"Here I Go Again" is a song recorded by Whitesnake.
Originally released on their 1982 album,
Saints & Sinners, the song was re-recorded for their
eponymous 1987 album
Whitesnake. The 1987 version hit number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 10, 1987, and number nine on
the UK Singles Chart on November 28, 1987. The 1987 version
also hit number one on the Canadian Singles Chart on October
24, 1987. In 2006, the 1987 version was named the 17th Greatest
Song of the 1980s by VH1. The song was re-recorded yet another
time in a new "Radio Version" for the band's
Greatest Hitsalbum in 1994.
The song was written by lead singer, David Coverdale, and
former Whitesnake guitarist, Bernie Marsden. The most notable
differences between the original and revamped version are the
style of the music (blues-rock versus hard rock) and a slight
change in the lyrics. The chorus of the original version
features the lines:
Whereas the newer version is:
The change was made because even before finishing writing
and recording the 1987 album, Coverdale had decided to release
a new version of "Here I Go Again" as one of the singles. He
was afraid an American audience might think he was singing
"Like a homo, I was born to walk alone" so he changed the
lyrics.
The guitar on the 1993 remix version was played by session
guitarist Dann Huff.
The music video for the song was directed by Marty Callner
who directed most of Whitesnake's videos in the 1980s. It
became memorable due to actress Tawny Kitaen's appearance
wearing white lingerie. In the video she is seen prancing on
the hood of Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale's Jaguar and
massaging him while he is trying in vain to concentrate on
driving. Kitaen would later become Coverdale's wife for a brief
period.
The music video was parodied in an
American Dad!episode, as well as the films
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobbyand
Death Proof. It was also featured a number of times in
the Frat Pack film
Old School. It was featured being sung by Nicholas
D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen during the credits of "Fired
Up!" It was also parodied in Bowling for Soup's "1985" music
video. Originally recorded by SR-71, the song itself contains
further references with the lyrics "She was gonna shake her
ass/On the hood of Whitesnake's car".
There are several different versions of the song, all
recorded officially by Whitesnake. They are:
In 1987, EMI released a limited Collectors Poster Edition
'USA Single Remix' 7" vinyl [EMP 35], the B-side of which
consists of an engraved signature version, and the sleeve of
which unfolds into a poster of the band.
While the 1987 album version and the "Radio" version
(released on the
Greatest Hitsalbum) of the tune are fairly similar,
there are several significant differences. The original 1987
version has a long and slow keyboard and vocal intro, whereas
the other kicks straight in with the band. One was recorded for
the album 1987, the other for a U.S single release. They
contain two very different guitar solos, Adrian Vandenberg
plays the album and video solo, and Dan Huff plays on the radio
edit version. Of the two versions, the one most widely referred
to is the remastered version released in 1987, although both
receive significant airplay today.
The song appeared in the 1998 film I Still Know What You Did
Last Summer.
The song appeared prominently in the 2003 comedy Old
School.
The song appeared in the 2008 film Adventureland.
The song appeared in the credits of the 2009 film Fired
Up.
"Here I Go Again" was rendered anew as the debut single by
Polish dance/pop singer Mandaryna. Remixed by Groove Coverage,
the song was a smash hit in Poland, Europe and Asia, peaking at
#2 on the Polish Singles Chart.
Christian rock parody band, ApologetiX, released a parody of
the song titled "Here I Go (Against All I've Known)" on their
2006 studio album,
Wordplay.
The song appears as a cover in the game
Karaoke Revolution Party.
Eurotrance group Topmodelz covered the song on their 2008
album,
Time 2 Rock, and released two remixes of their
cover.
The song was featured in the Broadway musical Rock of Ages,
which opened on 7 April 2009 at the Brooks Atkinson
Theatre.
Uncle Kracker released his new album, Happy Hour in 2009
with the track Livin' The Dream featuring the chorus of Here I
Go Again in the song.
The song is played during the final cutscene of the
real-time strategy video game World in Conflict.