Happy Birthday: Don Dokken

Today we celebrate the birthday of the man who serves as frontman for the band Dokken and – by strange coincidence – is also named Dokken. What are the odds?!

Donald Maynard Dokken was born in Los Angeles, so it’s no surprise that his first band – Airborn, formed in 1976 – played shows on the legendary Sunset Strip, but two members left in ’78, and although he’d wanted to just bring in some new members and keep the band going, he soon learned that another band calling themselves Airborn had signed a record deal, so Dokken instead found himself a new lineup and called the resulting group – you guessed it – Dokken.

Dokken released their debut single, “Hard Rock Woman,” in 1979, but it would be another two years before the band released their full-length debut album, BREAKING THE CHAINS, and it would be another two years after that before the LP earned a release in America. (The original release was credited to Don Dokken, which was obviously changed before the Elektra release, and it was also partially re-recorded.)

Dokken’s most significant commercial success took place in the ‘80s, with BREAKING THE CHAINS, TOOTH AND NAIL, UNDER LOCK AND KEY, and BACK FOR THE ATTACK all provided the band with significant chart placings and some hit singles to boot, including “Alone Again,” “In My Dreams,” “Burning Like a Flame,” and the Nightmare on Elm Street 3 theme song, “Dream Warriors.”

Although the band has gone on hiatus for various periods of time over the years, they are still a going concern in 2020, so if the world ever returns to some semblance of normalcy and you’re able to see them live, do so!