Biography

This San Francisco, California, USA-based band formed in 1972 as Yesterday And Today, but David Meniketti (vocals, lead guitar), Joey Alves (rhythm guitar), Phil Kennemore (bass, vocals) and Leonard Haze (drums) failed to make any real impact until they released Earthshaker as Y&T. Earthshaker was a classic hard rock record built on a blistering guitar barrage, Haze's thunderous rhythms and a superb collection of songs, catapulting the band into the public eye, but it also proved to be something of an albatross around the collective Y&T neck. Black Tiger was excellent, but subsequent records failed to maintain the standards set on Earthshaker. The Open Fire live set stopped the rot, and Down For The Count signalled a return to form, albeit in a more commercial direction. "Summertime Girls" was picked up by US radio, but a disenchanted Y&T split with both their record label and drummer, feeling that Haze's image left a lot to be desired. Jimmy DeGrasso made his drumming debut on Contagious and Stef Burns replaced Alves for Ten, which were both credible hard rock albums, but the band's fortunes were waning and Y&T split in late 1990, with Burns moving on to Alice Cooper's band, DeGrasso joining White Lion and then Suicidal Tendencies, and Meniketti working with Peter Frampton. A brief Y&T reunion led to two new studio albums. Meniketti then embarked on a solo career, releasing On The Blue Side in 1999.
DISCOGRAPHY: as Yesterday And Today Yesterday And Today (London 1976)**, as Yesterday And Today Struck Down (London 1978)**, Earthshaker (A&M 1981)****, Black Tiger (A&M 1983)***, Mean Streak (A&M 1983)**, In Rock We Trust (A&M 1984)**, Open Fire (Live) (A&M 1985)***, Down For The Count (A&M 1985)***, Contagious (Geffen 1987)***, Ten (Geffen 1990)***, Yesterday & Today Live (Metal Blade 1991)**, Musically Incorrect (Music For Nations 1995)**, Endangered Species (Music For Nations 1997)**, Live On The Friday Rock Show 1984 recording (Strange Fruit 1998)***.
COMPILATIONS: Forever (A&M 1987)***, Anthology (Castle 1989)***, Best Of '81 To '85 (A&M 1990)****, Ultimate Collection (Hip-O 2001)***.

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