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Vince Neil
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Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961) is the lead singer for American glam metal band Mötley Crüe.
Biography
Early life
Neil was born in Hollywood, California to Odie and Shirley Wharton. During the 1960s, his family moved around Southern California from Inglewood to Watts, before finally settling in Compton. Growing up in Compton was sometimes tough; Neil once had his face slashed by a gang member. Neil eventually got in trouble at school for fighting and drug use, and he was subsequently expelled.
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Encyclopedia
Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961) is the lead singer for American glam metal band Mötley Crüe.
Biography
Early life
Neil was born in Hollywood, California to Odie and Shirley Wharton. During the 1960s, his family moved around Southern California from Inglewood to Watts, before finally settling in Compton. Growing up in Compton was sometimes tough; Neil once had his face slashed by a gang member. Neil eventually got in trouble at school for fighting and drug use, and he was subsequently expelled. As well as having an interest in music while a teenager, Neil was also interested in surfing, basketball, baseball, football, wrestling, cricket, and golf.
Career
Music
Neil was discovered while performing with his band, Rockandi (pronounced Rock-Candy) by Tommy Lee in 1980, and joined Mötley Crüe in 1981. Mötley Crüe was looking for a lead vocalist at the time and were impressed by Neil, after hearing him through Lee. Mötley Crüe released its first album, Too Fast for Love the same year. In 1983, Mötley Crüe released Shout at the Devil, a blockbuster success that established the band as one of the biggest acts of the 1980s.
In 1985, Neil regrouped with Mötley Crüe to record Theatre of Pain. The band subsequently recorded the hugely successful Girls, Girls, Girls (1987). The band then released their highest-selling album, Dr. Feelgood, in 1989 after going through drug rehabilitation. The band's stint in rehab was due to bassist Nikki Sixx's overdose on heroin in December 1987. Sixx was revived by two adrenaline shots to the heart, this inspired song "Kickstart My Heart," but the band's management nevertheless cancelled an upcoming European tour and insisted that all members of the group go to drug rehabilitation with the admonition: "If you guys go to Europe, at least one of you will be coming back in a bodybag."
Neil was fired from Mötley Crüe and pursued a solo career in February 1992. According to rumors in the band's autobiography, he was fired because he was more interested in car racing and partying than in the band (he was racing in the Indy Lights open wheel developmental series at the time). In 1992 he released his first solo offering, the single "You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come)" featured on the Encino Man soundtrack. Exposed, his first solo album, was released in mid-1993, debuting at #13 on the Billboard charts. The album featured Steve Stevens (formerly Billy Idol's guitarist and Atomic Playboys founder, and who subsequently played all bass and guitar tracks on 'Exposed'), Dave Marshall, Robbie Crane, and Vik Foxx. It sold only about 300,000 copies in the US, just about as many as Mötley Crüe's 1994 self-titled album with singer John Corabi (previously of The Scream). All previous Mötley Crüe albums had sold at least one million copies.
In 1995, Neil released Carved In Stone, an industrial-oriented album produced by the Dust Brothers. It sold less than 100,000 copies in the US, and Neil's contract with Warner Bros. Records eventually came to an end. Some versions of the album feature "Skylar's Song," a tribute to his daughter.
By 1997, both Neil's solo career and Mötley Crüe's fortunes were declining and he accepted their invitation to rejoin the band. They released the album Generation Swine which debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts. It wasn't long before tension erupted again, this time prompting Tommy Lee to leave the band. They replaced him with Randy Castillo, who later on recorded New Tattoo with the band in 2000, but things came to a halt when Castillo died from cancer in 2002.
In 2003, Vince Neil was featured (as a solo act) in the "Rock Never Stops Tour" along with other '80s hard rock bands.
Vince Neil is currently touring with his solo band, now consisting of Slaughter members Jeff Blando and Dana Strum, as well as drummer Zoltan Chaney.
Mötley Crüe will continue to tour, with several dates over the summer, and Neil will continue to tour with his solo band during his off time from Mötley Crüe. He is also currently working on a new studio album with Dana Strum, with whom he performed at glam metal festival Rocklahoma.
On January 19, 2008, Neil played a free concert on the streets of downtown West Palm Beach, Florida to celebrate the grand opening of his club "Dr Feelgoods". On Thursday March 5, 2009 Vince Neil will be opening another "Feelgoods" in Miami Beach.
On April 15, 2008, Mötley Crüe announced the tour dates for their summer tour Crue Fest.
Television & Film
In 1990, Neil had a small part in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane playing the part of Bobby Black, lead vocalist of the fictional rock band "Black Plague", which also consisted of Carlos Cavazo, Randy Castillo, and Phil Soussan. Opening sequences of the film feature the band playing at Red Rocks Amphitheater where Neil's character makes a grand entrance by swooping on stage via zip-line. He then proceeds to die onstage under suspicious circumstances. Bobby Black's misfortunes continue even in death when at his funeral, a mêlée takes place resulting in his cylindrical plexiglass casket rolling down a hill (obviously containing a dummy of Vince Neil).
In 2002, Neil was one of the cast members on the first season of The Surreal Life.
In 2004, Neil appeared again on TV for the special Remaking Vince Neil, which showed him trying to recharge his solo career. He also recorded the single "Promise Me" produced by the acclaimed record producer Desmond Child which was never released commercially, but was rumored to be on his forthcoming solo album. However, it turned out to be Mötley Crüe that got the career boost as Neil and Tommy Lee put aside their differences and toured in support of the compilation album Red, White and Crüe which was supported by an extensive world-wide tour dubbed Carnival of Sins, The tour featured near-naked female acrobats, fire-breathers and a midget as part of the overall 'circus' atmosphere the band created.
In 2004, Neil appeared in an episode of the CBS sitcom Still Standing, in which he played a tattoo artist.
Wine
Neil founded Vince Vineyards, a winemaking venture that produced a 2003 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2003 Sonoma County Chardonnay.
He also produces a limited edition Petite Sirah through EOS Estate Winery.
Personal life
Family
Neil married his first wife, Beth Lynn, in 1981; they divorced in 1985. In April 1988, Neil married Sharise Ruddell, a mudwrestler. Ruddell and Neil divorced in 1993.
On August 15, 1995, Neil and Ruddell's daughter, Skylar Neil, died of cancer. He founded the Skylar Neil Memorial Fund in her honor. Since that time, Neil and the foundation have raised awareness and funding for various children’s illnesses. The Skylar Neil Memorial Foundation has donated over one million dollars to The T.J. Martell Foundation, and it sponsors an annual golf tournament to raise money for children with cancer.
He started dating and got engaged to actress/Playboy cover girl, Heidi Mark in early 1994. In May 2000, Neil married Playboy Playmate Heidi Mark. They separated in August 2001, A few attempts at reconciliation later. They ended up divorcing in 2003.
Neil married Lia Gerardini in January 2005. The ceremony was officiated by ordained minister and fellow cast member from The Surreal Life, MC Hammer. Vince and Lia reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. Vince also has a home in Blackhawk, California where he also resides part of the year.
Legal problems
In late 1984, Finnish hard rock band Hanoi Rocks was on their first American tour; on December 8, their drummer Nicholas Dingley (aka Razzle) visited Neil's home and spent the day at Redondo Beach. After partying for hours, the two men decided to take a trip to a local liquor store in Neil's De Tomaso Pantera. Neil, who was drunk, lost control of the car and hit an opposing vehicle. The two occupants of the other car were seriously injured, and Dingley was killed. Neil was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with the crash. His blood alcohol level was .17, well above the California legal limit of .08.
In July 1986, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Edward Hinz, Jr. sentenced Neil to 30 days in jail, five years probation, $2.6 million in restitution to the victims of the crash and 200 hours of community service. Neil got out of jail in 15 days for good behavior; Mötley Crüe dedicated their third studio album, 'Theatre of Pain' to Dingley.
Neil's account of this event is documented in Mötley Crüe's 2001 autobiography The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band.
In July 2003, Neil, a regular customer of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, was charged with battery after a prostitute at the ranch alleged that he grabbed her around the throat and threw her against a wall. A year earlier, he had pleaded no contest to the charge that he had punched record producer Michael Schuman.
Cultural references
Discography
Albums
Singles
- "You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come)", 1992
- "Sister of Pain", 1993
- "Can't Change Me", 1993
- "Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too', 1993
- "Skylar's Song", 1995
- "Promise Me", 2005
External links
- - Official website.
- - Official website.
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