High Enough

"High Enough" was the first single from Damn Yankees, the supergroup of Jack Blades from Night Ranger, Tommy Shaw from Styx, Ted Nugent, and drummer Michael Cartellone. In a Songfacts interview with Jack Blades, he told the story behind the song: "'High Enough' was about how you love someone so much and you just don't want to scare them away. And it's like, do I take the next step? And then she freaks out when you go, 'I love you.' And it's like, 'What!?!? I'm outta here!' And you're, 'Wait a minute! Come back!' But then the girl comes back, because in the bridge it's, (singing) 'The next thing I remember I was running back for more.' You know how you get scared at first when you fall in love, and everybody freaks out, and that can't be right. And then you go, Wait a minute, this is great, let's forget about the past. Can you fly me over yesterday? Can you take me high enough to fly me over yesterday?"

In a Songfacts interview with Ted Nugent, he shared his thoughts on this song: "A masterpiece. Mostly created by Tommy and Jack, my Damn Yankee cohorts who are musical forces to recon with. Geniuses of musical creativity on an adventurous, soulful level. I injected the Detroit guitar into it, and I might have had a couple licks on some of the lyrics, but it was a team effort." "It's about the reciprocity of human relationships," he added. "It's, Can I take you high enough.' 'High Enough' is Jack, Tommy, Michael and my statement that we care about you. Can we reach a higher level of awareness together? It's not about getting high. It's about a higher level of awareness and respect for each other."

Damn Yankees' next single was "Coming of Age," which didn't reach the same heights but also did well on radio and MTV. They released one more album, Don't Tread in 1992, which had another hit, the power ballad "Where You Goin' Now." The band members stayed on good terms and reunited from time to time.