Why I Like Winger

The first time I ever saw a Winger video I said, "Hey, the singer looks like my friend's brother!" Now that's not why I took a liking to Winger, but it is what initially grabbed my attention. The video in question was their trademark power ballad "Headed for a Heartbreak". Granted, this song broke zero new ground and wouldn't even be in my top ten best power ballads of all time. But it did get me started down the path of Winger fandom.

Now most people laugh when I mention Winger as a band I like. I'm guessing they gave far too much credit to Beavis & Butt-Head's lovable loser, Stuart for making Winger seem lame. That however is far from the truth. Yes, singing a song about sex with an underage girl broke zero new ground as KISS, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi have all done that before. What sets Winger apart from other bands of this era is singer, Kip Winger.

Kip was not the typical hair band singer. He didn't have the higher octave voice commonly possessed by hair band singers (Vince Neil, Axl Rose, Tom Keifer, Taime Downe, Dee Snider, etc). Granted, Jon Bon Jovi and Brett Michaels weren't higher octave singers either, but I will get to them later. Kip had a deeper voice and when necessary, it was gutteral and gravelly. This is very noticeable on the band's hit song, "Can't Get Enuff". It also shows up on songs such as "Junkyard Dog" and "Down Incognito". His deeper voice also worked well on ballads such as "Miles Away" and the previously mentioned "Headed for a Heartbreak". Kip rarely receives credit for being a good vocalist and that is truly unfair.

"Can't Get Enuff" is may favorite Winger video. It's sexy, just dirty enough and fun. Most videos from that era weren't able to capture all three. In fact, most couldn't capture two. Winger pulled this video off perfectly.

Another area where Kip receives zero credit is charisma. Jon Bon Jovi and Bret Michaels steal the entire category here. I can't say that is entirely unreasonable. They were the two most charismatic singers of the era. And even now in the 21st century, Bret Michaels has become a TV darling and Jon Bon Jovi as his own line in Avon. So obviously, the still got it. I think Kip was looked over because his charisma wasn't the charming kind of charisma. Kip had an animalistic kind of charisma. It was actually a "let's-fuck-in-the-alley-during-a-thunderstorm" kind of charisma. It was that different kind of vibe Kip gave that made Winger's more sexually fueled songs believable. Much more so than when Jon Bon Jovi sang "Lay Your Hands on Me". He was just having fun. When Kip sang a sexual song, you could tell he meant every word, even with a song as cheesy as "Seventeen".

Winger's third album, Pull, was by far their best. It was released in 1993, right around the grunge explosion and was not a huge commercial success but has well received critically and is also widely considered to be the favorite of the fans. It also showed the band exploring some socio-political themes in songs such as "Who's the One" and "Blind Revolution Mad". It is also the album which contains my favorite Winger song, "Down Incognito". That song also appears on my musical biography.

Winger is also a good band to see in concert. The band sounds great live and yes, Kip really can play the harmonica. I saw them when the were a support act for Poison along with Faster Pussycat and Cinderella.

I don't expect to change the minds of any haters but if I even influence you to YouTube a couple Winger videos, I'll say it's a job well done.