Autograph "Loud and Clear" LP Signed by Entire Band Motley Crue Quiet Riot Ratt

$

60

Autograph "Loud and Clear" LP RCA Records (US) 

Vinyl is VG+, Jacket is VG+ (co)

Signed by the Entire Band in Black Sharpie

Track Listing:

Autograph is an American hard rock/glam metal band from Pasadena, California. They released several albums throughout the 1980s and are most well known for their hit single, 1984's "Turn Up the Radio."

Autograph began in late 1983 originally as a solo project for singer, songwriter & guitarist Steve Plunkett, who had recently left the band Silver Condor. Plunkett then began playing and recording his own material with a group of his musician friends, most of whom had previously played with him in other bands.

On lead guitar was Steve Lynch, who had played with Plunkett in the band Looker.

Bassist Randy Rand knew Plunkett from their days together in Wolfgang, a prominent club band in Pasadena, California that has been described as a local legend, and of which Kevin Dubrow (lead singer of Quiet Riot) once said, "They smoked us all... they got a better response than us and Van Halen".

Keyboardist Steve Isham, who had also earlier played with mutual acquaintance Holly Penfield, was brought in to give the fledgling band a more modern sound.

Drummer Keni Richards, an old bandmate with Plunkett from John Doe rounded out the band's lineup. Richards' friendship with Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth was instrumental in leading to Autograph's big break the following year.

Quickly, this group of musicians began playing and recording together, taking the form of an actual band. Plunkett chose the name "Autograph" for the band, having been inspired by hearing Def Leppard's similarly titled song, "Photograph," on the radio. They recorded their first rough demos in late 1983, but played them only for a few close friends. One of these friends was Andy Johns, a famous record producer who Steve Plunkett had met while helping singer Joe Cerisano produce Silver Condor's second album Trouble At Home. Johns invited the band to re-record and upgrade those demos at the world-famous Record Plant Studios for free under his guidance. Keni Richards then played the demo for Roth, who subsequently invited the band to open for Van Halen on their 1984 tour. The band rose to prominence opening for Van Halen, ultimately playing 48 shows, an act of distinction for an unsigned band. Due to their rising popularity, Autograph soon signed a contract with RCA Records following a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City in late 1984.

The band's debut album, Sign In Please, was completed and released in October of that year, but did not make an appearance on any record charts until January 1985. The album contains the band's only major hit and now signature song, "Turn Up the Radio." The song itself was one of the last ones recorded for the album, and the band members were initially very lukewarm toward it. However, the tune would become a top-30 hit, pushing album sales past the gold album mark (500,000 copies sold). The album later went platinum. The song was featured in an episode of "Miami Vice" (entitled "Little Prince") and was also leased out to numerous other films, even further elevating the song's popularity. Lynch's guitar work in "Turn Up The Radio", featuring a distinctive two-handed, fretboard-tapping technique, won him the "Guitar Solo of the Year" award from Guitar Player magazine in 1985.

"Send Her to Me" was released as a follow-up single, though its success paled in comparison to the massive first hit. Other songs from the Sign in Please album, "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me" and "Deep End," along with "Take No Prisoners," which would soon appear on the band's follow-up album, were featured in the 1985 film Secret Admirer, starring C. Thomas Howell, Kelly Preston, Corey Haim, Lori Loughlin and Casey Siemaszko.

The band also recorded a song titled "You Can't Hide From the Beast Inside" for the film Fright Night.

A second album, That's the Stuff, was quickly recorded and released in the fall of 1985, and the group went on tour in support of several other bands, includingMötley Crüe and Heart. Although record sales were disappointing in comparison to their first album, it still achieved near gold status. Supported by the single, "Blondes in Black Cars" and the title track, a minor-hit, it eventually peaked at No. 92 on the Billboard album charts. The band then recorded a song titled "Winning Is Everything" for the film Youngblood.

Autograph recorded a third album which took longer to record than the other two combined. Loud and Clear was released in the spring of 1987. The title song featured a music video with Ozzy Osbourne and Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe as extras. The band also made three appearances on "Headbangers Ball" in support of the album. In October, the band made a cameo in the film Like Father, Like Son, starring Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron. The first song featured was "Dance all Night," which played briefly, and then they performed the song "She Never Looked That Good for Me" for the film, appearing in a brief cameo as themselves. Despite all three of these songs being released as singles, the album was not a big success, mostly due to lackluster support from the label.

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