Once Upon a Time at the Top of the Charts: Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”

30 years ago today, Whitesnake rode a re-recording of a song they’d originally released half a decade earlier all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Written by David Coverdale and Bernie Marsden, “Here I Go Again” initially made its debut on Whitesnake’s 1982 album SAINTS & SINNERS, an album which Coverdale described to Ultimate Classic Rock as “my contractual obligation album,” further explaining that he “refused to finish that album until my manager at that time was more reasonable in our divorce proceedings” and that he’d “never really had a full complement of musicians to finish that record.”

Funnily enough, the biggest reason he ended up re-recording the song in 1987 was that he wanted to re-record another old song – “Crying in the Rain” – and agreed to the label’s request to re-do “Here I Go Again” as long as he was able to re-record the song that he wanted as well. Even more funny, though, is that he actually ended up re-recording it a second time, when David Geffen called him personally and requested a more radio-friendly version. But, hey, given that the song ended up being a chart-topper, surely all of the different recordings were worth it in the long run.

In celebration of “Here I Go Again” hitting #1, Coverdale decided to record a few words to mark the occasion.