John Corabi Recalls the Moment Motley Crue Realized He Wasn’t a Fan
John Corabi admits to being bewildered over being given the frontman role with Motley Crue – in particular because he wasn't really a fan.
“I didn’t know what to expect. I was just like, ‘I don’t even know how I got here,’” Corabi told That Metal Voice in an interview you can stream below. “I was just scratching my head. And no disrespect to the band: I was familiar with their videos and stuff that I had seen on MTV or whatever, but I've gotta be honest with you, a lot of the stuff in the '80s kind of went over my head.”
Corabi replaced Vince Neil in 1994, recorded an underrated self-titled album with them, and then split. But not before having to request copies of Motley Crue's older albums in order to learn the songs.
“They were, like, 'Wait a minute — you don't have any of our records?' And I'm like, 'No. Not really. No. I don't,'" Corabi remembered. "So, then Tommy [Lee] goes, 'Dude, have you ever seen us live before?' And I'm, like, 'No.' And they were laughing their ass off. They were, like, 'Oh my God! We picked a guy to lead-sing our band that isn't even a fan of the band. That's just crazy to me.’”
Listen to John Corabi's Interview with That Metal Voice
Corabi, who now fronts the Dead Daisies, said everyone in Motley Crue also laughed when he told them: “I’m more into Grand Funk [Railroad] and [Black] Sabbath and all these killer classic ‘70s bands.’” He added that other main influences included the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith.
“I was in the band for a year, we had done the record, we were getting ready to go start rehearsals for the tour," Corabi added. His bandmates said, "'Hey, man, you've gotta sing everything. What do you wanna sing? Let's put a setlist together.' And I had to ask them for the records. It was funny. I had been in the band, like, two and a half years, and they were laughing their ass off."
Motley Crue are currently working on the movie version of their 2001 memoir The Dirt. Asked if he expected to be featured, Corabi replied: “Well, if it's true to the book, then there will be a small segment where it talks about me. But I'm not expecting it.”
Corabi recently completed the new Dead Daisies album Burn It Down; it's due on April 6 via Spitfire Music/SPV.