Don Dokken has shared details about songwriting credit disputes in Dokken during a recent interview with Grant’s Rock Warehouse.
“Every song on Dokken’s albums was always written by us,” Don explained. “I can throw a lot of people under the bus… So-and-so wrote… Look at the credits. This person wrote this song, this person wrote this song, this person wrote this song.”
“So then we had a little bit of a tiff, because [on Dokken’s third album, 1985’s] ‘Under Lock And Key’, it just said [in the songwriting credits] ‘Don Dokken’, ‘Don Dokken’, ‘Don Dokken’, ‘Don Dokken’,” he continued.
“And George [Lynch, then-Dokken guitarist] went ballistic,” Don added. “So at the last minute, you can look at the back and it says, ‘All songs written by Dokken, and Dokken is George Lynch, Jeff Pilson…’ And I went, ‘Oh, that’s so petty.’ I mean, it didn’t matter who wrote the song ’cause I made a deal with the devil.”
Don Dokken made a significant compromise regarding songwriting credits on the band’s third album to address internal tensions.
His recent statement provides new insight into the long-standing dispute over creative contributions within the band during their peak years.
Research from Metal Addicts reveals a different perspective from George Lynch. The guitarist maintains that he and bassist Jeff Pilson wrote most of the material. Lynch notes that many song titles came from old movie names found in TV Guide.
A report by Ultimate Classic Rock highlights the physical distance that complicated their working relationship. Don Dokken resided in Los Angeles. The other band members, including Lynch and Pilson, lived in Phoenix during the ‘Under Lock and Key’ era.
Metal Wani documents Don Dokken’s current regret over the early decision to split songwriting royalties equally. He claims this arrangement resulted in millions of dollars in lost earnings.
The persistent disagreements over creative contributions and songwriting credits created deep rifts within the band. These tensions ultimately led to their breakup in 1989. After the split, each member pursued individual musical projects.
