Tora Tora Bio
TORA TORA
DISCOGRAPHY:
1987 – To Rock To Roll
1989 – Surprise Attack
1992 – Wild America
2008 – The Warehouse… 20 Years Later
2009 – Before & After
2009 – Bombs Away
2009 – Miss B. Haven
2011 – Revolution Day
2019 – Bastards of Beale
BAND MEMBERS:
Anthony Corder – vocals
Keith Douglas – guitars
Patrick Francis – bass
John Patterson – drums
HISTORY:
Blues-based, Led Zeppelin inspired metal that should have made Tora Tora a household name, but sadly didn’t. One of the best “unknown” bands in the hard rock genre, the lack of label support killed any chance the band had for massive success.
Tora Tora were formed in Memphis, Tennessee, USA by Anthony Corder (vocals), Keith Douglas (guitar), Patrick Francis (bass) and John Patterson (drums). They quickly beat out 60 other groups in a Battle of the Bands contest and received some free studio time. They cut one track in Memphis before using the prize money they had won to record an entire independent EP called To Rock To Roll. The studio was so impressed with the recordings that they offered to help shop the demo and gave them even more free recording time. Tora Tora eventually signed with A&M and the debut album made the Billboard Top 100, and hovered on the brink of breaking wide open. Later that same year “Dancing With A Gypsy” would appear on the soundtrack for the movie Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The follow-up album Wild America, while being another classic, sold less copies then the debut. A third album was recorded in 1994 but never released due to label restructuring. Realizing that their due date had expired, the band folded.
The years 2007-08 saw Corder and Francis perform live in the Memphis, Tennessee area as either Tora Tora or Homemade Flavor. Tora Tora performed a reunion concert at a venue entitled Newbie’s on June 28, 2008 and sold a limited release album The Warehouse…20 Years Later, which featured tracks from the group’s EP To Rock To Roll, debut album and material slated for the third album titled Revolution Day. A few songs from the long-awaited Revolution Day eventually surfaced via FnA Records on 2009’s Before & After. Tora Tora released two more albums, Bombs Away (aka The Unreleased Surprise Attack Recordings) and Miss B. Haven (aka The Unreleased Wild America Recordings), through FnA Records in 2009 consisting of demos / extra tracks from the recordings of the group’s first two albums. Finally, Tora Tora‘s long lost third album Revolution Day was released via FnA Records in 2011. Tora Tora continue to play sporadic gigs and will be releasing a brand new studio album titled Bastards of Beale via Frontiers Music Srl on February 22, 2019.
TRACK LIST PER ALBUM:
To Rock To Roll EP (1987) Track List:
01. Wasted Love
02. To Rock To Roll
03. Time On The Edge
04. Phantom Rider
05. Love’s A Bitch
Surprise Attack (1989) Track List:
01. Love’s A Bitch
02. 28 Days
03. Hard Times
04. Guilty
05. Phantom Rider
06. Walkin’ Shoes
07. Riverside Drive
08. She’s Good She’s Bad
09. One For The Road
10. Being There
Wild America (1991) Track List:
01. Wild America
02. Amnesia
03. Dead Man’s Hand
04. As Time Goes By
05. Lay Your Money Down
06. Shattered
07. Dirty Secrets
08. Faith Healer
09. Cold Fever
10. Nowhere To Go But Down
11. City Of Kings
The Warehouse… 20 Years Later (2008) Track List:
01. Phantom Rider
02. Wasted Love
03. Love’s A Bitch
04. To Rock To Roll
05. Time On The Edge
06. Little Texas
07. Mississippi Voodoo Child
08. Rescue Me
09. Living A World Away
Before & After (2009) Track List:
01. Wasted Love
02. To Rock To Roll
03. Time On The Edge
04. Phantom Rider
05. Love’s A Bitch
06. Walkin’ Shoes
07. That’s Not The Way Love’s Supposed To Be
08. Blue Tomorrow
09. Better To Have Loved Than Lost
10. Something’s Got To Give
Bombs Away (2009) Track List:
01. Bad
02. Bringing Me Down
03. Lost In Paradise
04. When The Wind Blows
05. All The Same
06. Breakin’ All The Rules
07. Gotta Get Away
08. Tonite (Version 2)
09. Stone Blue
Bonus Tracks:
10. One And Only Man
11. Tonite (Version 1)
Miss B. Haven (2009) Track List:
01. Take It As You Like It
02. Ain’t Nothin To It
03. b-song
04. Bite The Bullet
05. Ride The Wind
06. Can You Take My Blues Away
07. Mary Wants Some
08. Time To Let You Go
09. Serious
10. Bad Attitude
Bonus Tracks:
11. Who Am I To Blame
12. Love And War
13. Down On You
Revolution Day (2011) Track List:
01. Revolution Day
02. Mississippi Voodoo Child
03. Candle And The Stone
04. Blues Come Home To You
05. Time And The Tide
06. Shelter From The Rain
07. Living A World Away
08. Rescue Me
09. Little Texas
10. Memphis Soul
11. Me And You
12. Out Of The Storm
Bastards of Beale (2019) Track List:
01. Sons of Zebedee
02. Giants Fall
03. Everbright
04. Silence The Sirens
05. Son of a Prodigal Son
06. Lights Up The River
07. Let Us Be One
08. All Good Things
09. Rose of Jericho
10. Vertigo
11. Bastards of Beale
Tora Tora‘s “Walkin’ Shoes” video:
TORA TORA – walkin’ shoes
tora tora – walkin’ shoes
Tora Tora‘s “Phantom Rider” video:
Tora Tora-Phantom Rider (Official Music Video)
Tora Tora Phantom Rider Belongs To Respectful OwnersYear:1989Band:Tora ToraVocals:Anthony CorderGuitar:Keith DouglasBass:Patrick FrancisDrums:John PattersonL…
Tora Tora‘s Guilty” video:
tora tora- guilty
tora tora guilty
Tora Tora‘s “Amnesia” video:
Tora Tora – Amnesia – Wild America
Music video to the song “Amnesia” off of Tora Tora’s album “Wild America” 1992