s were a difficult time for some high profile rock musicians who enjoyed success a decade or several years prior. Rock N’ Roll bad boy Ted Nugent’s career seemed pretty quiet during this time and some people even counted him out. But he wasn’t the only one struggling at the time as former Styx frontman and guitarist Tommy Shaw was embarking on a solo career having released 3 albums, Meanwhile, Night Ranger’s bassist Jack Blades was reeling with the breakup of his band. It would seem strange that three musicians having lulls in their career would become an attractive prospect to one of the biggest A&R men in the music industry, but that’s what happened and Damn Yankees would be born. But despite being successful, Damn Yankees were paid a million dollars to simply disappear. Let’s explore what happened in today’s video.
Geffen Records A&R man John Kalodner seemed like an expert in reviving struggling musicians careers. He helped Aerosmith and Whitesnake reinvent themselves and he had the same plan for Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades and Ted Nugent..
Nugent would establish himself in the 1970’s as one of the bad boys of rock n’ roll, but like many musicians who were popular during that decade, by the 80’s musical tastes had changed and newer sounds and bands had taken over.. Tommy Shaw meanwhile would front the pop-rock/ adult oriented group Styx where he would clash with Dennis DeYoung over the band’s sound. Jack Blades meanwhile cut his teeth singing, playing bass and writing songs for Night Ranger, but the record label according to him destroyed the band telling the LA Times in 1991 “Sister Christian,” Night Ranger’s big 1984 hit, was a ballad, and from that point on, Blades recalled, “Our record company only allowed us to release more ballads, and that really destroyed a good rock ‘n’ roll band.”
Damn Yankees would be born in 1988 when Shaw and Nugent were sitting together at a music show show business dinner in florida. Following the meal, Shaw told Nugent “When it was over we were saying why don’t we get together after we finish promoting our records.” It would be Shaw and his manager who called up Kalodner’s office asking for Nugent’s number & the A&R man would claim that Nugent thought the idea was initially stupid, but after much convincing, he agreed to give it a try.
The early days of 1988 initially saw Shaw and Nugent jamming together on acoustic guitars and coming up with the song “Come Again” which ended up on the Damn Yankees debut album. At that time the band had a stand in player on bass and while Nugent and Shaw felt chemistry, Kalodner felt like the band was missing something. That’s when he enlisted Jack Blades of Night Ranger fame with Blades recalling
“So I flew to New York three days after Night Ranger broke up, and the next thing I knew, the Damn Yankees were happening.”
By 1989 the trio along with Tommy Shaw’s drummer Michael Cartellone would start writing songs and rehearsing. They would come up with several more songs including “High Enough” & Coming of Age. Now, Damn Yankees weren’t the only supergroup in the 80’s as it became kind of a trent as you had groups like Badlands, Mr. Big and Bad English.
The band would end up signing a deal with warner brothers & Damn Yankees would head in the studio in late 1989 with producer Ron Nevison. Released in 1990, their self titled debut record would go multiplatinum. The band hit the road spending nearly a year and a half on the road early 1991 during the height of the After the release of their debut, the Damn Yankees went on an 18-month world tour with the likes of a revamped Bad Company, Poison and Jackyl. The group’s tour coincided with the Persian Gulf War with the band frequently making patriotic statements and incorporating the American flag in their shows. Even the band’s backstage passes gave a nod to American military as you can see here. The band’s name would even inspire the US troops who served in the gulf war with the US Marines who were part of the 2nd Battalion, 12th marrions naming their 155mm howitzer Damn Yankees.
The band would return in 1992 with their follow up record Don’t Tread. Shaw would tell reporter Gary Graff, “We knew each other better,” We had an identity as a band. It felt a little
