for many people janie lane was the
ultimate hair metal front man
in an era full of pretty leather-clad
lead singers
he stood out only to slowly decline as
hair metal faded in popularity
this is the tragic real-life story of
warrants janie lane
janie lane's controversies started from
the moment he was born in akron ohio in
1964
when his parents named him john kennedy
oswald
according to his 2011 self-penned
autobiography page
his parents were huge john f kennedy
fans
and didn't realize the significance of
having the same last
name as kennedy's assassin lee harvey
oswald
they soon realized their mistake and
changed their son's name to john patrick
oswald
he started playing drums at age six and
claims to have started playing in clubs
by age
11 using the stage name mitch dynamite
at 12 he got a guitar and started
writing songs
which he would do for the rest of his
life for a 2011 interview with scab
pickers magazine
he and some friends moved to florida
after high school and played in a cover
band called dorian gray
in 1985 they made their way to hollywood
and started a glam punk band
playing jane with janie as lead singer
because he spelled johnny as j-a-n-i
people assumed the man from playing jane
was
janie lane and he stuck with it as a
stage name
plain chain opened for bands like guns
and roses but wasn't well received
glam punk was out glam metal was in and
bands like poison and warrants were
getting all of the attention
just as he was planning on moving back
to florida he and drummer steve sweet
were invited to join warrant according
to his 2011
scab pickers interview janie lane joined
warrant as a quote
total sellout he went on to tell the
interviewer this
plain jane was not getting paid we are
not getting laid we got to do something
else
warrant was already a popular sunset
strip draw
but when it came to getting a record
deal the band had little success
and since bands like poison were walking
the mtv video music awards red carpet in
tuxedos
warrant wanted to follow suit in one of
the more bizarre musical relationships
of the 1980s
a manager introduced warrant to prince
who gave them seven
thousand dollars to record a demo for
possible distribution
via prince's label paisley park
according to lane
prince's response was uninterested in
the songs but gave the band his blessing
to try and use the demos elsewhere
one of the demos the song game of war
ended up on the 1989 soundtrack album to
the movie bill and ted's excellent
adventure
but warrant remained unsigned and lane
considered moving back to florida
months later manager tom hullett then
known for his work with classic rock
bands like the moody blues and three dog
knights
went looking for a hair metal band to
sign at the recommendation of doc mcgee
famous for making stars out of bon jovi
and motley crew hallett took mcgee's
advice and signed warrant to cbs
columbia records
warrant released their first album dirty
rotten filthy stinking rich
in january 1989. it was a hit eventually
peaking at number 10 on the billboard
top 200 chart
it also went multi-platinum selling 2
million copies
while the live long form video featuring
concert performances of the album songs
sold an additional 100 000 copies
it makes sense that they were so
successful in both audio and video
formats because their sound and look
was very much indicative of late 80s
hair metal which was extremely popular
at the time
warrant further encapsulated the spirit
of hair metal by releasing not one but
two sentimental power ballads sometimes
she cries
and heaven the latter a fan favorite
left over from playing
jane and their highest ever charting hit
reaching number two on the billboard
charts
of course warrant followed up dirty
rotten filthy stinking
rich with an album whose title track was
notoriously over the top and explicit
cherry pie was released on september 11
1990
and was another hit also peaking at
number 10 on billboard's top 200
charting as the 21st biggest album of
1991
and going multi-platinum cherry pie soon
became
warren's signature song the lyrics
include a series of
entendres that can scarcely be called
double while the video featured the
misadventures of a grinning blonde woman
who
is periodically hosed down by the entire
band
via a comically oversized fire hose in
2011
janie lane explained that the song was
actually a last minute addition to the
album
the president of columbia records
reportedly called him and said
janie you know i'm a big aerosmith fan
can you give me
one more track something kitschy and
sexy like loving an elevator
in fact janie once went on record in an
interview with vh1
claiming to quote hate cherry pie
although he eventually recanted and
professed love for the song on his 2011
autobiography page
the album's called cherry pie the record
is called cherry pie
i'm doing cherry pie eating contests
the singles cherry pie right janie
lane's problems with women are another
important factor when considering his
wild early 90s warrant years
during the making of dirty rotten filthy
stinking rich
janie walked in on his thin girlfriend
in bed with his best friend
according to all music the event was so
traumatizing that he had a quote
nervous breakdown and spent time
recovering in a psychiatric hospital
which subsequently delayed the album's
completion
janie later used the experience to write
the song i saw red
which went on to be another hit single
from the cherry pie album
peaking at number 10 on the billboard
top 200 in february 1991.
janie regularly discussed the
autobiographical nature of the song
in a 2011 interview he had this to say
about the song
i saw red is a true story and i still
hate my ex-girlfriend i'm sure she's
doing wonderful now
unsubstantiated rumors on fan and gossip
boards claim that the girlfriend in
question was allegedly singer becca
bramlett and the man with whom she was
cheating was bon jovi's richie sambora
however janie and becca remained friends
throughout janie's life
in a 2010 interview with metal sludge
lane stated that he and becca were still
very good friends which cast some doubt
on these rumors
even more notorious was janie lane's
whirlwind
courtship marriage and divorce of his
first wife
bobby brown who came into his life when
she played the blonde bombshell
in the infamous cherry pie video in 2011
bobby told legendary rock interviews
that janie started pursuing her after
they made the video together
ignoring the fact that she was already
dating matthew nelson
of the band nelson he was interesting to
me but i had a boyfriend
so i wasn't a cheater but you know when
we broke up he asked me and i said yes
in 2013 bobby described to the new york
post how
janie flew her to louisiana for a
concert for the first date
finally making the match made in hair
band heaven come true
four months later the couple was
expecting a baby
they decided to marry in july 1991 and
welcomed their daughter
taylor in early 1992. unfortunately the
problem started soon after
bobby told the new york post i loved
janie but he drank a lot
and he could be mean when he was
drinking when i found out he was
cheating on me i couldn't forgive that
and i left him in august 1992 warrant
released their third album
dog eat dog the album was relatively
successful
going gold by october by selling half a
million copies
but it was nowhere near the triumphs of
their first two records
the only charting single on dog eat dog
was a cover of queen's we will rock you
which peaked at number 83 on billboard's
top 200.
much has been made about how grunge
music killed off hair metal
louder called out alice in chains 1990
album
facelift as the first grunge album to
hit big and janie lane had his own
allison chain story that neatly summed
up hair metal's dramatic eclipse
encyclopedia.com quotes an interview
with lane from musician magazine in
which he
recalls a marketing meeting with the
president of columbia records for cherry
pie
in the interview lane had this
recollection the first time i walked
into the president of columbia records
office
and i remember seeing this gigantic
poster of our album cover on the wall
above the secretary's desk
i thought wow i guess we're going to get
a push on this one when he returned a
year later to discuss promoting dog eat
dog however
priorities had changed this time as lane
walked into don
einer's office who was then the
president of columbia records
lane recalled seeing a huge poster of
allison chain's
dirt over his secretary's desk upon
seeing the poster in einer's office
lane knew that warren's days were
numbered as the grunge era was about to
sweep the nation
in 1993 janie left warrant for the first
of many times to pursue a solo career
but he was back by the end of the year
janie lane and warrant were still
working from the mid-1990s to the early
2000s
but things were quote tough according to
his 2011 autobiographical page
dropped by columbia warrant made four
albums for independent label cmc
between 1995 and 2001 none of which sold
well
or charted at all in 1993 janie started
working on his jabberwocky
project to which he periodically
returned throughout the rest of his life
janie married his second wife actress
rowan brewer
in 1995. they had a daughter madison and
were married until 2005.
although on his autobiographical page
janie mentions the divorce in the same
sentence in which he reports that he
left warrant in 2002
due to business differences in 2003 he
released a power pop solo album
back down to one which was a huge
commercial failure
lane then entered rehab for alcohol
abuse 2004
was another hard year and janie spent
much of it in the spotlight
working out his personal problems in
front of an often unsympathetic audience
during that period lane appeared on
vh1's celebrity fit club
where he looked bloated and unhealthy
from drinking he also made a brief
appearance on the bad boys of metal tour
which he quit after just a few shows as
recounted in a piece by spin
lane quit the tour because he felt some
audience members were only there to
laugh at him
he even faced legal action from his
former band when he attempted to start
his own version
of warrant janie lane's alcohol
addiction continued to hurt him
right up to the end of his life he
rejoined warrant in 2008 but his lack of
sobriety caused problems
and he was back out again in six months
2009 brought an arrest for driving under
the influence that led to a sentence of
three years probation
and according to spin he was sentenced
to 120 days in jail for another dui in
2010
nevertheless there were some good
moments during this time
also in 2010 he joined fellow former
hair metal superstars great white on
tour
in an interview with louder great
white's guitarist mark kendall had this
to say about lane
janie was a complete professional he was
never late and the fans were saying he
hadn't looked or sounded so good in 20
years
he also announced on his autobiography
page in 2011 that he had married his
third wife
kimberly nash the good times however
didn't last
on august 11 2011 janie lane was found
dead of acute
alcohol poisoning in a woodland hills
california comfort inn
at just 47 years old he had no
identification
save for a note in his pocket that read
i am
janie lane his sister vicky told radar
online
alcoholism is not something he chose
it's something he fought every day and
it just won
if you or someone you know is struggling
with addiction please call the substance
abuse and mental health administration's
24 7 national helpline
at 1-800-662-help
you