John Corabi On MÖTLEY CRÜE: “Who Knew That The Record That I Did With Them Would Be As Disastrous As It Was?”

John Corabi says that there was talk about MÖTLEY CRÜE being expanded to a five-piece shortly after Vince Neil was brought back to sing for the band in 1997.

He said:

“[The idea] was floated for a minute,”

“I don’t know if it was management or what the deal was, but they were, like, ‘We’re bringing Vince back. And maybe we could keep you as a guitar player and you could maybe give Vince a break midway through the set and do a couple of your tunes.’

And I was just, like, ‘Yeah, sure. Whatever. Let me know.’ And I actually was going to the studio with them for about a month, even after they told me Vince was back; I was in the studio with them and Vince pretty much daily for about a month, and then it just kind of stopped.”

With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top-Ten placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

“Everything happens for a reason,” John told Live 105. “Like I kind of hear people go, ‘Man, you’ve been in a lot of bands.’ Yes, I have. I’ve also been married several times too, and every time I get into something, I think, ‘This is the one.’ I think that’s just human nature. When I was in THE SCREAM, I thought I’d be around for 30 years, playing with THE SCREAM guys. Who knew I was gonna get a call from MÖTLEY? And then I joined MÖTLEY and everything was peachy.

And the way they were talking about Vince, I thought it was a done deal. I thought I was gonna retire with MÖTLEY, go into the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame and call it a day. Who knew they would bring Vince back? Who knew that the record that I did with them would be as disastrous as it was? I mean, at that point, when I joined that band, they could fart on record and it would sell three million. Who knew?”