Will You Be Home Tonight

Album: Disturbing the Peace (1985)
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Songfacts®:

  • Written by Alcatrazz lead singer Graham Bonnet, guitarist Steve Vai and keyboard player Jimmy Waldo, this song is about the actor and cultural icon James Dean. The song is from the perspective of Dean talking to his sports car - he raced professionally before he was killed in a car accident on September 30, 1955.

    "I've read a lot of books about him, about his life and his death," Bonnet told us. "There were a lot of people that were dying in cars, but this came to mind. So it's basically about him and the ride he took and how he had beer in the car and eventually was killed. I was saying, 'Don't drive drunk,' basically. I'm not saying he was drunk, but be very careful when you do drive. In fact, that song was used by Mothers Against Drunk Driving back in the day, MADD. They used it on the radio, because that's basically what it's about, along with Jimmy Dean and his death." (Here's our full Graham Bonnet interview.)

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