Remembering the Guitar Solos of Vito Bratta, from White Lion
While most may remember the 80’s band White Lion for their hit song When the Children Cry, the songs I favor are a bit more upbeat.
I remember first hearing/seeing Wait on MTV. It’s a very specific, visceral memory, seeing the duotone video and a quick zoom/closeup, before shifting into color.
The lesser known songs of theirs that I like are Little Fighter and Tell Me.
But here’s the weird thing for me. Normally, I’ll fixate on a song and just listen to it over and over again. But lately? For the last few weeks? I’ve fixated on guitarist Vito Bratta’s guitar solos from these songs.
It’s not that I listen to only the solos. I’ve still been looping the songs. But the solos are what echo in my ears, at random hours, even when I don’t have my headphones in. I’ll be doing the dishes, and suddenly one of his solos just starts playing in my head.
Here’s the solo from “Wait”
The solo from “Tell Me”
Of them all though, my favorite solo of Bratta’s is from the song “Little Fighter” (a song about the Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior).
While he was definitely influenced by Eddie Van Halen’s finger-tapping, when I think of Bratta’s solos I think of the huge jumps that are made between notes. And with this solo in particular I think it’s those jumps, in combination with the key changes, that keep my ear so entertained.
For a closer look at the solo, check out a closer look at how it’s done via Ben Eller:
There’s not a lot about Bratta’s life, after the band. I saw somewhere that he suffered an accident and may no longer be playing guitar (which sounds like a terrible fate for a guitarist).
I liked these songs as a kid, growing up. And I never realized just how much they stuck with me. The guitar solos, in particular.
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