Alone Again

This heartbreak power ballad dates back to the mid-70s when lead singer Don Dokken made a 4-track demo of the song, which he put on cassette. He was 23 when he wrote it. Ten years later, Dokken was working on their second album, Tooth And Nail, and their record company requested a ballad, which was de rigueur at the time - Journey did it with "Faithfully" and Night Ranger with "Sister Christian." Instead of writing an entirely new song, Don dug through his cassettes and found his recording of "Alone Again." He and the rest of the band reworked it and recorded it with producer Tom Werman. It did its job, giving Dokken their first Hot 100 entry and helping the album sell over a million copies in America.

Don Dokken sounds seriously anguished in this song, but it couldn't have been that bad because he can't remember who he wrote it about. "People ask me all the time, 'Who did you write it about?'" he told Songfacts. "I don't know. 'Was it about a girlfriend?' I don't know! I just wrote it."

Dokken could pull off a song like this better than most because of their guitarist, George Lynch, who could fill the space after the second chorus with a monster solo. Lynch quickly earned a reputation as a top rock guitarist.