David Coverdale (born September 22, 1951 in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England) is a rock vocalist most famous for his work with the British hard rock band Deep Purple, and his later band Whitesnake.

Coverdale was largely unknown until he replaced Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan in 1973. He was a Boutique clerk in Redcar, Yorkshire when he sent in an old Boy Scout picture of his along with a demo tape to Deep Purple. Impressed by his deep blues timbre, Coverdale was recruited to the band, sharing vocal duties with bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes. His three year tenure ended in March 1976 when the band finally split up. Moving to Germany, he laid down a vocal track on a multi-artist project organised by Eddie Hardin, released by RCA Records as Wizard’s Convention.

Unable to perform in England for contractual reasons, Coverdale then recorded vocals for both his solo albums in Germany while the backing tracks were laid down in London. The backing musicians who played on these ... read more »