Every artist has a hero they want to share the same stage with at one time. It seems like Kevin DuBrow’s hero was nobody but Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes. According to Alex Grossi, DuBrow had a wish about Hughes on his bucket list, and he thankfully had a chance to fulfill it before his passing.
“Well, ‘Rehab’ started with Kevin,” Alex Grossi told the Metal Voice. “We already had the initials; five or six, seven songs we did. Two of them eventually got into ‘Rehab,’ but Frankie was writing with the guitar player named Neil Citron, Kevin was writing with me, and then Glenn Hughes got involved. So, it’s a mish-mash of three or four writers.”
The guitarist then noted, “The album eventually came out in 2006 and never got released digitally. So, the thought process was, ‘Let’s add this song that was initially written for ‘Rehab.” It was supposed to go on our next record; unfortunately, Kevin passed away at that point, but the thought process is to put it on iTunes, Amazon, or wherever you can get it digitally because it’s never been on any of those platforms before.”
Asked about ‘Rehab’s mature direction than the early albums, Grossi continued, “I think it’s because this album was the first one they did that was self-funded. Kevin and Frankie paid for it themselves; they didn’t have to answer to a record company that wanted them to rewrite ‘Metal Health’ a million times.”
The musician added, “Kevin and Frankie were both really proud of that. I mean, Kevin got one of his wishes; it’s a duet with his hero, Glenn Hughes, right with Glenn. I mean, that’s bucket list stuff, man. I’m glad that they got that out before he passed away because I know he said it was his favorite record he ever did for the band.”
Following Quiet Riot’s disbandment in 2003, Kevin DuBrow focused on his solo career and released his solo debut ‘In for the Kill.’ The break-up didn’t last longer than one year, as the band announced their reunion with Alex Grossi’s addition. At that period, they worked on ‘Rehab,’ their first studio release since 2001’s ‘Guilty Pleasures.’ As Grossi says, the album featured songs with contributions from several writers, including Glenn Hughes.
Kevin DuBrow had always wished he could duet with Glenn Hughes, as the bassist was his hero. ‘Rehab’ made his dreams come true — Hughes played bass parts, contributed to the songwriting, and made a vocal appearance with him on the Spooky Tooth cover ‘Evil Woman.’ As he had been battling addiction, DuBrow told Glenn that he wanted a chance in his lifestyle around that time. Sadly, a year after ‘Rehab’s release, he died of an overdose.
