Happy birthday to singer Joe Elliott who was born on August 1, 1959.
(Photo: Ethan Miller)
Lets Get to know the singer with the wide and so unique range of voice.
1. He was born Joseph Thomas Elliott Jr. In the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England on 1 August 1959.
2. He met guitarist Pete Willis in November 1977 at a bus stop.
3. Willis was then a member of the band "Atomic Mass" and he introduced Joe to the band members, who were immediately enthusiastic about his ideas.
4. Elliott tried to get accepted to "Atomic Mass" as a guitarist, but eventually they got him as a singer. He recalls that the song he played in during the audition was "Lynyrd Skynyrd's" "Free Bird", from beginning to end.
5. He persuaded the band members to change their name to "Deaf Leopard". Elliott invented the name as a teenager.
6. The band's drummer Tony Kenning suggested that they distort the name a bit and call themselves "Def Leppard", in order to differentiate them from bands with names of animals that were active at the time, such as "Boomtown Rats" and "The Flying Lizards".
7. Elliott immediately became an integral part of the band, contributing in songwriting, when he incorporates from all the genres on which he grew up, rock, folk and even pop.
8. Together with "Def Leppard" he has released 12 studio albums to date.
9. He is among the 2 original members of the band, and one of three who have taken part in all of the band's albums since its inception.
10. "Def Leppard" has become one of the best-selling bands in the world with sales of over 100 million albums.
11. It is one of 5 bands that has two studio albums that have sold more than 10 million copies - "Pyromania" and "Hysteria".
12. The band is one of VH1's 100 greatest artists of all time list.
13. In 2019, Elliott and the band members entered the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".
14. Elliott has several collaborations, including the song "Always Wanted More" from Ronnie Wood's fifth solo album which was released in 1992.
15. In 1994, Elliott participated in the song "Don't Look Down" from Mick Ronson's "Heaven and Hull" album.
16. Elliott is also a producer. In 2003, he produced Ricky Warwick's album "Tattoos and Alibis".
17. In parallel to his membership in "Def Leppard", Elliott is a member of other bands, including "Down 'n' Outz", a tribute band that has released four albums to date.
18. He is also a member of the Supergroup "Kings of Chaos" along with Duff McKagan, Gilby Clarke and Matt Sorum, all former "Guns" members. The supergroup hosts many famous artists, such as Glenn Hughes, Slash, Sebastian Bach, Myles Kennedy, Mike Inez, Sammy Hagar, Brian May, Corey Taylor, Joe Perry and many more.
19. Along with his bandmate Phil Collen, he is also part of the band "Cybernauts" which is a tribute band to David Bowie.
20 Joe is not only a singer, he also knows how to play drums, guitar and keyboards.
21. He also hosts a radio show on "Planet Rock" radio every Saturday night.