Wanted Man

Ratt invoke the Old West in "Wanted Man," where the become "The Ratt Gang," wanted dead or alive. It's all good fun. "Everybody wants to be a cowboy, right?" lead singer Stephen Pearcy told Songfacts. "That's the whole premise of that."

"Wanted Man," released on Ratt's debut album, Out Of The Cellar, was the follow-up to their hit "Round And Round." By the end of 1984, the album had sold over 2 million copies, eventually selling 3 million. Hair metal was starting to get big, with Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard on the front lines. Ratt didn't much play on pop radio, but they were big on MTV and became a very popular live act.

Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby and lead singer Stephen Pearcy wrote this song with Joey Cristofanilli, a bass player who was in a band called Rough Cutt. Cristofanilli was living with Ratt's other guitarist, Warren DeMartini, in an abandoned building. "I came over one time with Robbin, and we're starting to write, and Joey gives us this riff," Pearcy explained to Songfacts. "We're like, 'Whoa! What is this? We've got to put this in the set.' So, Robbin, myself, and Joey Cristofanilli wrote 'Wanted Man.' It was put together in this abandoned building on Sunset."