Whitesnake

Of all the hard rock bands which were instrumental in laying the foundations for heavy metal, Deep Purple, alongside Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, were the most important. Many thought they wouldn't survive the loss of screeching lead singer, Ian Gillan, in 1973. But they did. Deep Purple went on to continued success with new, English vocalist David Coverdale, who was brought in because of his blues-edged style of singing. Following Deep Purple's split in 1976, David Coverdale's next band project was his own Whitesnake, who continued in a blues-inspired, heavy rock vein. The band gained huge global success with their self-titled album, often referred to as '1987'. Recorded with a new line-up, it combined a more heavy metal sound, the Zeppelin-esque 'Still Of The Night', a revamp of an earlier hit 'Here I Go Again' with power ballads such as the chart-topping 'Is This Love', giving the band their most commercially successful period. Aside from a few years here and there, away from the music business, the band has been touring ever since, with David Coverdale still at the helm.