Song of the Day 5/10: Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”

Tawny Kitaen, the model/actress who gained her greatest fame gyrating on the hood of a Jaguar in this Whitesnake video, died last week at age 59. Born Julie Kitaen, she began using “Tawny” by the time she was 12, and was a rock groupie at 14. She was living with Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby while still in high school, which is why she appeared on that band’s album cover, which led to music video work and a marriage to David Coverdale, Whitesnake’s lead singer. That didn’t last, nor did an acting career or a marriage to baseball pitcher Chuck Finley, but we’ll always have the videos, reminders of a time when MTV’s obsession with big hair and suggestively-attired women led rock into the glam-metal cul-de-sac.

I confess I always found this music repugnant, and it hasn’t improved with age — macho posturing from guys in makeup and teased hair, playing tuneless guitar buzz interspersed with sappy, unoriginal power ballads. I blame Reagan and David Lee Roth, not necessarily in that order.

This is the video that gave Tawny the most screen time.