Biography
By the time journeyman vocalist John Corabi landed the spotlight role of replacing Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil in 1992, he had already spent nearly a decade sharpening his craft across the hard rock circuit. Though his stint in the band proved short-lived, Corabi built a lasting profile as a reliable frontman and collaborator, compiling credits as both singer and guitarist with outfits including the Eric Singer Project (ESP), Union, and the Dead Daisies.
Philadelphia-born on April 26, 1959, Corabi followed the path of many musicians from his era after watching the Beatles perform on television during childhood. Once high school ended, he took on a series of odd jobs while fronting his group Angora. A trip to Los Angeles amid the peak of the ’80s metal explosion prompted his permanent move there in 1986, with Angora soon following. The band drew local support, yet despite Gene Simmons expressing interest, internal conflicts dissolved the lineup before any deal materialized. In 1989 Corabi teamed with former Racer X members guitarist Bruce Bouillet and bassist John Alderete to launch the Scream. Two years later Hollywood Records issued their Let It Scream, which earned rock-radio airplay for the single “Man in the Moon.”
Early 1992 brought an invitation for Corabi to join platinum-selling Mötley Crüe after Vince Neil’s dismissal. With Corabi handling vocals the group delivered the long-awaited successor to its landmark Dr. Feelgood, yet the record stalled commercially—partly because of the grunge shift and partly because longtime fans never fully accepted the new singer—despite reaching the Top Ten on the album charts. Neil’s return left Corabi to start over; he formed Union alongside ex-Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick. While the project never achieved broad commercial breakthrough, the members’ established reputations secured a dedicated hard-rock audience, and the self-titled 1998 album performed solidly within that circle. Corabi next joined drummer Eric Singer (Kiss) and guitarist Karl Cochran (Kiss, Ace Frehley) for the 1999 eponymous ESP release, and he also toured with a later version of Ratt. After two further Union albums he linked with Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer in the short-lived Twenty 4 Seven, which put out one record in 2002.
For the rest of the decade Corabi divided his schedule among Ratt, Union, and ESP, issuing live albums with the latter two in 2005 and 2007. His first solo effort arrived in 2012 with the acoustic collection Unplugged. In 2015 he became lead singer for Australian musician David Lowy’s hard-rock supergroup the Dead Daisies, contributing to their second album, Revolución. After multiple tours supporting Kiss across Europe and Australia, the band released 2016’s Make Some Noise, which charted strongly worldwide and peaked at number 11 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums tally in the U.S. The Dead Daisies maintained momentum with the 2017 concert recording Live & Louder and the studio follow-up Burn It Down a year later.
Philadelphia-born on April 26, 1959, Corabi followed the path of many musicians from his era after watching the Beatles perform on television during childhood. Once high school ended, he took on a series of odd jobs while fronting his group Angora. A trip to Los Angeles amid the peak of the ’80s metal explosion prompted his permanent move there in 1986, with Angora soon following. The band drew local support, yet despite Gene Simmons expressing interest, internal conflicts dissolved the lineup before any deal materialized. In 1989 Corabi teamed with former Racer X members guitarist Bruce Bouillet and bassist John Alderete to launch the Scream. Two years later Hollywood Records issued their Let It Scream, which earned rock-radio airplay for the single “Man in the Moon.”
Early 1992 brought an invitation for Corabi to join platinum-selling Mötley Crüe after Vince Neil’s dismissal. With Corabi handling vocals the group delivered the long-awaited successor to its landmark Dr. Feelgood, yet the record stalled commercially—partly because of the grunge shift and partly because longtime fans never fully accepted the new singer—despite reaching the Top Ten on the album charts. Neil’s return left Corabi to start over; he formed Union alongside ex-Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick. While the project never achieved broad commercial breakthrough, the members’ established reputations secured a dedicated hard-rock audience, and the self-titled 1998 album performed solidly within that circle. Corabi next joined drummer Eric Singer (Kiss) and guitarist Karl Cochran (Kiss, Ace Frehley) for the 1999 eponymous ESP release, and he also toured with a later version of Ratt. After two further Union albums he linked with Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer in the short-lived Twenty 4 Seven, which put out one record in 2002.
For the rest of the decade Corabi divided his schedule among Ratt, Union, and ESP, issuing live albums with the latter two in 2005 and 2007. His first solo effort arrived in 2012 with the acoustic collection Unplugged. In 2015 he became lead singer for Australian musician David Lowy’s hard-rock supergroup the Dead Daisies, contributing to their second album, Revolución. After multiple tours supporting Kiss across Europe and Australia, the band released 2016’s Make Some Noise, which charted strongly worldwide and peaked at number 11 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums tally in the U.S. The Dead Daisies maintained momentum with the 2017 concert recording Live & Louder and the studio follow-up Burn It Down a year later.
Albums
Singles
