Winger is an American heavy metal band that has combined elements of

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

and

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

. Formed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Winger gained popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's two platinum albums, '' Winger'', and '' In the Heart of the Young'', along with charting singles " Seventeen", "

Headed for a Heartbreak "Headed for a Heartbreak" is a single by American glam metal band Winger, from their self-titled debut album '' Winger''. Released in May 1989, the power ballad reached #19 on the US Hot 100 and #8 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The B-side to t ...

" and " Miles Away", put them on the top of the charts by the early 1990s. In 1990, the band was nominated for an American Music Award for "Best New Heavy Metal Band". As the music scene changed in the early to mid-1990s due to the popularity of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of ...

, their success faded following their third release, ''

Pull Pull may refer to: Sports *In baseball, a pull hitter is a batter who usually hits the ball to the side of the field from which he bats * Pull shot, a batting stroke in cricket * A phase of a swim stroke * A throw-off in the sport of ultimate (o ...

''. Winger disbanded in 1994. In 2001 they reunited and have since conducted several successful tours. In 2006, the band's 1993 touring line-up (minus Paul Taylor but including John Roth) reunited to record the band's first studio album in over 13 years, '' IV'', and toured in support of the album into 2008. In 2009, the band released their fifth album, ''

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...

''. As of 2013, Winger was performing on mini-tours, festivals and private events. Their most recent album, ''

Better Days Comin' ''Better Days Comin'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Winger. It was released on April 23, 2014, debuting at #21 on the Top Current Rock Albums Chart and #85 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Track listing Personnel ;Winger *Kip Wi ...

'', came out in 2014.

History

1980: Early use of the name Winger

The first release under the name Winger was a

Denver, CO Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Rainbow Music Hall The Rainbow Music Hall was a 1,485-capacity music venue located in Denver, Colorado at the intersection of Monaco and Evans. The venue opened in 1979 by concert promoter Barry Fey and closed in 1989. Many famous artists performed at the Rainbow Musi ...

live recording of the song "Wizard of the Key" on the ''KAZY Thunder on the Mountain'' compilation in 1980. The line-up featured brothers Kip, Nate, and Paul Winger and their friend Peter Fletcher (later a member of L.A.'s

Pigmy Love Circus Pigmy Love Circus is a Los Angeles rock band that has existed since the mid-1980s era of the Hollywood underground rock scene. Pigmy Love Circus originally consisted of Shepherd Stevenson on bass, Mike Savage on vocals, Anthony Martinez (of Bl ...

1987–1994: Main career and break-up

The debut album, '' Winger'', was released on August 10, 1988, on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. The record was a success, achieving platinum status in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, and gold status in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. On February 11, 1989, the album peaked at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and was in various places on the chart for 63 weeks.

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

hits from the album included "

Madalaine "Madalaine" is the debut single by American rock band Winger, from their self-titled debut album '' Winger''. Released in 1988, the song reached #27 on the Mainstream rock ''Billboard'' charts. According to Kip Winger, it was one of the first fo ...

", " Seventeen", "

" and "

Hungry Hunger is a sensation that motivates the consumption of food. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant. Satiety occurs between 5 and 20 minutes after eating. T ...

". In 1990, the band was nominated for an

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produ ...

for "Best New Heavy Metal Band". Shortly after that tour, Winger released its second album '' In the Heart of the Young'', which went 1-and-1/2 platinum in the U.S. and gold in Japan. Hit radio tracks and MTV videos included "

Can't Get Enuff "Can't Get Enuff" is a single by American rock band Winger, from their album ''In the Heart of the Young''. Written by frontman Kip Winger and guitarist Reb Beach, "Can't Get Enuff" was the first single from the band's second album, debuting o ...

", " Miles Away" and " Easy Come Easy Go". Winger followed the release of its second album with a 13-month world tour, playing over 230 dates with

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, Scorpions,

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...

, Extreme and Slaughter. Paul Taylor left the band after the tour, citing exhaustion after years of touring. Their third studio album, ''

'', produced by

Mike Shipley Michael Shipley (6 October 1956 – 25 July 2013) was an Australian mixing engineer, audio engineer, and record producer. Shipley's music career spanned more than 30 years – mostly working in Los Angeles. At the Grammy Awards of 2012 he ...

, was recorded in 1992/1993 as a three-piece band. It was originally to be called ''Blind Revolution Mad'', after the opening song. Reportedly Kip Winger, anticipating that critics would dismiss the album out of hand, renamed it ''Pull'' as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the CD being used by critics as a skeet shooting target. The album was not as successful as the previous albums saleswise, but gained solid reviews. On the following tour, John Roth was called in to replace Paul Taylor on rhythm guitar. The album coincided with the rise of

, which swept aside the brand of melodic pop-metal that Winger represented. In the 1990s, Winger was subject to mockery from MTV's animated series ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, an ...

''. Series creator

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cre ...

later revealed that he had been incorrectly informed that Kip Winger had asked the network not to make jokes about the band on the series, which led to further jokes about the band, but later learned from Winger himself that he had never made any such stipulation. Stewart, an early character from the TV show, wore a Winger t-shirt during the show's original run on MTV during the 1990s as well as its one-season revival in 2011. Characterized as a wimp who looked up to Beavis and Butt-head, he wore the shirt in an attempt to emulate the duo, whose shirts had the logos of

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...

and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. After disbanding in 1994, bassist/lead vocalist

Kip Winger Charles Frederick Kip Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American bass guitarist and singer, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass an ...

went on to a solo career, guitarist

Reb Beach Richard Earl "Reb" Beach Jr. (born August 31, 1963) is an American rock guitarist. He is a member of the bands Winger and Whitesnake. Career After graduating from Fox Chapel Area High School and attending Berklee College of Music in the ear ...

went on to touring projects with artists Dokken,

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

and has held a permanent guitar spot in Whitesnake since 2002. The band's other members pursued or resumed careers as

session musicians Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...

2000–2019

In 2001, it was announced that all original members of the band would return to the studio to record the song "On the Inside" for ''

The Very Best of Winger ''The Very Best of Winger '' is a compilation album of material from the American rock band Winger, released by the label Atlantic Records and the company Rhino Entertainment in October 2001. Most of the songs on the album were collected from th ...

''. In 2002, all five members embarked on a reunion tour of the U.S. and Canada on a bill with

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

. According to

, in a 2008 interview with rock and roll comic

C.C. Banana Anthony John Confessore (1969–2012), better known as C.C. Banana, was a music personality, known for conducting interviews for Metal Sludge while wearing a large yellow banana costume. Banana was profiled by such publications as Classic Rock Magaz ...

, it was important to include all five members because "it was the big, long-awaited reunion so I wanted to include everybody who had ever been in the band." In 2003, it was confirmed that activity had been halted due to Reb Beach's touring commitment with

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...

as well as his solo album "Masquerade" and involvement with "supergroup" project The Mob with

King's X King's X is an American rock band that originated in 1979 in Springfield, Missouri. They were first called The Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact for ...

frontman Doug Pinnick and

Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, ...

drummer Kelly Keagy. On July 16, 2005, it was announced that Kip Winger would perform as the lead singer for the

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

Live Project at the Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing, Michigan. In May 2006, it was confirmed that Winger had reformed without one of its original members Paul Taylor, to record another album and tour Europe. The album, ''IV'', was released in Europe in October and the nine-country "Winger IV Tour" ran in the last two weeks of the same month. On February 25, 2008, the band performed in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, as part of a benefit for survivors of the

Station nightclub fire The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening's headlini ...

. The concert, along with other artists was debuted on

VH1 Classic MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as VH1 Smooth, an adult contemporary and smooth jazz channel. It w ...

on March 23, 2008. In late 2009, it was confirmed that Winger would record a fifth album ''

'', with a tour to support it. Most recently, John Roth became the guitarist for

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

and would appear on their forthcoming album ''Promise Land'' then set for release in February/March 2010. Winger released their sixth studio album titled, ''

'' in April 2014, after teasers were published on Kip Winger's website and on the official Winger Facebook page as well. As of late 2018, Winger was playing club dates. They were scheduled on December 29, 2018, in Westland, Michigan.

2020–present

According to a 2021 interview with guitarist Reb Beach, Winger are currently working on writing and recording a new album.

Style and influences

The band's musical style combined elements of

and

. Kip Winger, in description of the band's musical ability and style, said, "Our band was known to musicians, and a lot of musicians showed up to see me play — watching, trying to figure out how I'm playing. We were like the 'hair band' ersion of

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out o ...

Band members

Current members *

– lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano (1987–1994, 2001–2003, 2006–present) *

– lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, harmonica, keyboards, piano (1987–1994, 2001–2003, 2006–present) *

Rod Morgenstein Rod Morgenstein (born April 19, 1953) is an American drummer and music educator. He is best known for his work with the rock bands Winger and Dixie Dregs. He also played with Fiona, Platypus, the Steve Morse Band, and Jelly Jam. He has als ...

– drums, percussion, backing vocals, piano (1987–1994, 2001–2003, 2006–present) * Paul Taylor – keyboards, rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals, piano (1987–1992, 2001–2003, 2013–2014, 2014–2017, 2018–present) * John Roth – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals, bass, keyboards (touring member 1993–1994; 2001–2003, 2006–present) Former members * Cenk Eroglu – keyboards, rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (2006–2009; session member 2014) Touring substitutes * Donnie Wayne Smith – bass (2014, 2016); rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (2014–2019)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:250 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals,_acoustic_guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_and_rhythm_guitar id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhyhtm_and_lead_guitar id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:lines1 value:black legend:Studio_Albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1988 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1987 BarData = bar:Kip text:Kip Winger bar:Reb text:Reb Beach bar:John text:John Roth bar:Paul text:Paul Taylor bar:Cenk text:Cenk Eroglu bar:Rod text:Rod Morgenstein PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Kip from:start till:01/01/1994 color:Bass bar:Kip from:start till:01/01/1994 color:Keyboards width:7 bar:Kip from:start till:01/01/1994 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Kip from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Bass bar:Kip from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Keyboards width:7 bar:Kip from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Vocals width:3 bar:Kip from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Bass bar:Kip from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Keyboards width:7 bar:Kip from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Vocals width:3 bar:Reb from:start till:01/01/1994 color:Lguitar bar:Reb from:start till:01/01/1994 color:Keyboards width:3 bar:Reb from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1994 color:Rguitar width:7 bar:Reb from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Lguitar bar:Reb from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Keyboards width:3 bar:Reb from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Lguitar bar:Reb from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Keyboards width:3 bar:Rod from:start till:01/01/1994 color:Drums bar:Rod from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Drums bar:Rod from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Drums bar:Paul from:start till:01/01/1992 color:Keyboards bar:Paul from:start till:01/01/1992 color:Rguitar width:3 bar:Paul from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Keyboards bar:Paul from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Rguitar width:3 bar:Paul from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 color:Keyboards bar:Paul from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 color:Rguitar width:3 bar:Paul from:01/06/2014 till:01/01/2017 color:Keyboards bar:Paul from:01/06/2014 till:01/01/2017 color:Rguitar width:3 bar:Paul from:01/01/2018 till:end color:Keyboards bar:Paul from:01/01/2018 till:end color:Rguitar width:3 bar:John from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Rguitar bar:John from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Bass width:7 bar:John from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:Keyboards width:3 bar:John from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Rguitar bar:John from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Bass width:7 bar:John from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Keyboards width:3 bar:Cenk from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2010 color:Keyboards bar:Cenk from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2010 color:Rguitar width:3 LineData= at:10/08/1988 color:lines1 layer:back at:24/10/1990 color:lines1 layer:back at:18/05/1993 color:lines1 layer:back at:20/10/2006 color:lines1 layer:back at:16/10/2009 color:lines1 layer:back at:23/04/2014 color:lines1 layer:back

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Winger'' (1988) *'' In the Heart of the Young'' (1990) *''

'' (1993) *'' IV'' (2006) *''

'' (2009) *''

'' (2014) *''Winger VII'' (TBA)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winger American progressive metal musical groups Atlantic Records artists Glam metal musical groups from New York (state) Hard rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical quartets