Mr. Big | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Genres | Hard rock, soft rock, glam metal (early years) |
Years active | 1988–2002, 2009–present |
Labels | Warner, Atlantic, Frontiers |
Associated acts | David Lee Roth, Racer X, Impellitteri, G3, Tak Matsumoto Group, The Winery Dogs |
Website | mrbigsite |
Members |
Eric Martin Pat Torpey Billy Sheehan Paul Gilbert |
Past members | Richie Kotzen |
Mr. Big is an American hard rock supergroup, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1988. The band is a quartet composed of Eric Martin (lead vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass guitar), and Pat Torpey (drums); The band is noted especially for their musicianship, and scored a number of hits. Their songs were often marked by strong vocals and vocal harmonies. Their hits include "To Be with You" (a number one single in 15 countries in 1992) and "Just Take My Heart".
Mr. Big have remained active and popular for over two decades, despite internal conflicts and changing music trends. They broke up in 2002, but after requests from fans, they reunited in 2009; their first tour was in Japan, in June 2009. To date, Mr. Big has released eight studio albums, the latest being ...The Stories We Could Tell (2014).
The band takes its name from the song by Free, which was eventually covered by the band on their 1993 album, Bump Ahead.
After bass player Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth's backing band in 1988, he began piecing together a new band with the help of Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, a label specialized in the shredding genre. He recruited Eric Martin, of the rock-oriented Eric Martin Band and also soul-leaning solo artist, and soon thereafter added guitarist Gilbert and drummer Torpey. Gilbert was already a well-respected guitarist who had released two albums with his Los Angeles-based band Racer X. Torpey came to California from Arizona, and had previously recorded and toured with a number of high-profile artists, including Impellitteri, Stan Bush, Belinda Carlisle, Ted Nugent, The Knack and Jeff Paris (who would later collaborate with Mr. Big in a songwriting capacity).