Cinderella - Biography
By Eric Brightwell
Cinderella first appeared on the national conscience in the mid-80s, clad in spandex, hair teased and fronted by pouty, man-pretty singer Tom Keifer. Not surprisingly, they were written of as insubstantial a hair metal act by many judging them primarily by their appearance. For those that bothered listening to their music, the blues-infused sound and raspy-voiced, dude-looks-like-a-lady singer led others to write them off as Aerosmith clones. However, underneath the garish purple surface, Cinderella were actually a rather talented band who were equally adept at crafting crunchy, AC/DC-influenced rockers, lush ballads and rootsy, sing-a-long anthems.
Cinderella was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1982 by Keifer and bassist Eric Brittingham. They were soon were joined by another guitarist, Jeffrey Philip LaBar, yet another guitarist, Michael Smerick and drummer Tony Destra. In 1985, Kelly and Destra left Cinderella to form Britny Fox, the latter member was replaced by Jim Drnec. The new line-up began playing small venues around Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At one such show, at New Jersey’s Empire Rock Club, they were spotted by one Jon Bon Jovi which led to them signing at Bon Jovi’s home, Mercury.
Later in the year, Cinderella set about making their first album. Producer Andy Johns found Drnec difficult and he was given the boot. Initially, session musician Jody Cortez filled in for him but ultimately, Fred Coury (of the infamous London) took over the drums as they finished recording Night Songs (Mercury), which was released in the summer of 1986. The first single, the stomping “Shake Me” failed to sell well but its follow-up, the undeniably, unabashedly Aerosmith-indebted “Nobody’s Fool” did, achieving near saturation on MTV that fall. The album, with a cover featuring the pouting, posing band hanging out in a misty alley (a favorite artistic theme of the era), belied the fact that the music within was a lot less saccharine than many of their supposed peers. On their first tour, they joined Poison opening for Osaka metal legends, Loudness. “Nobody’s Fool” peeked at number thirteen that winter and the album peaked at number three. The band spent much of the year on the road releasing The Live EP (1987-Mercury) and opening on tours for both David Lee Roth and Bon Jovi. Later that year, the band appeared in Japan and Scandinavia in addition to playing the Monsters of Rock festivals in England and Germany.
When Cinderella returned with their follow-up, July’s Long Cold Winter (1988-Mercury), the band had turned up the previously subtle blues and country influences several notches and traded in their tights for denim-and-crushed-velvet that better suited the retro, boozy swagger of the tunes that echoed, in addition to the oft-mentioned AC/DC and Aerosmith, bands like The Faces and The Rolling Stones (who Aerosmith had been derided as knock-offs of in their beginning) as evinced on singles like “Gypsy Road,” “Coming Home” and “The Last Mile.” “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” was the requisite, lighter-ready, monster ballad. They embarked on a massive tour to promote it over the next fourteen months playing 254 shows including the Moscow Music Peace Festival and playing with Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions and Skid Row.
After touring through much of 1989, the band’s third record, Heartbreak Station (1990-Mercury) followed in the direction of Long Cold Winter, again incorporating acoustic instrumentation, blues and country. The era of bands associated with glam-metal was quickly drawing to a close and it sold less well though in reality, the contents were closer to critically-lauded acts like Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ than the light, pop metal of Trixter or Winger. The following year, Coury left the band to join Stephen Pearcy in his post-Ratt act, Arcade. His replacement was Kevin Valentine. After completing the US tour in support of the album as the band were set to embark for Japan in 1991, Keifer found it impossible to sing. A specialist diagnosed paresis of the laryngeal nerve controlling the left vocal cord and he underwent two throat operations and was afterward sidelined by therapy.
In 1992, Cinderella released one track, "Hot and Bothered," for the Wayne's World soundtrack but continued to be on hiatus due to Keifer’s vocal problems. By the time Cinderella returned with Still Climbing (1994-Mercury), grunge wasn’t even the issue - Kurt Cobain was dead and Seattle had become as bloated and passé as metal before it. By then, the charts were crowded with acts like Korn, Blind Melon, Veruca Salt and The Offspring. It wasn’t a good climate for Cinderella and after spending one week at number 178, the album disappeared and they were unceremoniously dumped by the label.
In 1997, Keifer moved to Nashville, where he turned to writing for others (including Andy Griggs and Lynyrd Skynyrd). The following year, Cinderella reunited and kicked off a tour in October at the Key Club in West Hollywood, resulting in the release of Live at the Key Club (1999-Cleopatra) (and its subsequent four re-releases under different names). That year they signed to John Kalodner’s Portrait label, then signing many hard rock acts of the 1980s. Before a new album was released, their contract was canceled and they spent the better part of the next three years in litigation. Despite being unsigned, in 2000 they reunited with their first tour-mate, Poison, an act they repeated in 2002. In 2005 they played with Ratt, Quiet Riot and Firehouse on the VH1 Rock Never Stops tour, which they headlined. In 2006, once again they toured with Poison.
In 2008, as Cinderella were planning a tour with Warrant, Lynch Mob and Lynam, the band once again had to cancel a tour when Keifer’s left vocal cord hemorrhaged. In the meantime, Brittingham is in a band with his wife, Naked Beggars. LaBar hosts an internet radio show with his wife, Late Night with the LaBars and plays in Freakshow with Quiet Riot’s Frankie Banali. Coury works with various acts. For his part, Keifer has been working on a solo record for nearly a decade. Most recently, the band announced Keifer’s recovery and Cinderella are scheduled to play the Rock Gone Wild Festival in 2009.
