Winger (album)

Winger
Studio album by Winger
Released	August 10, 1988
Recorded	Atlantic Studios, New York City, 1988
Genre	Glam metal, progressive metal
Length	43:50
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Beau Hill
Winger chronology
Winger (1988) In the Heart of the Young (1990)
Singles from Winger
"Madalaine" / "Higher and Higher" Released: May 1988 "Seventeen" / "Hangin' On" Released: November 1988 "Headed for a Heartbreak" / "State of Emergency" Released: May 1989 "Hungry" / "Poison Angel" Released: September 1989

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Sleaze Roxx	(favorable)[2]
Martin Popoff	[3]

Winger is the debut studio album by the American rock band Winger. The album was released through Atlantic Records in 1988 and was produced by Beau Hill.

The music was radio-friendly, but with a progressive twist. The lyrics, however, were typical of the age and genre.^[1]

A number of radio and video hits were extracted from the album, including "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Seventeen", peaking at No. 19 and No. 26 at the Billboard's single chart. On February 11, 1989, the album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200,^[4] and after that stayed on the chart for 63 weeks.^[4] It achieved platinum status in the United States^[5] and went gold in Canada^[6] and Japan.

The name "Sahara" appears in the lower right hand section of the album cover. The band initially wanted to call themselves "Sahara", but that name was taken by another band at the time. Though they ultimately chose the name Winger, "Sahara" remained on the cover.

In support of the album, Winger toured for over a year with bands like Bad Company, Scorpions, Cinderella, Bon Jovi, Poison, Skid Row and Tesla.

Promotional videos were shot for the four singles "Madalaine", "Seventeen", "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Hungry".

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Madalaine"	Kip Winger, Reb Beach	3:44
2.	"Hungry"	Winger, Beach	3:58
3.	"Seventeen"	Winger, Beach, Beau Hill	4:05
4.	"Without the Night"	Winger, Beach, Paul Taylor	5:04
5.	"Purple Haze"	Jimi Hendrix	3:39

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"State of Emergency"	Winger, Taylor	3:37
7.	"Time to Surrender"	Winger, Beach	4:10
8.	"Poison Angel"	Winger, Beach	3:24
9.	"Hangin' On"	Winger, Beach, Hill	3:35
10.	"Headed for a Heartbreak"	Winger	5:13

CD bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Higher and Higher" (B-side of the "Madalaine" single)	Winger, Beach	3:18

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[7]

Winger

• Kip Winger – lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, string arrangements
• Reb Beach – guitars, vocals
• Paul Taylor – keyboards, vocals
• Rod Morgenstein – drums, vocals

Additional personnel

• Dweezil Zappa – left side guitar solo on "Purple Haze"
• Beau Hill, Ira McLaughlin – additional vocals
• Sandra Park, Rebecca Young, Hae Young Ham, Maria Kitsopoulos – strings

Production

• Beau Hill - producer, engineer
• Noah Baron, Jimmy Hoyson - assistant engineers
• Bob Schwall, Bob Caputo - technicians
• Stephen Benben - digital editing
• Ted Jensen - mastering at Sterling Sound, NYC
• Brad Miskel, Ron Feddor - additional input
• Dan Hubp - cover art and design
• Steven Selikoff - photography

Charts

Album Year Chart Position 1988 Billboard 200 (U.S.)[4] 21 1989 RPM100 (Canada)[8] 96

Singles Year Title Chart Position 1988 "Madalaine" Mainstream Rock (U.S.)[9] 27 1989 "Seventeen" Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.)[9] 26 Mainstream Rock (US)[9] 19 "Headed for a Heartbreak" Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.)[9] 19 Mainstream Rock (U.S.)[9] 8 RPM100 Singles (Canada)[10] 77 "Hungry" Billboard Hot 100 (U.S.)[9] 85 Mainstream Rock (U.S.)[9] 34

Certifications

Country	Organization	Year	Sales
United States	RIAA	1989	Platinum (+ 1,000,000)[5]
Canada	CRIA	1990	Gold (+ 50,000)[6]

References

1. Huey, Steve. "Winger - Winger review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
2. "Winger - Winger". Sleaze Roxx.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
3. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
4. "Winger Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
5. RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Winger. Retrieved on May 2, 2014.
6. "Gold Platinum Search for Winger". Music Canada. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
7. Winger (CD Booklet). Winger. New York: Atlantic Records 7 81867-2. 1988.
8. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 50, No. 5, May 29, 1989". Library and Archives Canada. May 29, 1989. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
9. "Winger Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
10. "Top Singles - Volume 50, No. 15, August 07 1989". Library and Archives Canada. August 7, 1989. Retrieved May 2, 2014.