WPDH Interview With Bassist Jeff Pilson

We recently talked with Jeff Pilson, best known for his time as bassist for 1980’s metal band Dokken and current bassist for Foreigner.

Jeff Pilson talked about his nearly 20 years now with Foreigner, the upcoming WPDH Summer Concert with Foreigner on Sunday, Aug. 7 at Bethel Woods, new music, an update on band founder Mick Jones' status and more. Check out the full interview in the audio file below.

Rockin' with Dokken

Jeff Pilson was bassist for Dokken, which formed out of LA in 1978 and had great success throughout the 80's. 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 reunited in 2016 for a series of shows in Japan and one U.S. date.

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Dio in the 1990's

During the 1990's, Jeff Pilson recorded and toured with Dio, appearing on both 1994's Strange Highways and and 1996's Angry Machines.

Foreigner

Pilson became the bass player for Foreigner in the summer of 2004. Foreigner continues to forge on in 2022 with the leader and founding member, guitarist  Mick Jones along with singer Kelly Hansen, bassist Jeff Pilson, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, drummer Chris Frazier, and guitarist Bruce Watson. The original band formed in NYC back in 1976 and has had one of the most successful careers in classic rock. Their self-titled debut album Foreigner was released in 1977 and would be the first of four straight albums to be certified 5 times platinum in the US, reaching the Top 10 with songs "Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold As Ice". Double Vision followed in 1978 with "Hot Blooded" and the title track released s hit singles. 1979's Head Games saw the title cut and "Dirty White Boy" hit the charts and then the album 4 which would hit number 1 in the US and spend 10 weeks at the top with singles "Urgent", "Waiting for a Girl Like You", and "Juke Box Hero". Agent Provocateur released in 1984 would feature the band's biggest hit single "I Want to Know What Love Is".

WPDH Summer Concert

Tickets for the WPDH Summer Concert with Foreigner and special guest Don Felder this Sunday, Aug. 7 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts are on sale and available through Ticketmaster and Bethelwoodscenter.org.