In a new interview with Rock Daydream Nation, former Mötley Crüe member John Corabi shared a behind-the-scenes story about refusing to sing the band’s hit song ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ during their tour. The decision led to a heated argument with Nikki Sixx.
Corabi recalled: “I got into that was my first argument with Nikki. I said, ‘I am not singing ‘Girls Girls Girls.’ I won’t do it.’ He was like, ‘It’s one of our biggest hits.’ We got into an argument. Then Tommy intervened on my behalf and said, ‘Dude if he ain’t comfortable with it, he’s the one that’s got to sing it, so just pick something else. We don’t have to do that song every f*cking tour.'”
Eventually, Sixx agreed, and the band performed other songs. “So we did ‘Wildside,’ we did ‘Shout at the Devil,’ we did ‘Home Sweet Home,’ ‘Primal Scream.’ I can’t remember what, ‘Live Wire.’ What else did we do? I can’t remember, it’s been so long. We did a little bit of that and a little bit of the new record and then we did a couple covers.”
Reflecting on the band’s setlist choices, Corabi said in another interview, “They kind of let me pick the old songs that I felt comfortable singing. So all the ones did were the ones that I liked.” He reiterated his refusal to sing ‘Girls, Girls, Girls,’ explaining, “I did refuse to do ‘Girls Girls Girls.’ I’m like, ‘No. I know it was a big hit for you guys, but I’ve never really dug the concept.’ ‘Hey, Tommy! Look at her!’ Not me.”
Corabi replaced Vince Neil in 1992 and sang on Mötley Crüe’s 1994 self-titled album. Although the album peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, it didn’t achieve the same commercial success as their earlier albums, like 1989’s ‘Dr. Feelgood,’ reaching No. 1.