Don Dokken on Money Issues, Drugs, & Mick Brown, "He didn't do s***" - Interview - George Lynch 

Most of you are missing the point. It doesn't matter if you believe Don Dokken wrote all the lyrics, music, etc. He has said over and over, he let it all be a FOUR WAY SPLIT when it comes to the money. It was Don's band. He started it. He brought the others in. How many guys who start bands do that? Split the money like that? Damn few. Most take the writing credits and let the other guys starve. For decades, you heard others in the band point fingers at Don about money, etc. But if it is EQUAL PAY, you really have nothing to say. If you get lucky in life to make money like that, never forget it can stop just as fast. Save it. Invest it. Be smart not stupid.

To be fair, Pilson has been sober over 30+ years and probably has the better head on his shoulders.

Live within your means! Even rock stars should take note of this. I met Don in 1993 at a music conference in Rochester New York. We talked about the music business and he was a great influence to me. He was very humble and down to earth. I’m glad he was smart in his lifestyle decisions.

Very gracious of him, did he tell Mick that when he was still playing in his band? Funny how Don forgot how to write any hit songs after Jeff & George weren’t around anymore.

Wow. You know how to get these guys to open up. Another awesome interview. It's only Rock and Roll, but I like it.

Jeff is in Foreigners and has his own studio. Lynch is always busy. Don’s voice is beyond shot.

Hopefully he moves to France soon.

Nobody evrrcame to a Dokken show to hear Dons lyrics... Don was lucky to have George, and they would never have gone anywhere without him.

This is why admire Don Dokken so much. He's such a simplistic, humble down to earth guy who was passionate about starting a band with his own style of music. He wasn't blinded by the money and fame and squandered what he earned on the high life. You can even see was that type of guy in older interviews when he was much younger. I got such mad respect for the guy.

George Lynch is one of my fave Guitarists🎸🎸🎸🎸

Don just letting loose 😂guys at the age where he simply doesn’t care who he offends or what he says .. that’s rock n roll man hahaha, love Don and George and especially love them both together!! Such a killer band I wish they wouldn’t have broken up after back for the attack , they were at their peaks .

This is really sad of Don to be saying and bragging about material things. Instead of saying, " hey we were really fortunate to have created some good music and memories ". Don you may have bigger houses and more money, but you don't seem happy and always want to bash Jeff, Mick and George. Yes, Jeff, Mick and George are no angels and have made their fair share of mistakes, I just feel they always come off in interviews as being happier. Don I appreciate the music you, Jeff, Mick and George created. Don, stop getting sucked into the questions that lead you into bashing your former bandmates ... give it a rest. I'm sure I speak for many Dokken fans.

The only reason Don can say Mick didn't write anything is the antiquated law that says drum beats aren't songwriting. What would "Don't Close Your Eyes" be without the awesome drum part Mick came up with?

$20,000 in the 1980’s was a lot of money! My parents bought their house in 1983 for $20,000. A nice small town in upstate New York. Back in the 1980’s, it was a great and inexpensive place to live. No crime, no traffic, very low taxes and houses were cheap compared to the rest of the country.

For someone doing so well, he sure is grumpy!!

Your interviews are the best

Don when you played monsters of rock you were high as a kite i remember it clearly because i postponed my heart surgery .. to see this show what we do to see a show at 16years old

If you're happy with your blessings than don't ruin the sentiment by going on about them and their past mistakes. Just enjoy your life . The dokken drama continues to drone on. Its sad hearing 70yr men who haven't played together for year's continue to take swipes at eachother. For what? Relevance? Kiss does the same thing. Thanks for up from the ashes don, don't need the drama

Thanks again

Another great Interview

Mick is a great drummer! And He provided excellent backing vocals. His lead vocals on 'crazy mary' was awesome!

Fantastic interview 🤩🤩🤩

_"I wrote the whole record."_ I'm not buying that. Without George Lynch I wouldn't have listened. I still listen to George Lynch and have no idea what Don Dokken is up to.

Sometimes the truth hurts....just because it sounds angry and spiteful doesn't mean it isnt the truth and that he has some valid points

Don owned real estate in Manhattan Beach before the real estate boom. That's enough right there to make you a multi-millionaire. That's all you need to know.

Don’t hold back, Don! 😂

And it continues...Don is all about Don. Don's a great songwriter...He'll tell you so himself. I just don't get the constant self-aggrandizement. Dimming other lights doesn't make yours shine any brighter. Said another, tearing other people down, doesn't make you look good.

I think Don must be referring to the song lyrics. There’s no way he wrote the guitar parts like “Kiss of Death” or “Mr. Scarey”. You can tell George’s signature style.

Mick seemed to add nice harmonies with Jeff on every song and I didn't hear anything comparable from the current lineup of Dokken when I saw them last summer.

George stated at a guitar clinic I was at in 2007 that he and Jeff were the main songwriters in Dokken. I hear all of those flatted 5th riffs and I know that Don didn't write them. George eluded to Jeff being an equal to him as a songwriter in Dokken. He said that Don did write, just not nearly as much as Jeff and himself.

I wasn’t there so I didn’t know shit but when I listen to Don Dokken 1990 I believe Don. That fucking album is incredible.

Get off my lawn! Haha. No, he does have some valid points. Bloom, you barely had to say a word thats how good you are!

Here's the deal, unless you play every instrument on your albums you NEED the other musicians. You can write all the "hit" songs you want but if they don't get played and recorded they aint hits. Don Dokken needed the other 3 just as much as they needed him which is why a 4 way split is fair.

Maybe this guy can spare a little cash from that fortune he spent 5 minutes describing to buy some humility. Man, if I were in a band with this dude, might be driven to drink and do drugs too.

In 86-87 I remember hearing Dokken was WAY into cocaine. Every band who had any degree of success was probably doing it too, but to hear one band was REALLY into it, you know they had to be snorting tons of cash right up their noses.

wow, he sounds really...superior. good for you man. keep telling us about your 17 acres in NM. That's awsum.

Preach it Don

I see now why in the last interview I read with George Lynch he said “I think the Lynch Mob & Dokken tour has run it’s course.” No one would stay to see the current Dokken line up if it wasn’t for George coming out and playing the last three songs of the night with them.

Sounds like he is minimalising George lynched contribution... If do wrote the guitar solos, then how come he never reproduced the sound of back for the attack in forty years? In those days rock music was heavily reliant on the guitarist being amazing and George wrote those astonishing solos...

I still remember getting under lock n key in 85 badass

Don is embelishing a bit. I know for a fact that George's and Mick's houses in Phoenix weren't mansions and were no where near $700k back in the day. Just looking now, Zillow says George's house is worth $843k and Mick's is worth $666k. I used to hang out at Mick's often. Great guy! He wasn't doing coke at the time but I heard he did in the past. My drummer lived up the street from Mick and he used to come up and jam with us from time to time. I never got to jam with George. As a guitar player I would have been in HEAVEN. He was one of my idols. It was still nice knowing him. I thought George was a good guy too.

Don is the man!

Interesting but I’d like to hear George’s version. I interviewed them and don refused to participate and the rest of the band ridiculed him for being a prima Donna. Coke definitely sucks especially for the odd man out but as is the case for most great bands they wouldn’t have made it without the original lineups. Watch 1987 dokken Philadelphia footage for proof,it’s called chemistry.same goes for vh,Crue,sabbath and a dozen others especially from the la scene

I saw the Don Dokken lineup for the Up From the Ashes tour. He told the crowd he was sick because he was sober, and while he was on drugs he never got sick.

Hey!!! I got good at singing the FULL IN BLOOM 😁 song 😄

Don for the most part is full of it. Watch old interviews with him and he would say he was wasted all the time. Maybe he wasn't all coked up but he was not sober by any means. Don thinks way too highly of himself and should learn some humility. George's playing and Jeff's all around talent were just as important as he was. Mick was probably the least important but that doesn't lower his value in any fashion. Don can have all the money he wants but he's old and fat and can barely get around. Blow your money while you're young and enjoy yourself. When you're old like most of us commenting you don't need as much other than something small, warm, and comfortable. Don is truly embarrassing himself at this point. He should try growing up at some time in his life. This is coming from a lifelong fan who has every album.

Don is the man

Can you imagine the heating costs on a 700K mansion? Don had it right. Live comfortably, but not frivolous.

WOW!

Those guys bitch and moan, but they couldn't manage their money. Whoohoo, wild rock star party life, well, now they blame Don, but Don had the sense to hold on to what he made. I like Don Dokken, i wish him well.

wow I lived in Hermosa Beach

Interesting to hear Don going off again. I thought he had mellowed and moved on. He had been on tour with George last year. I know a reunion was probably not happening but this definitely sounds like it's over between all of them. Too bad.

Is the full interview out yet?

My first wife in the 80s and I formed a band…..at every paying gig…we immediately got half!!!! It was great!!

Don Dokken is the one who is professional and astute with his finances and lifestyle choice/

I agree with Dokken on the investment portion of his comments. It's always good to invest and save money in life. I've recently discovered this The last 5 years myself and I'm doing much better in life because of it. The part I can't completely agree with is him running the part I can't completely agree with is him writing every song on the older albums of Dokken. The 1990 solo album proves it. That album sounds completely different from the original albums. I happen to like that album a lot but most Dokken fans don't seem to. Either way I'm glad that Don did well and invested right in life. This is something very few people accomplish.

Wow..

when was this recorded?

I have to admit This Don and the guys feuding is humorous and entertaining. If this is true, Money talks and bull shit walks. ha

Funny….. it takes personalities in a band to make a “sound”…… that was really nice of Don to split everything equally…..

Son is just pissed that Mick has retired and is not returning anyone’s calls anymore. Mick was with him over 30 years.

Rock n Roll in the 2000s! It’s all about the size of your … house!

That's Uncle Don.

I am in camp Don, 90% of the way of getting rich is not pissing your money away in the first place. It’s amazing how much you can make by just investing a reasonable amount of money. I suspect most wealthy people you come across, 5% Maybe 10% of the money they have was made by them. The other 90% is just investment growth.

I don't think George is destitute, He made money from his deal with ESP and I am guessing he still has it and Jeff is very busy in the music biz. The drummer dude is probably the only one hurting.

Brag all you want Don....It only appeals to people not worth appealing to.

According to these Net Worth's online...Don is worth about $10M. Lynch and Pilson worth about $5M....but Mick who "never did shit" is suggests is worth $12M!!! So, there you go and Mick is worth more than Don!! (now let's watch his head explode)!! lol

In copyright law, you can copyright only lyrics and the melody that accompanies the lyrics. Nothing beyond lyrics and melody can be copyrighted. That includes guitar riffs, bass lines, signature drum parts, song arrangement, even the song title. So when Don says he “wrote” 90% of the album, he’s referring specifically to lyrics and melody. That is to say that no one other than the writer of the lyrics and melody is legally entitled to royalty payments. The other players typically get a check for their performance on the recording, like getting paid for playing a gig. That an owner of the copyrights, like Don, would include those who did not contribute to lyrics and melody is strictly an act of graciousness, as the others have no entitlement in the law to any writing credits or royalty payments.

George’s playing is the reason I started listening to Dokken. It wasn’t for Dons cheesy lyrics.

Drummer and writing credits for one huge huge record that he made and probably to this day saved his life money wise!!. Steven adler and Appetite for destruction....everyone

I think what happened is that Don wrote a lot of big songs for the band and thought that he was the reason the band was successful. But George and Jeff also wrote some great stuff, so when Don wanted to renegotiate the contract where he got most of the money, George got pissed off and couldn't continue. But grunge would ruin an future Dokken so they probably would have broken up no matter what.

I thought they were getting along! Leave the past in the past. That's what they said.. And now here is Don Dokken talking crap about his band mates, again. Whatever they do with their share of the money is their business! Great that Don spent his money wisely but he should not criticize in public of how the others spent their share. You just don't do that! He then speaks about the drug use.. What 80's band didn't do drugs? Great that he didn't touch coke but why smear his band talking as if he's.the All Mighty? My band smoked weed. A lot of weed. I don't go about telling everyone that they were major potheads and couldn't get their heads out the cloud! Lastly, Don wrote most of the lyric, yes. But he didn't write all of the music. He didn't grab George's guitar and say, "I want you to play like this..." and he surely didn't show George how to play the In my Dreams solo, or The Hunter or Kiss of Death or whatever. THEY WERE A BAND! A damn great band! But he is talking as if it was all him and Jeff, George & Mick were just throw away session musicians (no offense to session musicians). If 1 were them,, i'd call Don and say, "Don.. what are you doing? Why are you talking like that?" - sorry for the long reply.

Net Worth (as of 2023): Don Dokken ~ 6 million George Lynch ~ 5 million King Diamond ~ smokes both their asses with 20 million 😂

Visualizing George choking Don in a limo after a Monsters of Rock show in the 80's still seems pretty easy.

A lot of these band disputes suck, simply because a lot of the members were so busy partying, they didnt realize it wasnt gonna last forever. Their mentality was " today is ready cash, tomorrow,,,,who cares". If Don truly is like he's claiming, good for him, most rock stars squander everything and then blame each other when it all goes to hell. Either way, they should get the original band back together for a tour. Jeff Pilson is very active in music, i dont what Mick is doing, but one more tour with the og band

Oh WOW! Don is RICH! I am soooo impressed! He is SOOOOO COOL! (sarcasm off) I get it. He was SMART! GOOD FOR HIM! Other people however...they play it the way they feel AT THE TIME. That is JUST HOW THEY ARE! Some people have to live for the NOW. Other people like Don can live for the FUTURE.

Ok Mr. Real Estate, how are you even paying property taxes on all your mansions, while doing the small club circuit? The capital gains alone, would set this fool back hundreds of thousands? At least those guys had fun with their money! 😂

He doesn’t need five bedrooms but he needs a house in Beverly Hills, 17 Acres in New Mexico and a place in France 🤔 Make that make sense. I totally agree with the not buying ridiculous sh!t you don’t need. But he contradicted himself in the same sentence. Either way Dokken is still one of the best from that time and their music aged better than most of their peers.

Don you had a great voice but the fact you had a generational guitar stud, certainly helped the band.

Don was very generous to the guys if what he saying is true!! I like how just speaks his mind & doesn't give a rats ass what people think. I would of love to be in Mick Browns shoes.. To bad he squandered most of his earnings. Having something to show for all your efforts when you get older is important ...It was the decade of decadance after all....Some musicians were more discipline & responsible than others!

How about you say "don't leave me so lonely" omg that's hilarious.

Ouch lol!!!

Boy , what you can learn from RU-vid that you never knew before.👍🏻

I love all the Dokken(original) guys but Don seemed to be the most fair and reasonable and gave the other 3 more than they earned although he did most of the work.

Will it ever end with these guys? It's like they're 12 year olds.

I’d say Jeff did pretty well for himself - on the outside looking in. A steady gig with Foreigner - and they’ve been very active over the last 10 yrs. The crazy thing is : years ago , it seemed like (according to the interviews w/George) that Don was the “problem” , but as time has moved on , it kinda seems like George is the one with personality issues …???? I don’t know - at the very least , you could say they should all be thankful they had their “time” - there’s untold numbers of people who tried to pursue the same dream , and never had 1/10th the success Doken had.

If it's true that everything was split 4 ways, and that's what everyone signed off on then I don't think there would be any point of contention on the matter.

So he wrote the lyrics. The other 3 wrote pretty much all the music, which was Dokken's strength..

I believe this. These drummers like mick and blotzer didn't do squat and pissed away their moola. It's amazing.

If he has what he says he does, and it was a 4 way split, I BELIEVE IT. Dokken was making bank. They weren't making Ratt or Motley bank, so SOMEBODY was wasting money. Seems to me Don doesn't have to hustle like George or Jeff. I understand that Mick has retired, and good for him. I can't believe people don't learn lessons from others who have lost big in the music biz. Glad Don learned.

Most people don’t know dokken management in 80s is who manages Metallica. And management told them things were normal clothes jeans and rock out they said no and no dokken for the videos get laughed at. I love dokken always have. Great band and great songs and don dokken is class act dude.

When you look at all of their individual net worth, they're relatively the same, except for Mick's which is a bit higher than the rest of the band.

Sounds like Dons gettin BORED out there in Santa Fe 😂! He might not have done Coke but he Drank! I never hung out with him but I knew people down the street from me who did! He’s either bored or angry he had to sell his Bikes! (Trust me I sold off mine and im bored too)! I do happen to believe what he’s saying though. I live in AZ and the only time real estate was ever lucrative was a few years back in 2021. Much love Don. Love the new album.

How bout Don on vocal issues? Lets see that video.

Interesting... What he said about Mick is probably right. But, George and Jeff are actually doing very well outside of Dokken. Jeff has done good for himself in Foreigner and the other projects he is in and produced. George is doing well too, he's in so many projects with great musicians and making great music, plus the guitar equipment he has made: guitars, ESP paid endorsements, and amp modulators and effects with his name on the product. George does have a home in AZ but then also has a place in NM too. Regarding Don, I can say it is here because Jeff mentioned it on an interview so it's now public. While Don has sort of lightly continued to sully the guys for doing coke time and time again, Jeff said Don never mentions his addiction to pain pills and alcohol. Jeff is entirely correct 100%. This has been happening before Don had the botched surgery on his nerves in his back. To be fair, the other guys have never, until Jeff recently, ever responded to Don's continued accusations of cocaine usage or tried to disparage Don. Yes, Don has done well for himself and was more mature and smarter with his money. One might argue not so much as giving them all a 4 say split, but that goes to Don's generosity as a great human being. What isn't mentioned is the health each of them have outside of money and owning things. If you don't have your health, money or things can't buy it back. Who appears to be taking care of themselves, you all ask that to yourselves? Bottom line, those 4 guys had a chemistry and pumped out some of the best music ever made. But they also had a volatile side as well. Now that they are all wiser and get along, its sad they can't do one more record, due to Mick's retirement in totality and Don's voice and his various health issues. But I wished Don could see the chemistry they had, the amazing music they made with each person in that band. It wouldn't have sounded the same if Don had another guitarist, if he had another bassist if he had gotten another drummer. There's no arguing Don's abilities as a song writer, I mean, just look at his Up From the Ashes album after Dokken. It was and is still an amazing work of art! Sadly at a time the industry was changing and the record label wouldn't support it and he had to label it Don Dokken instead of Dokken. In the end, they're all doing well. Don's last record is out and he's done after this. Jeff is still going strong and has a new project with George out "The End Machine", old project, new album. George retiring Lynch Mob but still busy as ever with his various projects.

To georges credit the man has recorded some fantastic music post dokken i mean lynch mob, kxm lynch pilson his solo albums sweet and lynch. Don still writes the same type of songs which still good but the same as if its the 80s. Don who cares what you own or what you did its over the other band members have moved on.

The Bragging King!!!

Don did blow too...I've seen him do it !

My guess is that George made a comment about Don’s money on tour and that set him off again. Too bad. Their management shouldn’t let them talk.

Oh, Don...lmao 😂