"Here I Go Again" is a song by British rock band

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 ...

. Originally released on their 1982 album, '' Saints & Sinners'', the

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. ...

was re-recorded for their 1987 self-titled album. The song was re-recorded again the same year in a new "radio-mix" version, which was released as a single and hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on 10 October 1987 (the band's only number-one on that chart), and also number nine on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 28 November 1987. The 1987 version also hit number one on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by ''Jam!''/Canoe. It ...

on 24 October 1987. In 2003, '' Q'' magazine ranked it 962nd on their list of 1001 "Best Songs Ever". In 2006, the 1987 version was ranked number 17 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s. In 2012 Reader's Poll of ''Rolling Stone'' it ranked as 9th among Top 10 "The Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time". In 2017, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' included it among Top 21 best power ballads.

Background and writing

The song was written by the lead singer,

David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of Whitesnake, a hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after wh ...

, and former Whitesnake guitarist,

Bernie Marsden Bernard John Marsden (born 7 May 1951) is an English rock and blues guitarist. He is primarily known for his work with Whitesnake, having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group's hit songs, such as " Fool for Your Loving" ...

. The most notable difference between the original and re-recorded versions are a slight change in the bluesy lyrics and pace. The re-recording of the song in 1987 was advised by record labels bosses Al Coury and

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in ...

as a negotiation deal with Coverdale to re-record "

Crying in the Rain "Crying in the Rain" is a song composed by Carole King with lyrics by Howard Greenfield, originally recorded by American duo the Everly Brothers. The single peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1962. The song was the only c ...

" for the band's self-titled album ''

'' released in 1987. The chorus of the original version features the lines:

And here I go again on my own Goin' down the only road I've ever known Like a hobo I was born to walk alone

In an interview, Coverdale explained that initially the lyrics had "drifter" but as that was already used in different songs he chose instead "hobo", however the latter was changed again to "drifter" in the re-recorded '87 version, reportedly to ensure that it would not be misheard as "

homo ''Homo'' () is the genus that emerged in the (otherwise extinct) genus '' Australopithecus'' that encompasses the extant species ''Homo sapiens'' ( modern humans), plus several extinct species classified as either ancestral to or closely rela ...

". The song was used in the climax of romantic comedy film '' Man Up'' (2015).

Composition

The song is composed in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

and a tempo of 91 BPM.

Music video

The '82

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

features the band performing the song onstage. The music video for the '87 re-recorded version was directed by

Marty Callner Marty Callner (born 1950 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American television director, who has made music videos, comedy specials, concert specials, and television shows, in a career spanning from 1977 to present day. He is the creator of HBO's '' H ...

. The video includes, besides the band's stage performance, appearances by model Julie E. "Tawny" Kitaen, who was married to Whitesnake's David Coverdale from 1989 to 1991. Her notable sex-appeal was immediately recognized, having memorable unchoreographed scenes dressed "in a white negligee, writhing and cartwheeling across the hoods of two Jaguars XJ" which belonged to Coverdale (white) and Callner (black). Coverdale recalls that he even brought choreographer

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

to the set to show some moves to Coverdale's girlfriend Tawny, but only to positively exclaim that she couldn't "show her anything". Coverdale's iconic white Jaguar once again appeared in the music video for single "Shut Up & Kiss Me" from their 2019 studio album '' Flesh & Blood''. The song's '87 video was placed on New York Times list of the 15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos.

Single versions

There are several different versions of the song, all recorded officially by Whitesnake. * The original version from the 1982 '' Saints & Sinners'' album with

Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...

on Hammond organ and

and Micky Moody on guitar (5:03) * The most popular version is the re-recorded version that appears on the ''

'' (aka ''1987'') album with John Sykes on guitar (solo by Adrian Vandenberg) (4:36) * A 1987 "radio-mix" version, asked for by Geffen, which was released as a United States single with

Denny Carmassi Denny Carmassi (born April 30, 1947) is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands. Biography Carmassi was born into a family of drummers; his father, his uncle, and his brother each played the drums. Some of Denny's e ...

on drums and

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

on guitar, who also provided the new arrangement, which included an intro without keyboards and no Coverdale vocal intro verse. This version topped the charts, and appeared on the ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album in 1994 (3:54). In 1987, EMI released a limited Collectors Poster Edition 'USA Single Remix' 7" vinyl

MP 35 The MP35 (''Maschinenpistole 35'', literally "Machine Pistol 35") was a submachine gun used by the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and German police both before and during World War II. It was developed in the early 1930s by Emil Bergmann (son of Theod ...

the B-side of which consists of an engraved signature version, and the sleeve of which unfolds into a poster of the band. In 1997 the band recorded an acoustic version, released on their ''

Starkers in Tokyo ''Starkers in Tokyo'' is a live acoustic album by English rock band Whitesnake, released only in Japan on 9 September 1997. It is performed in the style of the ''Unplugged'' series and simply features David Coverdale on vocals and Adrian Va ...

'' live album.

Personnel

Original 1982 version from ''Saints & Sinners'': *

– lead vocals *

– guitar * Micky Moody – guitar, backing vocals * Neil Murray – bass *

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...

– drums *

– keyboards *

Mel Galley Melville John Galley (8 March 1948 – 1 July 2008) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his work with Whitesnake, Trapeze, Finders Keepers and Phenomena. Galley was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England. While ...

– backing vocals 1987 version from ''Whitesnake'': * David Coverdale – lead vocals * John Sykes – guitar, backing vocals * Neil Murray – bass *

Aynsley Dunbar Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ronso ...

– drums * Adrian Vandenberg – guitar solo *

Don Airey Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, after the retirement of Jon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts as Gary Moore ...

– keyboards * Bill Cuomo – keyboards 1987 radio-mix version: * David Coverdale – lead vocals *

– guitar *

Mark Andes Mark Andes (born February 19, 1948) is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Canned Heat, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal. Early life Andes was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Los Angeles, one ...

– bass *

– drums * Don Airey – keyboards * Bill Cuomo – keyboards

Chart performance

This song is notable for being the only Whitesnake song to get airplay on

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

stations despite the fact " Is This Love" reached number 38 there and this song did not chart at all on the AC charts.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* A dance cover version by Frash was a minor hit in the UK in 1995, reaching number 69. * In 2004, a dance/pop version of "Here I Go Again" was recorded by Polish dancer and singer

Mandaryna Marta Katarzyna Wiktoria Wiśniewska, professionally known as Mandaryna, born Marta Mandrykiewicz on 12 March 1978 in Łódź, Poland, is a Polish singer, dancer and actress. She rose to fame as the dancer of Polish pop group Ich Troje, and the p ...

. Released as the debut single from her debut album '' Mandaryna.com'', the song became a hit in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It was later remixed by Axel Konrad of

Groove Coverage Groove Coverage is a German dance band which consists of Axel Konrad, DJ Novus, Melanie Munch, better known as Mell (lead singer), and Verena Rehm (former stage performer, backing singer, occasional lead singer). Producers of the band are Ole W ...

for the single release in German speaking countries.

References

External links

Here I Go Again 2017 Official Video Remix
at official YouTube channel WhitesnakeTV
Here I Go Again 2020 HD
at official YouTube channel WhitesnakeTV {{authority control 1980s ballads 1982 singles 1982 songs 1987 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Geffen Records singles Mandaryna songs Music videos directed by Marty Callner RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Keith Olsen Song recordings produced by Martin Birch Song recordings produced by Mike Stone (record producer) Songs about loneliness Songs written by David Coverdale Songs written by Bernie Marsden Whitesnake songs Glam metal ballads British blues rock songs