Happy Birthday today (Jan. 19) ex Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson. He's (58). Other rockers celebrating include guitarist Steve Lynch of Autograph (62), singer Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe (49), and original Deep Purple singer Rod Evans (70).

Jeff Pilson is best known for his time as bassist for 1980's metal band Dokken. He is the current bassist for Foreigner. The classic lineup of Dokken consisted of Don Dokken on lead vocals, George Lynch on guitar, Jeff Pilson on bass, and “Wild” Mick Brown on drums. The band’s album Tooth and Nail was released in 1984 and featured several hits including “Just Got Lucky”, “Alone Again”, and “Into the Fire”. It sold over a million copies in the U.S. alone. 1985 saw the release of Under Lock and Key which would also go on to sell over a million copies with hits “In My Dreams”, “The Hunter”, and “It’s Not Love”. Dokken toured with bands like Judas Priest, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Dio, among other during this successful time for the band. The band returned to the studio in 1986 and recorded the track “Dream Warriors” for the Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors soundtrack after touring with the Scorpions. 1987’s Back for the Attack album would be Dokken’s best selling release reaching number 13 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with singles “Burning Like a Flame” and Heaven Sent”. The band spilt up in 1989 and would reunite in 1993, recording many new albums with several lineup changes.

Dokken's classic lineup recently reunited for a series of shows in Japan. I've always thought of Jeff Pilson as a kick ass bass player and have seen him perform in concert on several occasions. I'll be going to check em out with Foreigner April 29 at Mid Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie.

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Steve Lynch/Youtube
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Whitfield Crane
Jo Hale/Getty Images
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Rod Evans/Youtube
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