Y&T

A storied concert act whose explosive stage energy never quite carried over to recorded work, Y&T repeatedly stood on the verge of rock immortality across their lengthy run, only to watch fame slip away each time because of missteps, unfortunate timing, and persistent misfortune. Drawing their moniker from a Beatles track, the ensemble first assembled as Yesterday & Today near San Francisco in roughly 1973 when vocalist and lead guitarist Dave Meniketti joined forces with bassist Phil Kennemore and drummer Leonard Haze. After recruiting rhythm guitarist Joey Alves from a competing outfit, the quartet began playing frequent shows throughout the Bay Area, supporting major acts such as Journey and the Doobie Brothers while cultivating a loyal regional audience. London Records eventually offered them a deal, issuing the self-titled debut in 1976 and the follow-up Struck Down two years afterward, yet terminated the relationship once both releases failed to generate chart success. The musicians endured several difficult seasons before A&M Records granted them a fresh long-term agreement in 1980, an arrangement they marked by trimming the band name to Y&T.

Earthshaker, their inaugural effort for the new label, appeared later that year and proved a considerable triumph, securing high-visibility support slots alongside AC/DC and Kiss that led to a standout set at the 1981 Pink Pop Festival in Holland. Buoyed by optimism, Y&T had already begun tracking Black Tiger in England under producer Max Norman, whose polished approach—despite his prior credits with the Tubes and Ozzy Osbourne—smoothed the raw power of onstage favorites such as “Open Fire,” “Barroom Boogie,” and “Forever.” The album received less enthusiastic notice than its predecessor, and although 1983’s Mean Streak introduced a more energetic tone thanks to new producer Chris Tsangarides and delivered the major international single “Midnight in Tokyo,” the group still had not broken through in the United States at a moment when Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, and Mötley Crüe were enjoying massive platinum breakthroughs.

Their subsequent release, 1984’s In Rock We Trust, likewise underperformed and produced no hits, but a strong showing at that year’s Monsters of Rock Festival prompted A&M—whose limited expertise in marketing hard rock and metal was becoming clear—to capture the band’s ferocious live show on the 1985 album Open Fire. Hidden among those concert recordings was the studio track “Summertime Girls,” an irresistibly hook-laden song deliberately layered with keyboards and featuring Meniketti’s intentional vocal imitation of Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth; it became their first significant radio and MTV success. Reappearing on the late-1985 studio album Down for the Count, the single peaked at number 55 on the Billboard charts, earned Y&T additional opening slots with Mötley Crüe and Aerosmith, and ultimately preceded their exit from A&M, after which the 1990 compilation Best of ’81 to ’85 collected earlier material.

Y&T were familiar with fresh opportunities, so when influential A&R executive John Kalodner—renowned for revitalizing Aerosmith—proposed a deal with the rising Geffen Records, circumstances again appeared favorable. The calculated shift toward a glam-metal image and sound that had revived Aerosmith’s fortunes produced only modest results for Y&T on 1987’s Contagious, whose title-track video even reused a set reminiscent of Aerosmith’s “Rag Doll.” Replacing longtime drummer Leonard Haze with the photogenic and technically solid Jimmy DeGrasso alienated many longtime supporters, especially given reports of Haze’s substance issues; similarly, the substitution of Joey Alves by Stef Burns before 1990’s Ten left fans cold, even though that album’s material echoed earlier Y&T strengths. Discouraged by continuing commercial indifference amid a scene still fixated on image, the band officially disbanded, an outcome later documented by the 1991 live farewell release Yesterday & Today Live.

Time passed, grunge rose and faded, and in 1995 the final Y&T lineup unexpectedly reunited for the studio album Musically Incorrect, followed two years later by Endangered Species. Dave Meniketti subsequently explored blues material on 1998’s On the Blue Side before launching a solo touring project that yielded the 2002 Meniketti album. Renewed interest in Y&T eventually led to remastered reissues of their catalog, whose worldwide sales had already surpassed four million units, plus two Unearthed rarities collections. Meniketti and longtime colleague Phil Kennemore then resumed American touring as Y&T, joined by guitarist John Nymann and drummer Mike Vanderhule.