What Happened to Vince Neil?

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Vince Neil.Image via Wikimedia Commons

The Rise to Fame

Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961) is an American musician and singer. He is the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 formation until his departure in 1992. Neil reunited with the band in 1996 and continued with them until the band's 2015 retirement, and again from the band's 2018 reunion onwards. Outside of Mötley Crüe, Neil has also released three studio albums as a solo artist – the most recent of which, Tattoos & Tequila, was released in 2010. Neil's visual aesthetic and distinctive singing voice are considered synonymous with the American glam metal movement of the 1980s.

Early life

Neil was born in Inglewood, California, to Shirley (née Ortiz) and Clois "Odie" Wharton. He has Mexican ancestry on his mother's side and Native American ancestry on his father's. During the 1960s, his family moved around Southern California from Inglewood to Watts, before finally settling in Glendora, attending Sunflower Intermediate School and later Royal Oak High School. His biggest musical influence in the early days was Van Halen, imitating the look and the attitude of their frontman David Lee Roth. He also cited AC/DC, Aerosmith, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Journey and The Beach Boys among his favorite artists. As well as having an interest in music while a teenager, Neil was also interested in surfing, basketball, baseball, football and wrestling.

Music career

Neil was discovered while performing with his band Rock Candy and joined Mötley Crüe in 1981. The newly formed band was seeking a lead vocalist and was impressed by Neil after seeing him perform live at drummer Tommy Lee's suggestion. Lee had known Neil in high school and thought the vocalist's image would fit well with the new band. With Mötley Crüe, Neil made his recording debut with the band's 1981 debut album Too Fast for Love. The band's next album, 1983's Shout at the Devil, brought Mötley Crüe to international stardom, and a string of hit releases throughout the decade

including Theatre of Pain, Girls, Girls, Girls and the number 1 album Dr. Feelgood established the band as one of the most popular rock acts in the world. Producer Tom Werman, who produced much of Mötley Crüe's material in the 1980s, has said that Neil is the least artistic and least involved in the creative process of all the band members.

Following the release of Mötley Crüe's 1991 greatest hits album Decade of Decadence 81–91, Neil and the band parted ways. Neil's drinking was beginning to affect his ability to perform, and after he failed to show up for a band rehearsal on February 10, 1992, Sixx, Lee and Mars agreed that the vocalist was "holding us back". At the time, the band blamed Neil's race car driving in the Indy Lights circuit as the reason for the decision, releasing a statement that read "Race car driving has become a priority in Neil's life. His bandmates felt he didn't share their determination and passion for music." Prior to his firing, Sixx says the band was open with him that they were considering a new lead vocalist, with Sixx telling him "We are down here working, and we want to be here. This isn't going to happen if you don't want to be here and we have to force you out of bed every afternoon because you've been out all night drinking." Lee accused him of failing to contribute to the creative process and Neil stormed out, and his firing was announced to the public four days later.

The Peak Years

Going solo

Neil's debut solo single was "You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come)" from the soundtrack to the Les Mayfield movie Encino Man (1992). The song's music video features a cameo from Pauly Shore and clips from the movie.

Exposed (1993) was Neil's first solo album, debuting at No. 13 on the Billboard charts, and featuring a re-recording of his first single. His band at this point included Steve Stevens, Dave Marshall, Robbie Crane, and Vikki Foxx; the band eventually went on tour, opening for Van Halen.

Pornographic film actress Janine Lindemulder can be seen in the video for the second single "Sister of Pain". "Can't Change Me" was released as the third single featuring a video filmed at the Record Plant, and the video for the fourth single, "Can't Have Your Cake", featured actress Pamela Anderson as well as Neil's son Neil Wharton who portrayed a young Vince Neil.

Carved in Stone

In September 1995, Neil released Carved in Stone, an industrial-oriented album produced by the Dust Brothers. It was recorded and then put on hold while Neil was dealing with the illness of his daughter Skylar. The album charted at No. 139 on the Billboard 200. The song "Skylar's Song", dedicated to his daughter, was released as a single for the album and featured a music video, and "The Crawl" was released as a promo single.

The album sold fewer than 100,000 copies in the US, and Neil's contract with Warner Bros. Records eventually came to an end. The album was re-released in 2004.

What Changed

Neil toured with his solo band, which by then consisted of Slaughter members Jeff Blando and Dana Strum, as well as drummer Zoltan Chaney.

Reunion with Mötley Crüe

By 1997, Neil's solo career and the John Corabi-fronted Mötley Crüe's album sales and concert attendance were declining, leading to the reunion of the band's classic lineup that year. "They admitted they couldn't do it without me", he recalled, "and I wasn't selling records the way Mötley Crüe had." They released Generation Swine, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard charts. Mötley Crüe further re-entered the zeitgeist after their Behind the Music episode aired on VH1 in December 1998 and became the highest-rated in the series, warranting a DVD release of the episode with ten extra minutes of footage in December 1999. Tension soon erupted, however, this time prompting Tommy Lee to leave. The other members replaced him with Randy Castillo and recorded New Tattoo in 2000. The renewed band went on hiatus when Castillo died from cancer in 2002.

Neil next solo release was Live at the Whisky: One Night Only in 2003.

Mötley's fortunes got a boost when Neil and Lee put aside their differences to tour in support of the 2005 compilation Red, White & Crüe. Dubbed Carnival of Sins, the tour featured acrobats, fire breathers and a midget as part of the overall circus atmosphere the band created.

In 2008, Mötley Crüe released the album Saints of Los Angeles, again featuring all the original members.

2010s

Where Vince Neil Is Now

Neil released his third solo album, Tattoos & Tequila in 2010, a soundtrack to his concurrent book, Tattoos & Tequila: To Hell and Back with One of Rock's Most Notorious Frontmen. Each song on the album corresponds with a chapter in the book. The album's title track was released as a single with a music video.

Neil contributed a cover of Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel's song "Blurry Eyes" to their 2012 tribute album.

Following Mötley Crüe's 2014 and 2015 final world tour, Neil confirmed in September 2018 that the band had reformed and plans to release new music.

In November 2016, Neil revealed that he had been contacted and was scheduled to play with his own band at the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2017. "I don't know how long I have to play. I don't know if the Republican Party says which (songs) to play and what not to do," said Neil.

Other ventures

Business ventures

In 1994, Neil gave up ownership of his Bar One club.

Legacy

In 1998, Mötley Crüe opened a store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles called S'Crüe, which stocks clothes from both Sixx and Neil's clothing lines (Outlaw and Bad Bones), along with CDs, the Mötley Brüe drink and other items. The store closed in January 1999, with the band deciding to sell the items online.

In 2006, Neil opened a tattoo parlor called Vince Neil Ink, located on the Las Vegas Strip.

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.

In 2005, Neil created the "Off the Strip Poker Tournament", which takes place in Las Vegas.

In 2007, Neil launched his own brand of tequila called Tres Rios. Neil debuted the tequila at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in February 2007.

Neil opened Dr. Feelgood's Bar and Grill in West Palm Beach. It took over two and a half years for all of the members of Mötley Crüe to agree and sign off on the bar concept and location. It was finally determined that it would be located in downtown West Palm Beach, close to the ocean and within the high rent district of downtown. On January 19, 2008, Neil played a free concert on the streets of downtown West Palm Beach to celebrate the grand opening of Dr Feelgood's. In March 2009, Neil opened another Feelgood's in Miami Beach. Vince also owns a Feelgood's in Las Vegas.

In 2012, Vince Neil opened a strip club named Deja Vu Presents: Vince Neil's Girls Girls Girls in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In April 2014, Vince Neil, as the chief executive officer and chairman of RockStar Investment Group, along with long-time friends and business partners Bob Hewko and Mark Daniels, acquired ownership of the Arena Football League's Jacksonville Sharks in April 2014.

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