Editing Dokken (section)

===Early years (1976–1983)===
Don Dokken's first band formed in 1976, named Airborn. He played shows at clubs in the [[Los Angeles]] area, including the [[Starwood (nightclub)|Starwood]] on Sunset Strip. Airborn included [[Bobby Blotzer]] on drums and [[Juan Croucier]] on bass, but Blotzer and Croucier left the band in 1978 to form FireFoxx.<ref>{{cite journal |pages=36–7 |title=Bobby Blotzer |last1=Olson |first1=John |last2=Welch |first2=Elisa M. |journal=Drums and Drumming |year=1991 |volume=3}}</ref> Don Dokken was unable to keep the Airborn name because another band named Airborne had already acquired a record deal. Bringing in Greg Pecka on drums and Steven R. Barry on bass, Dokken recorded a 7" single, "Hard Rock Woman" b/w "Broken Heart", released in 1979 under the band name Dokken, produced by [[Drake Levin]], best known as the guitarist for [[Paul Revere & the Raiders]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

A Dokken line-up consisting of Don, guitarist [[Greg Leon]], drummer [[Gary Holland]] (both from the band Suite 19 which also once featured [[Mötley Crüe]]'s [[Tommy Lee]]), and bassist Gary Link toured Germany in 1979 where the band met an up-and-coming producer by the name of [[Michael Wagener]], also the live sound engineer for [[Accept (band)|Accept]], who would follow Don back to Los Angeles for a short vacation, a move that became permanent shortly thereafter. The '79 touring line-up quickly fell apart with Leon taking over [[Randy Rhoads]]' spot in [[Quiet Riot]] and Holland joining Dante Fox, later known as [[Great White (band)|Great White]]. A Michael Wagener-produced [[Hamburg]] recording of the '79 line-up surfaced in 1989 under the title ''[[Back in the Streets]]'', released by the German label [[Repertoire Records]] without the band's consent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sleazeroxx.com/interviews/leon.shtml |title=Greg Leon Interview |publisher=SleezeRoxx.com |date=March 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719085910/http://www.sleazeroxx.com/interviews/leon.shtml |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Dokken toured Germany again in 1980, this time with Croucier back on bass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.juancroucier.com/public_html/discography.html |title=Juan Croucier's Music History / Partial Discography |work=JuanCroucier.com |access-date=June 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105504/http://www.juancroucier.com/public_html/discography.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In early 1981, Don Dokken returned to Germany trying to get a record deal with a new band in tow, guitarist [[George Lynch (musician)|George Lynch]] and drummer [[Mick Brown (musician)|Mick Brown]], who had been playing in a band called Xciter at the time, with Croucier remaining on bass. After recording demos with Wagener and with the help of Accept's manager, [[Gaby Hoffmann (manager)|Gaby Hauke]], a deal was secured with [[Carrere Records]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.michaelwagener.com/html/bio.html |title=Michael Wagener Biography |publisher=MichaelWagener.com}}</ref> Recorded between July and September 1981 at Studio Stommeln with Wagener and [[Dieter Dierks]], ''[[Breaking the Chains (Dokken album)|Breaking the Chains]]'' was initially released under the name "Don Dokken" before it was changed to simply Dokken on subsequent pressings.  While in Germany, Don would also demo songs with the [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]] for their ''[[Blackout (Scorpions album)|Blackout]]'' album as the band's vocalist [[Klaus Meine]] was forced to undergo surgery on his [[vocal cords]] and his return was uncertain for a time. Dokken did eventually perform backing vocals on the album. Meanwhile, Lynch, Brown and Croucier ended up working as studio musicians for German singer [[Udo Lindenberg]] on his 1982 album ''Keule'', playing on four songs: "Urmensch (Prehistoric man)", "Ratten (Rats)" (both co-written by Lynch, Brown and Lindenberg), "Zwischen Rhein Und Aufruhr (Between the Rhine and the uproar)", and "Gesetz (Law)".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Udo-Lindenberg-Panikorchester-Keule/release/1701555 |title=Udo Lindenberg & Panikorchester* - Keule (Vinyl, LP, Album) |website=Discogs.com |year=1982 |access-date=March 24, 2017}}</ref> Promotional activities for the European release of ''Breaking the Chains'' included a German TV appearance as Dokken performed a 40-minute live set on the [[Beat-Club]] as part of a [[Musikladen]] Extra which aired on January 4, 1982.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Back in the United States, Dokken were now managed by Cliff Bernstein who got the band signed to [[Elektra Records]] for a stateside release of ''Breaking The Chains'', remixed for the American market. Dokken played a couple of shows with [[Warren DeMartini]] on guitar when George Lynch briefly left to rehearse with [[Ozzy Osbourne]]'s band while on tour.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-16 |title=MUSICAL CHAIRS ….. Don Dokken explains how Dokken flip-flopped Ratt members Juan Croucier and Warren DeMartini |url=https://metalsludge.tv/musical-chairs-don-dokken-explains-how-dokken-flip-flopped-ratt-members-juan-croucier-and-warren-demartini/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Metal Sludge |language=en}}</ref> The band did an arena tour in the U.S. with Lynch back on guitar supporting [[Blue Öyster Cult]] in 1983, but when the tour was over the band was left with little money and was nearly dropped from the label due to the album's lack of success.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/Blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=103108 |title=Don Dokken July 2008 Interview |publisher=Roadrunnerrecords.com |access-date=July 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225232902/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=103108 |archive-date=December 25, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

While the band was very popular in Europe during this time they had not yet made commercial progress in the United States. Magazines such as ''[[Kerrang!]]'' publicized Dokken in the UK.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}