10 Things You Didn’t Know about John Corabi

Mick MARS and John CORABI and Nikki SIXX and Tommy LEE and MOTLEY CRUE

John Corabi is a rock singer and guitarist. To a lot of people, he will be most familiar because he was the replacement for Vince Neil in Motley Crue for a time from 1992 to 1996. However, Corabi has earned a reputation for being a kind of journeyman vocalist, meaning that he has worked with a lot more bands than just the one. Even so, there are still people hoping that he will team up with Motley Crue once more, which is particularly amusing because he himself has made it very clear that he has no such interest.

1. Inspired By the Beatles

Corabi was born in 1959. As a result, he is a member of the generation that was inspired by the Beatles, who had become international superstars by the mid 1960s. In fact, Corabi was drawn to music after seeing the band’s performance on the TV screen when he was still a child.

2. Moved to Los Angeles in the Mid 1980s

Metal came into existence in the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, it took until the late 1970s to become mainstream, thus resulting in some very interesting changes in the 1980s. For instance, metal became very popular, so much so that this popularity spurred on the creation of a number of metal subgenres because of people who were less than enthused by the genre’s banner-bearers. Regardless, the important point is that the metal scene of the 1980s was a very lively place. As a result, it makes sense that Corabi paid one visit to Los Angeles before deciding to relocate there in 1986.

3. He Was in Angora

Corabi once had a band called Angora. For context, this was in a time when he was still starting out, as shown by how he still had to support himself financially by doing odd jobs. When Corabi moved to Los Angeles, Angora moved with him. Moreover, the band was able to get a fair amount of attention, which included that of Gene Simmons. Unfortunately, Angora never managed to get a recording deal. Instead, it fell apart because of internal disputes before that could happen.

4. He Was in The Scream

In any case, Corabi’s subsequent effort was more successful. He teamed up with the guitarist Bruce Bouillet, the bassist Juan Alderete, and the drummer Scott Travis to form the band called Saints or Sinners. Soon enough, Scott Travis left for Judas Priest, with the result that he was replaced by Walt Woodward III while the band was renamed The Scream. Still, Corabi was around long enough for the band to release a debut album called Let It Scream. After he left, the band managed to record a second album called Takin’ It To The Next Level, which was recorded but never released.

5. Versatility Was What Got Him Into Motley Crue

Corabi left The Scream for the simple reason that he got the chance to replace Vince Neil as the vocalist for Motley Crue, which was a golden opportunity to say the least. Naturally, a lot of people went for the position. However, Corabi apparently managed to secure it in the end because of his sheer versatility when it came to what he could and couldn’t sing. Something that was stated by both Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee.

6. Didn’t Have the Most Successful Time in Motley Crue

Sadly, Corabi didn’t have the most successful time in Motley Crue. There are numerous explanations for why this was the case. For example, he was always going to face an uphill struggle because he was replacing a vocalist with a well-established following. Similarly, the whole thing happened at around the same time that grunge was big, meaning that the market had changed. On top of this, it has been argued that Motley Crue should’ve stuck to the tried-and-true rather than experiment. Whatever the cause, the fact of the matter was that Corabi didn’t have the most successful time in Motley Crue, with the result that the management started putting pressure on the band to let Vince Neil back in.

7. Did Get Some Songwriting Credit for Generation Swine

At the time, Motley Crue had already gotten started on the writing for the album that would wind up being called Generation Swine. Apparently, Corabi came under pressure from two sources. One, there was the pressure from management to let Vince Neil back in. Two, the recording effort became very contentious, so much so that he would sometimes learn material before finding out that it had changed upon returning to the recording studio. Under those circumstances, Corabi eventually made the decision to quit, with the result that the band then had to convince Vince Neil to join up again. Still, some of the early written material did see use in the eventual album, with the result that Corabi did get some songwriting credit for it.

8. Surprised that He Was in The Dirt

Corabi has mentioned being surprised that he was even in The Dirt, which was the 2019 biopic about Motley Crue based on a collaborative autobiography by Motley Crue. Apparently, he had accepted the idea that the band consisted of Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, and Tommy Lee, meaning that he didn’t expect anything from it. Amusingly, Corabi did joke about his disappointment that they couldn’t get Morgan Freeman to play him. Instead, they got Anthony Vincent Valbiro, who tends to be known for being a musician YouTuber.

9. Didn’t Get the Most Flattering Depiction in The Dirt

Having said that, Corabi didn’t get the most flattering depiction in The Dirt. Simply put, the character that was supposed to be him didn’t get to do much of anything. Furthermore, the biopic depicted the band’s reunion as being much simpler than it was, which to be fair, was part of a consistent trend of it being hesitant to truly cover the band’s darker moments.

10. Not Interested in Becoming a Member of Motley Crue Again

In recent times, some people have apparently been calling for Corabi to rejoin Motley Crue because they aren’t convinced that Vince Neil will be ready for a tour that is set to start up in 2022. This explains why there have been rumors that Corabi is doing secret rehearsals with the band, which in turn, explains why Corabi made sure to dispel them.

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