Why White Lion Broke Up & Vito Bratta Quit the Group 

Vito was an amazingly talented guitar player. His solos so tasteful and his sound was so crisp and warm.

One of the best Guitarplayers ever.

I believe the part about the label rep telling Vito, “Do you know what your problem is? You play too good. You need to start playing sloppy, because that’s what kids are into these days.” This was exactly what I felt about the grunge movement. I like Vito’s response with, “You want me to suck?” 😂 They didn’t lie about Vito being too good though. 🎸🤘🏼👍

I'd put Vito in my top 3 of guitar players in his genre. Unbelievable tone. So clean.

I loved them so much in high school. Still love much of their music, especially "Wait" and "Lights and Thunder."

I had a poster of Vito on my wall when I was a kid growing up in Mangalore, India where access to good music in the 80's was heavily relied on people returning from abroad and old copies of guitar world magazine that made rounds from house to house . miss those days and seriously miss Vito's flawless guitar work.

White Lion are amazing. 😀👍🦁🎸🤘

I saw White Lion open for AC/DC back in 1988; I am SO glad I was able to see Vito play live!

Lady of the Valley is a killer tune

When I was a kid I loved hearing the guitar in White Lion. A neighbor kid was older. In Highschool and he played guitar. I was trying to figure explain to him what I liked about the guitars in White Lions album. He laughed at me and told me what I liked was called "tone". Weird memory but as I now play guitar I guess it stuck in my head. The day I learned what tone is. Im very proud of my tone when I play. Thnks Vito

Seen them open up for acdc in Vancouver, in 88,the crowd was vicious that night, booed there whole show,and chanted acdc,felt bad for them

Being jaded and stubborn really ruined Vito. Seeing how the mid and late 90's etc were SO good to the 80's bands in the summer tour scene, it's a shame how White Lion was not in any of that. I saw group tours with Ratt, Skid Row/Poison and Firehouse all on the same bill. Vito was an amazing talent and there are people STILL trying to cover his work, which is a benchmark for a lot of players.

Oh wow i used to love white lion i really was into big haired bands in the 80s ..😅

I used to see them back in the 90s at L'Amour East in NYC. Vito would hang out at the bar so it was easy to talk to him but I never did because I felt he needed space. Also saw Yngwie there a couple of time. Great memories.

Love White Lion - fan since 1989. Check Mike Tramp’s Songs of White Lion Volume 1. The Guitarrist Marcus got Vito’s blessing to record his solos..

To bad Vito disappeared. I think he was maybe the best guitar player of our time. His musicality and melodic sense is unmatched.

Warfighter? It's called "Little Fighter". Also, you should check out Mike Tramp's "Songs of White Lion" album that just came out in 2023.

I saw them on their final tour in RI and it was clear that Mike and Vito did not like each other. It was sad to see

He had that quality that only a few guitarists have - that the solo is as good and as catchy as the melody hook. Neill Schol, Brian May, a few of Slash's solos and a few of Joe Perry's. The list is VERY short.

I mean... there was a time when 'sloppy' playing was more popular and record labels are gonna try to promote what's popular so they make money. That said, record labels are absolutely not required anymore. There's nothing stopping a group from promoting themselves and becoming hugely successful without even having to deal with all the label's rules etc. RU-vid alone has made some artists famous.

Well, at least they seemingly did well with their money. We can give them that

Where is vitto.... 😢😢

He was the Band.

7:38 Is the man standing on the far left Vito Bratta?

Little Fighter

When I was first getting into metal, I heard When the Children Cry on the radio. Not a bad ballad. Bought the casette for Big Game when it first came out. Absolute shite in my opinion. Very generic, uninspired "girls and glam" hair metal. Motley Crue did it infinitely better, and later Skid Row did something even more amazing.

Spoiler alert.....NIRVANA.

Vito is such an amazing virtuoso...too bad this was ruined by Mike Tramps terrible vocals.

Love this story but damn I hate this guys voice~

crap bad they had 1 good song

With all this "Talent" why did their music suck so bad?

they sucked. the end.

My son asked me the other day what bands I wish I could see. Skid Row with Sebastian Bach and White Lion with Vito Bratta where my top 2 answers.

I saw them open for someone...maybe Lynch Mob or Don Dokken's solo act. There was a hottie right up against the fence in front of stage. She apparently had a thing for the singer, 'cause when White Lion took the stage, she pull her panties off right out from her mini skirt and threw it at him. He panties actually hit the singer square in the chest, but he acted like he didn't notice and they started their first song. I was 18 years old. I can remember that scene like it was yesterday.

So sad. VITO is awesome. As a guitar player VITO is greatly missed

So much you don't know. By the way the song is called Little Fighter. Not War Fighter.

White Lion became famous in the Phillipines for hit ballads "YOU'RE ALL I NEED" and "TILL DEATH DO US PART" both from Maine Attraction album.. both songs are hits in the Phillipines and still receive airplays...

James Lomenzo is a road dog. He's out with Megadeth currently but has been a touring member of so many bands. Really underrated.

I am continually impressed with the content on this channel. White Lion were unfairly lumped in with many of the "glam metal" trends of the time; the band had far more depth than many of those groups, as you stated. Vito Bratta in particular is a ridiculously talented musician. There was a recent interview in Guitar World where he claims that he had auditioned for both Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss prior to joining White Lion, which isn't surprising.

WL could make a ton of money if they’d reunite. Bratta is a legend among guitarists.

Fav band ! Edit: the song about the sinking of the green peace boat is "Little fighter" not "warfighter", great video as always !

Vito Bratta lived around the Block from My girlfriend's house on Staten Island it was his childhood home. His little brother would come over all the time

Vito has set himself up perfectly to essentially print himself money if he ever wanted to start playing guitar again in public. This man cannot play a bad sounding note on the guitar if he tried. And the rhythm section probably was the best in the industry in the late 80's-- White lion has a ton or European demos on Spotify of basically all of their old stuff and the band was a lot tighter than people imagine. As a band they were certainly better musicians than most anyone else in that scene in the 80's and that says a lot. Really a rock band in a hair metal scene.

Couple good albums. I liked em. They could play!

Great Vlog, it you are missing the inner story of the greatest bassist in to ever play a guitar 🎸. Look up Dave “The Beast” Spitz, he was in White Lion and left to be the bassist in Black Sabbath. Dave’s leaving started the downfall of White Lion. The Beast is an attorney in South Florida now.

It's interesting that James LoMenzo has actually become the most successful member of White Lion in the end. He's a beast on bass. Mike Tramp is a good guy and a very good Rock singer, but not very smart with money. Vito Bratta was an AMAZING guitarist and VERY smart with money, but he's an asshole. Good video overall.

I remember a budding guitar god Vito on all of the guitar mags.

Vito Bratta & Steve Perry seem to be 2 peas in a pod. Two Unbelievable Talents that are overly sensative, anti-social and seem to be scared of their own shadows. I believe they just want to leave their legacies the way they were.

Like another poster said - James Lomenzo is a road warrior. After White Lion, Lomenzo took the bass slot in ACE FREHLEY'S band in 1992! Ace Frehley, Lomenzo of White Lion on bass, drums - Sandy Slavin of Riot, and the great Ritchie Scarlet on rhythm guitar/vocals.

Too many white bands. Whitesnake, White Lion and Great White.

White Lion were different lyrically and guitaristically.

I caught White Lion on tour with Stryper... I had always wondered what happened to Vito. Thanks for the info.

he's one of those guitarists that are easy to recognize, his tone, technique and melodies are so unique and ear soothing...hope he comes back some day, at least with some solo album😢

White Lion had to "wait" for fame. Well played. ;)

I always thought Vito could play guitar like EVH or close imo !

Vito Bratta said that he doesn't even play the guitar anymore in an interview that I heard. I believe that Eddie Trunk was conducting the interview. I heard it right here on RU-vid. It's a shame, because Vito is one of my favorite guitarist of all time. By the way, awesome video brother. YAH bless!!!

Wait and when the children cry are my favorite song from white lion

Vito doesn't have to get a band, go into a studio, record an album and tour. But if he uploaded a 5 minute video once or twice a month of himself just noodling on guitar in his house, that would be enough to satisfy us fans. It's a shame we'll never see Jason Becker play guitar again because he can't move a muscle in his body. But it's an even bigger shame that we'll never see Vito Bratta play guitar again.......because he doesn't want to.

One of the best guitarist, Vito's one of my influences. Little fighter and most of his guitar solos are a masterpieces! I love White lion...

I still a WhiteLion 7 inch of When The Children Cry, I won at my small town Australian primary school Fete when I was about 10 years old.

Vito, the one that got away! Oh the good things we could have heard. I get why he left, I just feel cheated with the missing music that could have come from his talents.

VITO WOULD BE A NICE FIT IN VAN HALEN??

My favourite band.

If Vito left music, why be so axle over the name? Let Tramp carry the torch mang.

My personal favourite (living) guitarist. I wish he had never left the music scene, but he is right for "hating the music industry" and at the end of the day, family comes first. Vito chose correctly... family over fame. Bless him.

Hey Rock N' Roll True Stories, when will you do a episode of whatever happened to White Snake?

Well , White Lion just split up. You can't change history. Such a shame.

I don't get all the comparisons of Vito to Eddie Van halen. The two sound and play nothing alike an both are amazing! Vito very much has his own style

I love those White Lion albums, and still listen to their music today. Vito is mythical, like an enigma in the guitar world. I found it unusual that James LoMenzo now plays in Megadeth, another band I love but are worlds away from White Lion's sound.

A lot of young guitar players all over internet playing his solos

Vito 10 out of 10 for talent, but 2 out of 10 for drive.

Awesome band and Vito Bratta is a legend!

I saw Great White Lion Snake open for Great White Lion Snake in 1989.

vito was the greatest!!!

in the 80s the heavy metal scene was full of unethical players so could totally understand why Vito wanted out. He was one of the best guitarist around, he was definitely up there with Van Halen and could he have hit the highest level if he decided to stick around. If he's happy then that's what is most important. I think Mike Tramp has a great look but was overrated as a singer.

Manikin was a great band and I always wondered why they didn't get signed. Now I know the reason

White Lion was an amazing band. Every album and track is excellent. The way they looked and dressed had nothing to do with their stellar writing and musicianship. Also excellent production value. White Lion withstands the test of time 🎶

"Lumped in with the glam metal scene". I think them being a glam metal band probably had a lot to do with that.

What’s with the video footage of Cheep Trick at the end?

HA ! That's also what happened to us, SLAM CORPS ! We did a show with the then all Punk Rock band The Goo Goo Dolls and a record producer came up to me saying that he'd heard all about us and flew here to Erie,Pa. to check us out. We got so damned excited and John,Philth and Tommy G. got drunk while Tommy T and I got stoned and after The Goo Goo Dolls,whom sounded awesome to me with their Punk Rock originals got off the area which was not a stage because the floor was flat so when a pit started then you and your equipment might get damaged, anyways because we got so excited and wasted we all kept messing up and when our set was done the guy walked towards me and passed me walking up to the Dolls singer and signed them instead. I was so broken hearted that we never got wasted before a performance ever again !

I gotta say Vito is a great player but his solos just don’t click with me for whatever reason. They’re kinda all over the place but not in a good way like EVH. Again, super talented guy

I respect vito's decision to leave the music industry for good. He needs to be where he is in his life.

I meet Vito in 1990 on Sunset Blvd at 2 am in LA

They ARE WAAAAAAYYYY BETTER THAN burnt jovi and motley screwed.

I did both of those tours I saw Aerosmith white line in Biloxi Mississippi, and white line stole the show. Steven Taylor was a joke. Tyler was a joke. AC/DC show show New Orleans man. It was also in both groups today Aerosmith was one of the worst of the 300 concerts I ever saw.

That sucks, Vito was one of the best if not the best new kid on the block guitarist. He could hang with EVH, Jake E Lee, Randy Rhoades. Guy was friggin phenomenal. It's a sin he bowed out.

Shame, great band. I miss them. Big game and mane attraction were really good albums. I think their mamanagement messed them up by not booking them to tour with similar bands.

I love this band, i them more than Bon Jovi.

Someone please tell me I'm wrong, but didn't Vito leave to help his aging and sickened father? I know everything isn't true in the internet.

Damn shame he didn't release something solo. I would have got it. Play sloppy, yep, and then they wonder why nobody is making anything that you actually want to hear again.

Personally, I always thought Vito was better than EVH.

I think Vito did it the right way. It’s good to know when the party’s over and move on. Sounds like he moved on to more good things!

He was a great musician. He should have kept it up .

Mike was the weak link in that band. I’ve seen WL many times back in the day and Mike can’t sing live.

Its ashame to not have a band like this together. Even if they just did a few shows here and there.

The song is not War Fighter it’s Little Fighter.

Vito was far more talented than the rest of the group.

White Lion.

one of the dumbest names for a band in history. makes me think of dudes and baby oil

Way too good for White Lion.