Dokken

Dokken formed in Los Angeles in 1978, built around vocalist Don Dokken and guitarist George Lynch, whose technically brilliant playing elevated the band above most Sunset Strip contemporaries. Breaking the Chains (1981), Tooth and Nail (1984), and Under Lock and Key (1985) established them as a serious hard rock act with genuine chops. Lynch's guitar work is widely cited as some of the best of the era — intricate, melodic, and powerful simultaneously. Ongoing creative and personal tensions between Dokken and Lynch led to the band's dissolution in 1988. They reunited in 1994 and have continued in various configurations, with Lynch departing and returning multiple times.